Rob Houwing’s TV sport column

Call me a rugby traditionalist, but I was among those who battled a tad to digest the news that Irene van Dyk and Kurt Darren were among recent “celebrities” to do the official pre-Test Springbok jersey handovers.

I can’t help suspecting that the more orthodox formula of having a luminary retired Bok perform the mini-ceremony is rather more inspirational to the current crop?

Van Dyk, the former SA netball captain who emigrated to New Zealand more than a decade ago and freely admits spirited loyalty now to the silver fern, did the presentation ahead of the second Tri-Nations Test in New Zealand, while Afrikaans singer Darren followed up in Brisbane.

Bok scorecard from the two encounters? Nil-two, just in case you’d forgotten, though it’s stretching it to suggest either was in some way responsible for the defeats!

Still, it was all too much for one caller to kykNET’s SuperRugby programme on Monday, when the lines predictably buzzed frequently after the Boks’ lame overseas leg.

The Pretoria-based fan felt passionately that rugby people should be predominantly performing the duty, and earned sniggers from anchor Kobus Wiese and studio aides Ashwin Willemse and Breyton Paulse when he acidly observed that Jurie Els (another crooner, acquitted last year on charges of sexually molesting his ex-protégé Robbie Klay as a child) might be next.

Speaking of SuperRugby, I hadn’t seen it for a while but I do like the addition of the one-minute “egg-timer” to limit the input of callers, some of whom could get long-winded previously, to say the least.

Wiese usually gives them a 15-second extension if their views are articulate, but not much more than that now. It’s a smart move, which frees up time for a wider spread of participants.

*Tennis fans with DStv might not want to miss a half-hour feature looming on CNN, entitled “Martina: My Toughest Opponent”.

Almost six months since legendary Martina Navratilova was told she had breast cancer, she is interviewed by Dr Sanjay Gupta (the network’s chief medical correspondent) about her decision to aggressively face up to the greatest challenge in her life.

It will air on Saturday, August 7 (18:30), Sunday, August 8 (13:00) and Tuesday, August 10 (18:30).

Rob’s awesome foursome:

1. England v Pakistan, 1st cricket Test
Nottingham, to Monday 12:00, SS6 (SS2 Monday only)
This four-Test series has taken on heightened interest, after Pakistan’s excellent seam attack helped ensure a praiseworthy 1-1 share of the spoils with Australia when England served as the neutral venue. Now Andrew Strauss’s side are suddenly host nation in a more extended affair against the Pakistanis, and there will be a few South African eyes trained on the Trent Bridge opener, given that the Proteas oppose Salman Butt and company in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in a few weeks’ time.

2. Australia v New Zealand, Vodacom Tri-Nations rugby
Melbourne, Saturday 12:00, M-Net, SS1 & SS HD
I wish we South Africans were able to speculate what the preferred outcome would be for our cause … but with zero points from three overseas games, the Boks are sadly also-rans already. OK, how about an All Blacks win, giving John Smit’s embattled side a rather better chance of staving off the wooden spoon? Remember that the Wallabies must face the Boks in successive Highveld dates. SA considerations aside, my tip is Richie McCaw’s side by seven or so …

3. Cheetahs v Sharks, Absa Currie Cup rugby
Bloemfontein, Saturday 15:00, M-Net, SS1, SS HD
The Currie Cup gets a welcome infusion of a few returning Springboks, and hopefully it will impact at the gate. I’ve gone for the “early” Saturday fixture as prime attraction in the competition this week, given that the still-wretched Lions barely qualify for that status in the 17:05 Highveld derby at home to the Blue Bulls. Besides, there’s always electricity in the air when the Sharks visit Bloemfontein, given that it is a favourite raiding ground of theirs for talent. It’s a desperately tight one to call … Cheetahs by a whisker, maybe, after their fine win at Loftus? Mark Lawrence has the whistle.

4. F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, motorsport
Budapest, Sunday 14:00, SS2 & CSN
Take a deep breath, petrol-heads, because after the Hungaroring, contested over 70 laps, the F1 season goes into a pretty lengthy break until August 29 in Belgium. With 11 GPs down and eight to go, things are hotting up nicely and this particular circuit is not a bad place for current drivers’ leader Lewis Hamilton – he has won two of the last three races here for McLaren and another triumph would ensure the Briton some handy daylight on the table.