Venter set to take up with the Sharks

"I'm in heaven; I'm just so happy that I can get on with playing rugby now." That was AJ Venter's reaction to Friday's Pretoria Supreme Court ruling which enables the star loose forward to continue his career as a Natal Sharks' player.

The effect of the judgment means that the Golden Lions Rugby Union's attempt to show that Venter should still be retained by them has been dismissed and clears the way for his move to Durban.

Venter was regarded by most as the Player of the Currie Cup last season and was a notable contributor to the Lions' win in the final at King's Park last season.

"I'll be playing my first game for Natal against Eastern Province tomorrow now that everything has been sorted out. I got a call from Brian van Zyl (NRU Chief Executive) to tell me that we had come out of it well," added AJ, whose dragged-out contractual dispute may have had nightmarish implications for him as a player.

"But I felt fairly confident all along that we would win the argument. I was in court for the first day's evidence and what came out of the various affidavits only confirmed this belief," he added.

In contrast to Venter's and Natal's happiness, Lions' CEO Johan Prinsloo was disappointed at the verdict but was unsure whether the GLRU would consider further action. He was in court to hear Justice Buddy Swart's judgment on Friday.

"We thought we had a strong case to keep AJ but we will have to consider our options after discussions with our president Jomo King and our lawyers."

Natal RU president Keith Parkinson was relieved that the problem had been resolved at last and was not surprised that the GLRU's application had been dismissed.

"To be honest we always felt that we were okay with AJ and now he can go ahead and fill the gap in the team for which we acquired him," he said.

Natal's CEO Brian van Zyl said they were surprised that the matter had gone all the way to court. "But these things sometimes happen in rugby. We are just happy it is over."

Van Zyl recalled that a not too dissimilar situation arose a few years ago when a player intimated that his heart lay elsewhere. Whereas there was a dispute over whether GLRU had a legal hold on AJ, Springbok wing James Small had a year left on his contract but had made it clear that he no longer wanted to play for Natal but for Western Province.

"We were not prepared simply to let him go at first but soon realised that there were so many problems being caused within the camp because of Small's reluctant presence that it was better to negotiate a deal with WP for a transfer. And that's what we did. The pity in AJ's case is that this wasn't done as well," said Van Zyl.

If an appeal against the application dismissal is thought appropriate then the GLRU will go that route. "We will be talking to our legal team and then we'll decide," said Prinsloo. No order for costs was made by the judge and at this stage it would seem that each party pays its own costs.

Lions' coach Laurie Mains, one of the central figures in the dispute over the player's services, will reassess his squad situation on Saturday after the Cats' practice match on Friday night aginst the Lions at Wits University.

Having already lost Springbok flanker Johan Erasmus for the first six Super 12 matches through injury and surgery, the Venter setback is even more acute but the Cats' coach still has a strong hand with Springbok Andre Vos - caretaker captain for Erasmus - at No 8, world-class Springbok No 7 Andre Venter and Piet Krause as his openside fetcher.

One of the less fortunate spinoffs of the sorry Venter saga is that his agent Jason Smith is reportedly claiming defamation damages from Mains as a result of comments made about him in recent weeks. Mains has since denied a Sunday newspaper report that he has already been sued for R850 000 but there are no indications that the matter will not go further.

Meanwhile No 8 and flanker seem to have been the jinx hot spot positions early this year. Apart from the AJ Affair, WP's explosive Springbok Bobby Skinstad is sidelined with continuing knee problems which hampered him in the World Cup and may miss the entire Super 12, while his provincial team-mate Robbie Brink undergoes shoulder reconstruction which will reduce his rugby role this season to that of a spectator.

A pelvic problem which required surgery has ruled Springbok flanker Johan Erasmus out for at least eight weeks so his Super 12 could be restricted to the last four or five games.

Former Western Province No 8, Janneman Brand, now 29, replaces Brink for the Stormers. Back in Cape Town after a spell with Griquas during which time he turned out for the Cats as well, Brand will fit easily into the Stormers' pattern, according to coach Alan Solomons.

"Janneman played in the Sevens side I coached in 1996 and 97 and his style will suit us."

Brand played for Stellenbosch University from 1991-95 and captained Griquas last year before recently moving home back south again.