Latest news with #Snyman
Winnipeg Free Press
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Springboks crush Georgia with nine tries in final test before Rugby Championship
MBOMBELA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa outmuscled and overwhelmed Georgia 55-10 on Saturday in its last match before its Rugby Championship title defense. South Africa gave its three starting front-rowers their test debuts and two of them, loosehead Boan Venter and hooker Marnus van der Merwe, scored the first two of the team's nine tries. Captain Siya Kolisi overcame various niggles to finally play his first test of the year and had to have a head injury check in the second minute. But he returned and played the whole match. Kolisi is certain to lead the Springboks in the Rugby Championship opener against Australia in four weeks at Ellis Park. The Georgians are not lightweights and showed off their heft and expertise with a rolling maul try for hooker Vano Karkadze in the third minute. But they had only a couple more try chances and were overturned by South Africa. The Springboks had the win in hand by halftime at 22-10. Marnus van der Merwe scored two tries from lineout drives, and Venter from multiple pick-and-goes. The fourth try of the half saw scrumhalf Grant Williams, riding his pack's dominance, split the defense and four passes later center Canan Moodie crashed over beside the right corner flag. As the Georgians flagged from the pummelling up front, the Springboks went wider in the second half and wing Edwill van der Merwe, no relation to Marnus, also scored two tries. Replacement back Damian Willemse punched through from scrum ball and, in the last couple of minutes, a couple of RG Snyman half breaks and offloads led to tries by backs Kurt-Lee Arendse and Handre Pollard. ___ AP rugby:
Irish Daily Mirror
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
RG Snyman tells of shocking online trolling from Munster and Leinster fans
Trophies grow where RG Snyman goes, just ask Munster, Leinster and the ' hasn't been a trophy won by an Irish club since 2021 that the second-row wasn't involved in, there hasn't been a Rugby World Cup won since 2015 that he wasn't involved in is, as his black-metal music and mohawk-haired buddy Andrew Porter likes to say 'Vikin' brilliant!'.And possibly extra so for the difficulties encountered on the World Cup, Red URC, World Cup, Blue URC run that, sure enough spanned on-field well COVID, almost four years of injury, the death of his mother some 13,000km away, serial online abuse from some Munster fans and initial rejection from a section of Leinster fans following crossing the Red-Blue ' had seen the online abuse from the so-called red patriots, maintains it couldn't be avoided, but says it could have been worse if his was the type to be negatively affected by such in the background cowardly fact here is a shock for those keyboard warriors. for whom he had previously helped win their first trophy since 2011 and who had not asked to leave the Club but who was 'let go'."But to be honest," says Snyman with former Saracens and Scotland secondrow Jim Hamilton on the The Big Jim Show podcast, of the online abuse though the summer and Autumn of 2024, "it didn't really affect me negatively. "I kinda saw it as an opportunity when I got to Leinster as most of those fans would still be watching Leinster and I'd have the opportunity to play Munster twice a season again so I kinda used that to drive me and to show what I can do on the field if I stay fit."There was also that initial cold-shoulder of a Leinstr cadre, bet they feel foolish now!It has been quite the 12 months: "You have people swearing as you go, I had people swearing, well you could kinda hear them swearing as I left and I got to Leinster and they were still swearing at me a little bit when I started!"It is actually crazy to see the differences between the two. It (Munster and Leinster) is essentially the same place, the two are so close to each other but it's vastly different in terms of the teams and how people support it and how people look at the game, and the cities and the stadiums and everything."At Munster it was all about the rugby and all about Munster and it is kinda what Limerick does and keeps people going there."Whereas in Dublin it is obviously a bigger city, there is so much going on there but there is such a big fan base towards Leinster so it was good for me, going from struggling a little, things not going the way I wanted it to in Limerick."But learning a few hard lessons there, making a few good friends in Limerick and then moving up to Dublin which was essentially only for one season (signed one-year extension in March 2025) initially but then making the most of the opportunities when I got here."It (both times) was easy for us to stay in Ireland as well."The big South African can understand supporter's passions, in a way he has had an interesting best of both worlds when it comes to fans, the Irish and the South Africans are oh-so similar and by that he means, brilliant. "The fans from both countries are kinda similar and that's from the experience I've had of both countries."It is great to see really because it's a very similar fan, they both love their countries and their teams so much and they are not afraid to hold back, especially online."I feel like Irish fans and South African fans, as much as they would hate to admit it, are very similar in the things they say and the lengths they go to support their team."But there were a number of sides to what happened during the Limerick-Dublin switch, not least as the destination was a 'crazy story', a coincidence, as the player was about to lift up the phone to Johan van Graan at Bath. "So