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News article – Style E 3356

News article – Style E 3356

Retired Springbok scrumhalf Joost van
der Westhuizen and his former coach Rudolf Straeuli are set to earn thousands of
dollars from showing uncut footage of a controversial World

Retired Springbok scrumhalf Joost van
der Westhuizen
and his former coach Rudolf Straeuli are set to earn thousands of
dollars from showing uncut footage of a controversial World Cup
training camp, it was reported in a local newspaper on Saturday.

The Weekend Argus said van der Westhuizen and former Springbok
coach
Straeuli would charge business executives 4,950 rand (760 dollars)
for a table
of ten to watch the tape which among others shows naked Springboks
being
forced to pump up rugby balls under water in an icy lake.

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If fully subscribed the event will earn the two men about 200,000
rand, the
newspaper said.

“We want to take this whole thing a step back and show
exactly what
happened,” van der Westhuisen said.
“The players were humiliated because they were shown naked on
television
and in newspapers. We want to tell an exclusive crowd the truth.”

The camp which has become known as “Staaldraad” (Steel
Wire) was condemned
by the South African Sport Minister Ngconde Balfor as being
“barbaric” and
comparable to apartheid after it was was leaked to the media late
last year.

The tape also showed how the Springboks were deprived of sleep and
forced
naked into a dark pit for several hours.

Van der Westhuizen retired from the game after the Springboks were
beaten
29-9 by New Zealand in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
Straeuli was forced to resign on December 4 after the Springboks’
unsuccessful World Cup campaign and after details of Staaldraad
emerged.

He was replaced by the former South African under-21 coach Jake
White
on
Friday.