5 talking points: Super Rugby Week 4

 




Cape Town - Sport24’s Herman Mostert highlights FIVE talking points after Round 4 of the 2016 Super Rugby competition:
1. High drama at Loftus
Friday night’s clash between the Bulls and Sharks at Loftus Versfeld ended in bizarre circumstances.
Bulls replacement flyhalf Tian Schoeman kicked a long-range penalty to level matters at 16-16 with less than a minute to play, only for Sharks flank Marcell Coetzee to win a last-gasp penalty on the ground in what should have won the game for the visitors.
However, Joe Pietersen missed an absolute sitter in front of the posts to see the game end in a stalemate.
The Sharks though learned a hard lesson that one should not overzealously celebrate before a game is actually won.
They celebrated wildly as the referee awarded the penalty, only to be left stunned when Pietersen botched his attempt.
In my view, the Bulls did enough to deserve a draw after many had written them off beforehand and a draw was perhaps a fair result.
2. Fleck outfoxes Larkham
It may not have been the case often during their playing days, but Stormers coach Robbie Fleck outfoxed his Brumbies counterpart Stephen Larkham in Saturday night’s clash at Newlands.
Fleck has expressed his desire to play running rugby and in the build-up to Saturday’s clash, more of the same was expected.
However, the Stormers kicked often in this game and in doing so turned the Brumbies’ big forwards and backs around.
It prevented the Brumbies from building momentum, forced them to play from deep and reduced the influence of their dangerous fetchers.
It was a masterstroke by Fleck.
3. Defensive Cheetahs frailties
Before their clash against the Lions in Johannesburg, Cheetahs coach Franco Smith insisted that they had worked hard on their defence.
He also insisted that they had the right defensive structures in place and that it was rather individuals slipping tackles at crucial times.
Whatever the reasons, the fact is that the Cheetahs are not showing enough commitment on defence. They have already slipped more than 100 tackles in the competition and missing 20 in the first half cost them the game against the Lions.
It simply has to be sorted out if the Cheetahs are to win games going forward in the competition.
The same can be said for the hapless Kings, who again conceded a half-century against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.
This week, they face Hurricanes in Wellington and I fear more of the same for the men from Port Elizabeth.
4. Lions rue lost bonus point
The Lions were the latest team in this year’s competition to learn a harsh lesson about the new try-scoring bonus point rule.
According to the new rules, a team must score three more tries than their opponents in order to gain a try-scoring bonus point.
When the Lions scored their fourth in the 41st minute for a 31-3 lead, five points appeared a certainty.
However, the Cheetahs came back roaring with three tries of their own to deny the Lions a try-scoring bonus-point.
In the end, the Lions scored five tries - but only two more than their opponents - so had to settle for four points from the game.
I’m still not sure I like the new rule though. Surely the Lions deserved a bonus point for scoring five tries…?
5. Marius Jonker in the spotlight AGAIN!
Television Match Official Marius Jonker was again in the spotlight during the Stormers v Brumbies game at Newlands. The previous week, he had handed the Sharks a controversial penalty try and this weekend he was again involved in a contentious call.
He was right to instruct the referee to give Brumbies replacement hooker Josh Mann-Rea a red card for throwing several punches at Stormers reserve prop Oli Kebble, but the jury still appears to be out on whether Dillyn Leyds’s try in the corner should have been awarded.
Leyds appeared to lose control of the ball, but the try was awarded as on replays it appeared that Leyds’s hand was still on the ball when it touched the ground.
Retired referee Jonathan Kaplan said on his Twitter account that the try should not have been awarded, while Nick Mallett afterwards said he felt the right call was made.
“The try Dillyn Leyds scored did look like a knock-on and in the old days it would’ve been a knock-on. But I do think it was a try, as you don't have to control the ball (while grounding it), just maintain contact with it. I don't think there was daylight between the ball and his hand. The Stormers didn’t get the rub of the green last week with that Siya Kolisi (penalty try) call, but they got it this week,” Mallett said in the SuperSport studio after the game.

