Tightheads & Loose Balls

● A Griquas player recently proved we still share the planet with the brainless. The player allegedly saw fit to wave the old South Africa flag in the face of a black teammate during a training camp (talk about team building). While the Griquas Rugby Union denied the white player shoved the flag in the face of a black player, they deemed the incident serious enough to fine the miscreant R10 000 and slapped him with a four-match suspension, two of these suspended for two years. The union did admit the player was in possession of the offensive flag.

● That revelation came as no surprise. Tightheads has it on good authority that about 15 years ago a former Griquas centre, who may or may not have had a stint with the Bulls, treated a teammate with similar disdain. After a team practice a black player, who may or may not have gone on to be a Bok, asked a teammate whether he could get a lift in his bakkie. The black player got the nod but when he opened the door to the vacant passenger side he was politely pointed to the rear.

● Tightheads noted with interest Willem Strauss's appointment this week as interim president of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. Tightheads knows Strauss as a gregarious mover and shaker and expects him to take to the position with much enthusiasm. By hook or by crook, things will get more interesting at Loftus. ● It was with incredulity that Tightheads read of the Reds' failure to get yellowfever shots before flying to South America and Africa.

They come from a nanny state in every sense (Queensland is possibly the most regulated state) and should have known better. They were not allowed to board their flight from Sao Paulo and had to fly via London en route to Cape Town.