TIGHTHEADS & LOOSE BALLS

ALWYN Hollenbach missed out on touring with the Lions as he had to receive plastic surgery to his lip. Asked whether it had altered his look, the blond centre said: “Nah, there is a little scar, however.” Hollenbach reckons had he suffered a second blow, another piece of lip would have had to be cut and roughened before being reattached.

IT’S not often bruising flank Schalk Burger gets nervous, but when a hack suggested Stormers coach Allister Coetzee should consider moving a loose-forward to lock, Burger jumped in quickly. “No, no, no,” he said. “Don’t give the coach any ideas.”

BURGER was in good form when asked whether he’d be fit to play against the Force after a savage knock against the Bulls. His response was typically forthright: “With apologies to the lady in the room, I took a knock near my coccyx and my crack is black and blue, so I’m touch and go.” Eina.

WESTERN Force wing Nick Cummings has gained a cult following thanks to his nickname “honey badger” and his quirky media interviews. Hardly anybody really understands what he is saying, and that includes team skipper Matt Hodgson. “Ah, the honey badger,” he mused. “I can’t work out what he’s on about most of the time, so if you know please tell me.”

RORY Kockott was at the heart of ending arguably the longest run of unbeaten home matches last weekend when Castres beat Clermont Auvergne in a Top14 play-off. Clermont had gone unbeaten in 76 home matches and had not lost since November 2009. It got Tightheads wondering whether “you know who” had noticed.