The gold medal that only reached its owner after 40 years!
On September 3, 1983, the South-Eastern Transvaal drew 10–10 with Vaal Triangle in the Sport Pienaar Cup final.
The South African Rugby Board had special gold medals made, placed in a green box, to be handed over to the players.
Medals never handed over
The team consisted of Harry Muller, George Minnaar, Wimpie van der Westhuizen, Steve Meyer, Kallie Grobler, Gert la Grange, Klasie la Grange, Jorrie Jordaan, Hendry van Tonder (C), Terence Moll, Bertus van Eeden, Vleis van Zyl, Theuns Rossouw, Clive Schlachter, and Jan Loubser.
The medals were never handed over to the players.
They have been in the possession of the South-Eastern Transvaal Rugby Union secretary Julius Weber for years.
Nobody knows
Why didn’t he give them to the players?
Nobody knows.
Just as nobody knows what his motive was when he supposedly told a Springbok selector that Richard Cooke was injured, when he was not.
One evening, he gave me the medals, which were in a plastic bag, and asked that they be handed over to the players.
Most of those medals have reached their owners.
One of the last ones
But now one of the last ones is going to Cape Town.
The medal will be presented to hooker Clive Schlachter this weekend.
He runs a business in Cape Town and three weeks ago became a member of the South-Eastern Transvaal Christian WhatsApp group started by flyhalf Gert la Grange.
Schlachter was diagnosed with stage four cancer.
Not receiving provincial colours
Weber was also responsible for Schlachter’s brother, Kevin, not receiving his provincial colours. Weber said he played too few matches.
Kevin was a cracking loose forward who played five times for ‘Suidoos’ in 1982. Clive played 23 times in the dove grey jersey.
Weber passed away in 2024.
