Tuesday Afternoon Round Up

Alexander replaces Hoskins

Mark Alexander will be named as the new president of the South African Rugby Union after no one else was nominated for the role.

The vice-presidency will be contested between Thelo Wakefield, who is currently the president of the Western Province Rugby Union, and Francois Davids, former president of the Boland Rugby Union.

SARU confirmed the election will be held on October 27.

Shane Williams comes out of retirement to surprise fans

The former Wales and British lions star stunned a small number spectators as he took the field to play for his home town side Amman United.

Williams lined up on the wing nearly five years after retiring from the international scene where he became a national hero.

"The boys at my local club Amman United had been badgering me for some time to have a game for them, so I took the plunge and turned out against Burry Port.

"How did I feel afterwards? Put it this way – I have since been walking around like John Wayne and feeling as if I got kicked by a horse."

Williams played his last game of his career for the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars in Japan in February 2015, nearly three years after finishing with the Ospreys in 2012.

Harlequins appoint new Player Development Manager

Harlequins have appointed Alun Davies as the Club’s Player Development Manager.

Davies joins Harlequins with 18 years of experience in the field of personal development in sport, having previously worked with the Welsh Rugby Union and UK Sport’s ACE and Performance Lifestyle programmes.

Vern Cotter to  replace Jake White at Montpellier next season

Scotland coach Vern Cotter could replace Jake White as head of Montpellier next season, according to French website L'Equipe.

Should the news be confirmed, Cotter will make his return to the Top 14 after leaving Clermont three years ago.

His current contract with the Scottish national team will not be renewed for next season, with Gregor Townsend to replace him.

Knight joins Bath

Tighthead prop Shaun Knight has joined Bath Rugby on loan until the end of the season, the Club can today confirm.

26-year-old Knight joins from Newport Gwent Dragons, where he made over 20 appearances in the Pro 12 last season.

He was a member of England’s Junior World Cup squad in 2009 and has made nearly 80 appearances for Gloucester Rugby.

Fruean joins Bath Rugby

Bath have today confirmed that Robbie Fruean will be joining the Club at the height of this year’s Mitre 10 Cup, in which he is competing with Hawkes Bay.

We are really excited that Robbie has agreed to join us here at Bath,” said Todd Blackadder, the Club’s Director of Rugby.

The 28-year-old represented New Zealand in the U19 Rugby World Championship in 2007, and was named the IRB World Under-19 Player of the Year.

 Mannetjies Roux named best-ever Griquas player

Former Springbok centre Mannetjies Roux has been honoured as the best player in the history of the Griqualand West Rugby Union.

Roux received the honour this past weekend as Griquas celebrated their 130th anniversary.

Roux also received Griquas’ best backline player of all time award, while the victorious Currie Cup side of 1970 - which Roux captained - was one of three teams that achieved milestones.

Andre van Wyk was honoured as Griquas’ best forward of all times, while Eric Reginald "Bushy" Oliver received the best fan of all time award.

Wellington Rugby and Losi Filipo agree to terminate contract

Wellington Rugby and Losi Filipo have mutually agreed to the termination of his contract.

Filipo has been in the spotlight after he was discharged without conviction after facing counts of assault arising from an incident in Wellington last October.

"With support from his representative and the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association Filipo approached Wellington Rugby seeking a release from his playing contract and, after discussions the parties agreed that the termination of his contract was the best outcome for all parties," the organisation said in a statement.

Springbok trio released for Currie Cup duty

Springboks Damian de Allende, Lwazi Mvovo and Malcolm Marx were released by the national team on Monday and will be available for Currie Cup selection for this coming weekend.

The three players have joined their provincial training teams this morning (Tuesday) after it was decided to release them earlier than normal, because of the short training week for their Currie Cup teams.

Coetzee will name his match-23 on Thursday.