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Zuma warns against racists who use art

Durban – President Jacob Zuma on Monday warned against racists, such as cartoonists, who used art as a form of expression.
“We should thus be alert to subtle and disguised racism perpetuated through the stereotyping of individuals or groups of people in the media, through cartoons and satire,” he told thousands of people at a Human Rights Day celebration at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Human Rights Day commemorates the shooting of 69 people during a protest against the apartheid regime's pass laws at the Sharpeville police station on March 21, 1960.
United against racism
This year’s event was being held under the theme “South Africans United Against Racism”, a decision prompted by several racist comments and outbursts on social media earlier this year. Zuma said everyone had a responsibility to fight this.
“Earlier this year, our country experienced explosions of anger due to racist utterances and writings which reminded South Africans that the vestiges of white supremacy and racism still exist in some sections of society.”
It was clear some people still yearned for the past, when blacks were treated like second-class citizens. However, most South Africans abhorred racism and racial discrimination, he said.
The apartheid regime systematically divided South Africans and caused untold damage to the country, which he said would take decades to reverse.
“The best land was taken away while black people were shuffled into reserves and had to seek permission to live and work in urban areas. This gave rise to the pass laws and the Sharpeville massacre.”
Fight against discrimination
Zuma paid tribute to those leaders who had dedicated their lives to fighting racism and discrimination, including Nelson Mandela, Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo, Helen Joseph, and Ahmed Kathrada. They fought for the kind of society envisaged in the Constitution.
This year would mark the 20th anniversary of the Constitution being signed into law, in Sharpeville in December 1996.
He called on South Africans to remember those who had sacrificed their lives for a non-racial society, and who suffered gross human rights violations, and who were tortured or imprisoned.
Zuma said South Africans should remember those protesters apartheid police killed on the same in KwaLanga, Cape Town.

LUTH Tackles Glaucoma among Lagosians

Determined to save more Nigerians from losing their sights in line with World Glaucoma Day, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in partnership with Pfizer gave free eye screeneing to over 300 Nigerians on World Glaucoma day, as 30 glaucoma suspects were discovered.

The two-day screening to mark World Glaucoma week from March 8 to 12, held at the Guinness Eye Centre, LUTH, where over 30 glaucoma suspects were diagnosed and given appointments for treatment. According to the Post Fellowship Senior Registrar, GEC, Dr. Idowu Oluwatobi glaucoma is known as an eye condition that affects the optic nerve in which the pressure can be high, normal or low.

And it is the cause of irreversible blindness. He further emphasised that the optic nerve – which helps one see – is like an electric wire that connects the eye to the brain. And once this nerve is damaged it cannot be repaired. “Alhough some people say it is a disease of high pressure, we have seen people with glaucoma who have normal blood pressure. So, high pressure is not synonymous with glaucoma.”

Sadly, Oluwatobi decried that the number of glaucoma patients is, unfortunately, rising. “As every year goes by, we see a number of people with this disease. But the alarming thing about it is that we always find most of them at the very advanced or late stages that we might not be able to prevent blindness in them again.” But now, he told disclosed to THISDAY Guinness Eye Centre is better equipped to screen people. So, that can extrapolate to the increased number of the disease that exists now in our midst.

Although Ophthalmologists alongside research have concluded that there is no known cause of the disease for now, the eye specialist says there are a lot of risk factors. “We have a lot of things that can predispose an individual.” He listed: “All blacks are prone to it; persons from age 40 and above; people who have someone in their family that has glaucoma, has got 50 per cent chance of developing the disease, too. Meanwhile, the Chief Nurse, Guinness Eye Centre, Enwuwa Juliana – while ensuring everyone is attended to – told THISDAY they were fulfilled over the large turn-up of Lagosians this year at screening exercise. “This year, the turn-up is very impressive. As an ophthalmic-trained Nurse with over 10 years experience in GECentre, we decided to create awareness today. And luckilly, we found pver 30 suspects. We have given them appointments to come back for further treatment.” Therefore, in creating awareness to Nigerians to care more for their eyes, LUTH urges everyone to visit his ophthalmologist at least twice every year. “Our target this year is to pick these set of people out and help them prevent blindness because glaucoma is a silent blinder.”

