The Springboks and the All Blacks are making plans for a one- off Test match in the United States, possibly in Disneyland, as part of a 12-year international schedule being drawn up by Sanzar in which a primary objective is to globalise the game more.
The SARFU chief executive Rian Oberholzer said: "Sanzar recognise the role they can play in expanding the game. They also appreciate they must help develop rugby nations like Argentina, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United States. The sport needs these countries to be strong. The game will suffer if only three teams con- tinue to dominate, as has been the case for some time."
Given Sanzar did nothing for the South Sea islanders (Western Samoa, Tonga, Fiji) by excluding them from the Super 12s, these comments would ordinarily be taken with a large dollop of salt.
However, aside from seeking contingency plans in the event of weak European squads coming to the Southern Hemisphere, the Big Three are also aware of the "enormous economic growth potential in the USA." There are more players registered in the States than any other country, while Japan has more registered players than even New Zealand.
Revionism is a big part of South Africa's rugby culture, seemingly. They don't quite erase defeats from the records but you do have to dig fairly deeply to find mentions of the series loss to the Lions and other defeats.
Dion O'Cuinneagain, formerly of Western Province of course, hasn't taken long to discover this revisionist tendancy. "When we went to Newlands yesterday I discovered they'd taken down all the pictures of me that were on display. It's quite funny really. It's like I never played for them." In fact he did, 75 times.
The spelling of O'Cuinneagain's name took some mastery within Irish media ranks but even the Cape Times, of all organs, still struggles. Some fella by the name of Deon Coonigan was yesterday listed in the Irish team. Allowing for people in glass houses and all that, a few others are worthy of mention, primarily Eric Elworth (well, Warren Gatland certainly thinks so), Con- nor O'Shay, Jaston Bishop, Trevon Maggs, and, on the replacements' bench, Peter Coohessey.
Of some concern to the Irish camp is the flu epidemic which is sweeping through Cape Town and contributed to an absenteeism rate from work of 40 per cent at one stage. Dr Donal O'Shaughnessy has been working overtime to keep the bug at bay.
Chillingly close to home also, both in name and in distance, was a nearby gangland shooting on Thursday night in a district called Athlone. One man was killed and six wounded in what is called a "drive-by shooting" at a fast food outlet
Irish support in Newlands today has been swelled by 80 sailors, a good number of them Irish, who arrived yesterday in Cape Town, from the British Royal Navy Frigate, the HMS Cornwall, and have bought tickets for the game.
Such is Nick Mallett's stock at the moment that, after carefully priming everyone for the news before its announcement, the omission of legends such as James Small and Andre Joubert did not provoke anything like the outcry that accompanied the drop- ping of Francois Pienaar and Joel Stransky.
Small, South Africa's most capped player with 47 Tests and record try scorer with 20, has completed only two of four appearances in an injury disrupted Super 12 campaign.
Joubert said he would be retiring before the World Cup next year, so forcing Mallett's hand but has recently indicated he would play on for the 1999 finals. No less than Small then, no-one hereabouts is ruling the 34-year-old rolls royce of full-backs out of the equation.
