South Africa's rugby supremo, Mr Louis Luyt, won a major victory yesterday when the High Court set aside a judicial commission of inquiry - appointed by no less a person than the President, Mr Nelson Mandela - into the administration of rugby.
Judge William de Villiers granted an application by the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) - which Mr Luyt heads - for the inquiry to be declared invalid.
The grounds of the application were that Mr Mandela had not applied his mind to the issue when he appointed the commission and had, instead, merely rubberstamped a request by the Sports Minister, Mr Steve Tshwete, for the inquiry. The SARFU argued during the court hearing that Mr Tshwete was pursuing a vendetta against it because it was controlled by Afrikaners.
Mr Luyt did not waste time yesterday gloating over his legal triumph; within hours of the judgment he announced his intention to appoint an independent team of auditors to investigate allegations that racism, nepotism and corruption were rife in the affairs of SARFU. The allegations are contained in a dossier complied by Mr Brian van Rooyen, a former vice president of the Golden Lions Rugby Union, the richest of the SARFU's affiliates. Mr Van Rooyen is a "coloured" man who unsuccessfully tried to oust Mr Luyt from his position as president of the Golden Lions in late 1996.
Mr Luyt said yesterday: " will now enlist the services of an independent international firm of auditors to investigate each and every one of the unsubstantiated innuendoes and accusations which are made in the Van Rooyen dossier and in [related] matters raised in court documents." Mr Luyt's response was seen by observers as a clear sign that he had no intention of resigning as the SARFU president - as demanded by the National Sports Council - immediately after his court triumph.
Judge de Villiers did not give reasons for his finding yesterday because of pressure for the matter to be settled as speedily as possible. They would be furnished later, he said.
Mr Mandela's legal adviser, Mr Nicholas Haysom, said: "We hope [the judge] will be as assiduous in furnishing reasons as he was in giving his ruling. He added: "The President has been advised that there . . . is a big prospect of success on appeal."
The court proceedings coincided with a decision by the rugby authorities to send Springbok rugby forward Toks Van der Linde home from New Zealand for allegedly calling a black woman from South Africa a "kaffir".