Boko Haram: IOM Relocates 189 Families to Bakasi Camp

 

 

As part of its overall support to families displaced by violence in the North, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has relocated 189 families from a school to Bakasi camp in Maiduguri. Each family was provided with a newly built shelter by IOM along with a non-food item (NFI) package.

This voluntary relocation is part of a government-led drive to vacate schools where internally displaced persons (IDPs) were initially settled in order to be able to reopen them for classes in April.

Richard Danziger, the IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa (WCA) reassured the IDPs of IOM’s commitment to providing shelter and NFIs to alleviate their plight. He stated that “providing assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North-eastern part of Nigeria is imperative as a first step toward long-term stability in Northern Nigeria and the entire Lake Chad sub region.”

Justus Zare, Permanent Secretary to Borno State Ministry of Education who is also the secretary to the Relocation Committee explained that efforts are being made to improve the situation of the camp. He said “shelters are being provided, drilling for water is completed, solar panels are installed and we are happy with IOM and other partners for assisting us.”

IOM is also conducting baseline assessments and registration for IDPs living in camps and host communities under the Displacement Tracking Matrix project. In addition, psychosocial services are provided to the IDPs and referrals are made for appropriate treatment where applicable.

Two years ago, many displaced people were housed and shielded in school facilities when schools were shut down due to Boko Haram offensive. Surviving family members were scattered across various schools used as temporary camps in the state.

The humanitarian crisis in Northern Nigeria continues and yet the aid community is facing significant funding gaps to sustain interventions. IOM is appealing for USD 15 million for continued shelter support, displacement tracking and biometric registration, camp management and camp coordination (CCCM) and psycho-social support.

With $24.547m, Zenith Records Highest Forex Allocation from CBN

For the second time since banks started publishing their returns on foreign exchange (forex) utilisation purchased from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Zenith Bank Plc got the highest allocation garnering a total of $24,547,235.36 million. Zenith Bank was in fourth place in last week’s review of forex returns by THISDAY.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, which occupied the number one slot in the last two weeks, did not publish its returns.

Zenith Bank was followed by Stanbic IBTC which got $22,718,300.47 to come in second, while Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria with $20,913,963.04 held the third slot.
Diamond Bank Plc, which published returns of $16,872,037.80, came in fourth place, while Access Bank reported $16,184,742.36 to place fifth.

Also, while FirstBank Nigeria Limited reported returns of $13,086,352 to occupy the sixth place, First City Monument Bank Limited with $9,757,979.93, came in seventh; United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) with $9,677,854.93, occupied the eight position, while Citibank Nigeria with $8,689,014, was ninth.

Citibank was followed by Fidelity Bank, which, just like the preceding week, remained in 10th place; it was followed by Sterling Bank with returns of $2,690,021.41, Skye Bank Plc – $2,056,427.78, Keystone Bank Limited – $1,725,726.91 and Wema Bank Plc – $1,052,219.39.

Zenith Bank sold forex to a total of 472 customers – individuals and corporate. The bank’s forex sales also showed that a significant number of customers on its list applied to pay school fees abroad and for personal travel allowances.

Just like other weeks, returns by Stanbic IBTC revealed the huge volume of outflow by foreign portfolio investors exiting the country. 57 of its customers out of a total of 153 who bought dollars from Stanbic IBTC exited the markets. These included equities, FGN Bonds, money market instruments and treasury bills.

Also, 51 customers published by Stanbic bought dollars for PTA, while the rest imported industrial raw materials and other visible items.

In all, Standard Bank also sold dollars to 184 customers to import industrial raw materials, school fees, repay loans and repatriate capital.
Like its peers, Diamond Bank sold dollars for invisibles comprising school fees and PTA and also for the importation of essential industrial raw materials. It had 330 customers on its list for last week.

Access Bank had 184 customers on its list, of which 91 bought forex to pay school fees abroad, 50 for PTA, while the rest procured dollars to import industrial raw materials.
Overall, returns published by all the banks showed that demand for forex, especially for education overseas was still high.

Commenting on the trend, the chief executive officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said the recent pronouncement on the funding of school fees from the official market by President Muhammadu Buhari was responsible for the huge demand for forex to pay tuition fees abroad.