that's exactly it, most of it (the on-line) was directed at me, there wasn't a lot of people kinda seeing my side of it."I guess rightly so, you can understand the frustration from the fans and given the four years I've had there it was obviously difficult for people and then I'm going to their biggest rival but in one sense it was a decision that was taken out of my hands a little."If I had the opportunity then to stay at Munster I probably would have but the opportunity wasn't presented to me so I was going somewhere anyways and the big thing for us was to stay in Ireland because we enjoy the people and enjoy the culture and it was a little bit of a crazy story, obviously I was looking at where am I going to go next."I was looking at maybe joining back up with Johan van Graan at Bath and then Jacques (Nienaber) phoned me from Leinster and obviously that's a big opportunity."What if I was to join a great club and work with Jacques again? So, yeh, everything kinda fell into place and while the opportunity was there, I had to grab it and I guess everything just kinda worked out in that way. Luckily this worked out for me this season."Naturally there weren't many keem to take the situation personally with the six-foot-nine, 131kg who looks like a berserker (itals) from central casting although in a throwaway line hh explains one of the things he about Ireland is that people want to speak with you 'for a little bit at check-out...'."I came into contact with some of it, the on-line and social media and stuff. I think we all like to say we try to avoid it but nowadays you can't avoid it and you certainly can't avoid all of it."But that abuse is not the entire picture, Snyman suggesting the brutal world of club rugby outside of Ireland may well have chewed him up - there was something about Munster he will always feel as special and that he will appreciate."The four years at Munster was probably the four toughest years of my life and that's why I am saying I will always be grateful to the people I met and supported me there. I don't think I would have coped with it as well if I wasn't in that environment, I will always be grateful for the lessons I've learned there."But just to go over it, I got there during COVID, there wasn't much going on, the squad was split up so we didn't even meet everyone when we got there. First game is in Aviva (Dublin), no fans, played against Leinster, seven minutes in, I jump in a line-out - ACL injury."So now I am a little bit 'okay everything is going to be fine, go through surgery, get back...'."There was a little bit of complications with the surgery so it took a bit longer and then just before I got back out there, there was the infamous fire pit accident so I had to deal with that and then in that period I also lost my mom so that was a really tough time for me."Went through all of that and then the emotional stress I could call it, I (was thinking) I could finally do my bit for the team on the field. I get back, three games on the bench and then Scarlets away."I'll never forget it, catch the ball off a kick-off, try and step off my left foot and my knee blows up again so the physio comes on the fild, tests my knee, I say 'don't even bother I know it's gone...'."So I walk off the field, I get the surgery again, obviously there is a lot more goes into it this time. The first time it was to the patella, this time it was to the hamstring."Again, get through all that, get back, we won the URC with Munster, a great highlight, especially in Cape Town that season because all my family could be there so that was quite a good memory."The relief, being back after an age of being out and the worry was auspicious."I'd just made it back in time to play for the Springboks because I'd missed all the tests essentially four years of tests from the World Cup in 2019,I'd missed."But luckily I get picked to go to the World Cup, an unbelievable win, and, literally, in the last few minutes of the final I tear my pec (pectoral muscle) and then having to make that phone call back to Munster 'Listen, bad news again....'."Not to make it all sound negative it was a really tough time for me. I never really understood what resilience meant but I feel I have a good idea of it now and that's something that kinda drives me now, is remembering those time when you couldn't go out there, you couldn't do your thing. "At the 'Boks we always talk about a bit of desperation and being desperate to be back in a team and doing something that you love."So Snyman will be here another year and the clever bet would be that if an Irish team were to win a trophy, it will more likely be Leinster than Munster or Connacht both of whom are under new management or Ulster who finished last of the four in the 2024/25 will, of course, be among the favourites for the Champions Cup, maybe just behind Youlouse or Bordeaux in the betting but likely ahead of Bath in the top four. Leinster will be favourites to retain the URC. The question as to why the recent Champions Cup remains unanswered although - and this is a pretty significant call from Snyman of Springbok physicality and Bomb Squad fame - they are not too small in either weight or height."The guys are physical, the guys here are big, if I look at them in the gym, guys are big and strong - it may be just about tuning into that at the time."We were maybe a bit disappointed in the semi-final, we felt we let ourselves down a bit, we know we are better than that and on the day we didn't produce it and that's when we need to come through in those big I don't have the answer for it."Belief can quite quickly go away if you haven't done it before, maybe that's something going forward we just might need to get our heads around."
