No referee, no match

In the Eastern Province, where rugby stumbles in dark chaos, the match between Grey and Framesby was cancelled last week because of a squabble between the Eastern Province Rugby Union and the chairman of the Eastern Province Schools Union, Willem October.

The adults were having a squabble and the children were not allowed to play.

Recently the EP RFU elected a new executive. The president, Pat de Silva said that the union had two problems with October, the chairman of the schools union. Firstly the constitution required that nobody serve more than two consecutive terms in office, and October had swerved five and was putting himself forward for re-election. Some schools objected and legal advice suggested that October was out of order.

Secondly, October had been called to account for overspending but had refused to give an account of the money though he is, as schools chairman, a member of the union’s executive. The union claims that October had spent nearly twice the allotted budget of R60 000 and had been called to attend a disciplinary hearing in December 2006 but had refused to attend saying that the union had no jurisdiction over the schools union. For not attending the disciplinary hearing the union suspend October “from all activities involving rugby in the region pending his appearance in front of the EP rugby disciplinary committee”.

October’s reaction, in the last week of April 2007, to the union’s position was to forbid schools to make use of referees from the Eastern Province Referees’ Society.

Sadly, Grey and Framesby could not agree on an alternative referee, and so the match was cancelled. The boys could not play.

In other parts certain schools battle for matches because headmasters object to the teams other schools select.

There used to be a time when rugby administrators tried their utmost to enable players to play and to do so in the best conditions possible.