“If you look at the list of foreign exchange allocation, it is quite interesting that apart from one or two manufacturers, the bulk is going to school fees.
“This is because people heard somebody say school fees should not be on the list. So even school bills for 2017, people are already applying for them, thus exaggerating the demand by such pronouncements,” he added.

Meanwhile, as members of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) commence their two-day meeting today, the double-digit inflation recorded in February would top the agenda as the MPC weighs options to stimulate economic activities.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, rose sharply to 11.4 per cent in February, compared to 9.6 per cent the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The latest figure saw inflation breach the CBN’s target band of between 6 – 9 per cent.

The last time inflation hit double-digit in the country was in December 2012 at 12 per cent.
But more worrying this time round is the seeming absence of fiscal policies as well as an economic team to chart the direction of the federal government’s policies.
Most analysts have expressed concerns over lack of coordination among the various ministries, departments and agencies, as even the budget, an essential fiscal policy tool, has remained the subject of controversy.

At the end of its January meeting, the MPC had maintained the benchmark MNonetary Policy Rate (MPR), the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR), and the liquidity ratio at 11 per cent, 20 per cent, and 30 per cent respectively.

The MPC also maintained the asymmetric corridor at +200 basis points and -700basis points respectively. Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $27.864 billion as of last Thursday.
However, the most positive developments in the domestic economic environment since the last MPC meeting was the slight rise in oil prices which touched a year high of $41.38 per barrel penultimate Friday, above the 2016 budget benchmark of $38 per barrel.

The premium between the parallel market rate and the official market rate at the forex market, nonetheless, remained wide at an unacceptable margin, as the exchange rate at the official market stood at US$1/N197 as at March 16 and at US$1/N325 at the parallel market, representing a premium of N128.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, the economy grew by 2.11 per cent (year-on-year), compared with 5.94 per cent in the corresponding period of 2014. The issues surrounding the currency curbs introduced by the CBN and weak purchasing power were responsible for the sluggish growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015.

In a chat with THISDAY, Rewane, said there might still be some indecision at the meeting.
“I think there will still be some indecision. And the longer you hold back the decision(s), the more difficult things will get. The rational thing to do is to come out with a policy, especially an exchange rate.

“It is very clear that something has to be done, but I don’t think anything would be done.
“There would be an attempt to rationalise the spike in the CPI, but I don’t think they (the MPC members) would do something. If you had made up your mind before that you are not going to do something, you may decide not to do anything.

“But if they take us by surprise and come up with a clear policy, which would allow the currency to adjust in both directions, fine. Now that oil is about $41 per barrel, the naira should be appreciating. So we should have a flexible exchange rate. Without that, we are not going to solve any problem,” Rewane added.

FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, in a report at the weekend, noted that the MPC members were faced with difficult monetary policy choices going by the current economic developments in Nigeria and the short-to-medium term outlook.

“There are arguments in favour of currency adjustment, interest rate hike, and a reduction in interest rate. Notwithstanding the conflicting signals, the MPC needs to act quickly to boost investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy.

“The fundamentals of the oil market still tend towards lower oil prices in the short-term. Therefore, the revenue of the federal government and the value of the naira still face significant external shocks. While the MPC does not have any control over oil price, an increase in rates and adjustment in the exchange rate may reduce speculative demand for foreign exchange.

“Looking at the conflicting macroeconomic developments in the Nigerian economy, a combination of an adjustment in the exchange rate and an upward movement in yields are required.

“We maintain our exchange rate range of $/N230-$/N240 while we expect the CBN to implement inflation adjusted yields to produce positive yields in the region of 200 basis points,” FSDH Merchant Bank stated.

Ranking	Bank	Amount ($)$)
01	Zenith	24,547,235.36
02	Stanbic IBTC	22,718,300.47
03	Standard Chartered	20,913,963.04
04	Diamond Bank	16,872,037.80
05	Access Bank	16,184,742.36
06	FirstBank	13,086,352
07	FCMB	9,757,979.93
08	UBA	9,677,854.93
09	Citibank	8,689,014
10	Fidelity Bank	7,938,944.69
11	Sterling Bank	2,690,021.41
12	Skye Bank	2,056,427.78
13	Keystone Bank	1,725,726.91
14	Wema Bank	1,502,219.29