Tokiso Dispute Settlement (TDS) has ruled that the Falcons Rugby Union (FRU) will be forced to pay former Falcons prop Attie Pienaar the R60 000 that was due to him after sustaining a career-ending neck injury in September 2006.
The Falcons are back in training, with a full squad, after it was confirmed on Thursday that the union had been saved from possible bankruptcy by a new investor.
SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd, the commercial arm of the South African Rugby Union (SARU), will not be bailing the Falcons out of potential bankruptcy unless the ailing union can come up with a sustainable repayment plan.
This year's Absa Currie Cup provided laughter, tears, cheers and jeers for the fans, but most of all it provided some great rugby as the top eight sides in South Africa went head-to-head.
The selection of a Team of the Tournament for this year's Absa Currie Cup has been the poser of the week with more opinions flying around the office than there are members of the All Blacks' support staff.
French club Toulouse have signed Falcons' utility back Bertus Swanepoel, a deal that will see him join the growing band of South Africans on the Heineken Cup stage.
The Springboks' record-breaking flyer, Bryan Habana, already the International Rugby Board (IRB) Player of the Year, added another string to his already impressive bow when he walked away with two of the major prizes at the annual Absa South African rugby Awards banquet in Sandton on Wednesday night.
Former Cats and Boland Cavaliers fly-half Nel Fourie has signed to play for the SWD Eagles in next year's Absa Cup competition.
Western Province and Stormers wing Egon Seconds has not been offered a new WP contract, with the former SA Sevens man on the look out for a new deal ahead of 2008.
Sharks CEO Brian van Zyl - who serves on the nine-member panel that will appoint the new Springbok coach - has given Sharks coach Dick Muir the 'go-ahead' to apply for the Bok job if given the opportunity to do so. But that in itself remains an uncertainty.
In Paris the World Cup Final was played between England and South Africa. In Bloemfontein the Currie Cup Final was played between the Cheetahs and the Lions. We give some statistics from the Currie Cup match and compare some statistics between the two finals.
Lions coach Eugene Eloff said that he is proud of his side, after they lost 18-20 to the Free State Cheetahs in the Absa Currie Cup Final in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Free State Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské said, after beating the Lions 20-18 in the Absa Currie Cup Final in Bloemfontein on Saturday, that at one stage he didn't think his side would pull it off.
The Free State Cheetahs won the Absa Currie Cup for a third successive year when they edged the Lions 20-18 in a thrilling Final in Bloemfontein on Saturday.