IOL News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
South African Library for the Blind removes race from membership form
The South African Library for the Blind (SALB) has removed the requirement for race identification in its membership form. Image: File THE South African Library for the Blind (SALB) has removed the requirement for race identification in its membership form following mounting pressure by People Against Race Classification (Parc). Parc, which also advocates for the rights of blind and visually impaired individuals, has two blind members in its organisation. When its founder, Glen Snyman attempted to register with the SALB, he was surprised to find that the form required applicants to indicate their race. This requirement, Snyman said he found both unnecessary and discriminatory in a context where all users are already marginalised by disability. This prompted him to write to the institution in a move for change. 'It has come to our attention that the current registration process requires applicants to disclose their race in order to access the services provided by your institution. We submit that this practice raises significant legal, ethical, and practical concerns. The Population Registration Act of 1950, which institutionalised race classification, was repealed by the South African Parliament through the Population Registration Repeal Act of 1991. "This legislation prohibits the use of traditional, apartheid, racial categories on official forms. Furthermore, many blind and visually impaired individuals are unable to self-identify their race in a visual or physical sense. Requiring such identification may compel reliance on third parties or subjective assumptions, which can be inaccurate, disempowering, unethical, and discriminatory,' a June 17, letter read. Snyman at the time gave the SALB 10 working days to respond to the letter request, threatening to approach the South African Human Rights Commission to escalate the matter if necessary. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading People Against Race Classification (Parc) founder, Glen Snyman. Image: Supplied However a day later, the SALB responded and agreed to remove race criteria from its registration form immediately. 'Its placement on the registration process was never meant for discriminatory purposes but to ensure alignment of the SALB registration process to the blind community national statistics. It was also informed by queries and questions the entity gets on user categories,' said SALB chief executive, Dr Pateka Ntshuntshe-Matshaya. Snyman welcomed the decision, as ' meaningful victory' in PARC's ongoing campaign against racial classification in public institutions and services. 'We welcome this swift and thoughtful decision by the SALB,' said Snyman. 'It is encouraging to see institutions respond positively when challenged on outdated and unnecessary practices. We thank the SALB for their cooperation and commitment to equality.' Approached for further comment on the matter on Thursday, SALB spokesperson, Vusumzi Mkhetshane confirmed, ' the revised Membership Form race has been totally removed'. An attachment of the revised form also confirmed the section had been removed. Mkhetshane reiterated the chief's executive's sentiments that 'its placement on the registration process was never meant for discriminatory purposes but to ensure alignment of the SALB registration process to the blind community national statistics'. Blind SA chief executive Jace Nair said irrespective of race, all people who are blind or partially blind require services of support. ' It is unfortunate because of legislation and policy we have to report on our statistics in terms of the beneficiaries we serve. In order to acquire our BBBEE certificate that's the only reason. We keep track of beneficiaries' race but we do not use it in any way to deny or prevent or limit service for persons of different racial groups. Nair said the only factor that limited their work was financial support. 'We can only offer services to the extent that we have financial support,' he added. Cape Times
IOL News
23-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Blitzbok coach Philip Snyman praises depth-building efforts after Rugby Africa Sevens triumph
