Locks packing down for encounters on and off the field

By WYNNE GRAY

Locks Geo Cronje and Quinton Davids, who were at the centre of the latest racism row to explode in South African rugby, are expected to oppose each other again on the field this weekend.

They are supposed to play in a Currie Cup match for their provinces in Cape Town, the city which is holding an independent inquiry into allegations of Springbok racial prejudice.

That hearing, before Judge Edwin King, was due to start yesterday, but legal applications from a variety of interested groups have stalled proceedings.

Former Springbok media manager Mark Keohane, whose 12,000-word report spawned the official inquiry, is still expected to be the first witness, but it may not be until later this week.

Judje King yesterday dismissed an application by the South African Broadcasting Corporation to broadcast events live.

Although various details of Keohane's report appeared in public at the weekend, it seems the catalyst for the Cronje/Davids bust-up came as the Springboks watched a cricket telecast from Headingley.

It appears they were taking in the fourth test between England and South Africa when Cronje, watching black Protea Monde Zondeki, allegedly asked "of die apie nog kolf" (whether the monkey is still batting).

Black Springboks who overheard the comment were said to be outraged and after that racial tension escalated in the Springbok camp.

It was later alleged that Cronje refused to share a room with Davids, the incident which provoked Keohane's resignation and the inquiry into any cover-ups of racial prejudice in the Springbok squad.

The latest delay in the King inquiry will have increased the anxiety of South Africa's rugby administrators. The hearing was expected to be finished at the end of next week, only a fortnight before the Springboks left for Australia.

There is strong speculation that coach Rudolf Straeuli will be replaced for the World Cup with a caretaker such as Jake White, Heyneke Meyer, Ray Mordt or Alan Solomons.

According to South African media, the feeling among top officials is that sorting out racism in South African rugby is an issue which transcends the World Cup.