Blitzbok head coach Philip Snyman was happy with the Sevens 'A' side's victory in the Africa Cup Sevens in Mauritius at the weekend. | Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Blitzbok coach Philip Snyman feels the mission to build depth in South Africa's Sevens ranks is well on track after the Springbok Sevens 'A' squad claimed the Rugby Africa Sevens Cup in Port Louis, Mauritius, on Sunday. They beat Madagascar 26-12 in the final at Labourdonnais Sports Club. Earlier on Sunday, they overcame Zimbabwe 19-12 in the semi-finals and defending champions Uganda 26-0 in the quarter-finals. 'This was a good effort, and I am happy with the way the squad applied themselves and executed their duties,' said Snyman. 'We had eight players who are uncapped at HSBC SVNS level and they all fitted into the system and the team as the tournament took shape. We wanted to give those players proper match time, as it does take a tournament or three before you are ready for the world series, and they responded well. Sebastiaan Jobb (with ball) helped lead the Springbok Sevens 'A' squad to glory at the Rugby Africa Sevens tournament in Mauritius at the weekend. He praised the tournament as a platform to blood new players. Image: World Rugby Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'The African teams are very physical, which is always a tough challenge, and then we encountered Madagascar – who play like Fiji with their offloads – in the final, so that was a valuable learning curve for the new players.' Snyman admitted that the display was far from flawless, despite going unbeaten. The Springbok Sevens 'A' side started sluggishly in the pool stage, opening with a cagey 17-5 win over Nigeria. The experience of co-captains Mfundo Ndhlovu and Sebastiaan Jobb then came to the fore. Two tries in quick succession by Ndhlovu broke Zambia's resistance in a 33-14 win. Jobb followed that with a hat-trick in the 31-0 win over Burkina Faso in the final pool match. 'It definitely was not perfect, but we got the answers that we came to get out of this tournament. So I think it was a good tournament, especially with all the youngsters that we had, building depth in our squad,' Snyman said. 'One of our objectives was to build depth in the team and give the youngsters the opportunity to play and to know exactly what it is and how it feels to play in a world series event. That's what we achieved out of this weekend. There were a lot of mistakes, but a lot of positives, too.'
IOL News
20-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Springboks' RG Snyman reveals the secret behind South Africa's sporting triumphs
FILE - Springbok lock RG Snyman has hailed Rassie Erasmus' motivational skills. Image: Adrian Dennis / AFP Big Springboks lock RG Snyman says South Africa's sporting success on the world stage is no fluke. The Proteas are the latest South African sports team to win internationally after beating Australia in the World Test Championship final. It was their first piece of ICC silverware since 1998. The Springboks won back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles in 2019 and 2023, while Bafana Bafana won the bronze medal at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations and have qualified for the next edition in Morocco, which will be played from December 26. During the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, South Africa won six medals, including gold for star swimmer Tatjana Smith and a silver for the 4x100 men's relay team anchored by Akani Simbine. Bayanda Walaza, who helped to win that silver medal in the relay while still in the school benches, is also the world's fastest teenager. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Recently, Upington-born Rayno Nel won the 2025 World's Strongest Man competition, while Brendali Theron was crowned the World's Strongest Woman in Dubai last month. Snyman himself is fresh off a United Rugby Championship title win with Leinster after the Irish team beat Jake While's Bulls in the final last weekend. 'I think there's a mindset of people that is a little bit different and it feels very driven in a way that I haven't really come across in many other places,' Snyman said during a podcast with former Scotland lock Jim Hamilton. 'It feels like people are very much like 'f*** it, I need to go for this, and I'm going to do this with everything I have and I'm going to give it my all.'' But while there is a drive to succeed, Snyman says the role of Rassie Erasmus has been key to the Springboks' dominance of the rugby landscape over the last six years.
