Latest news with #Hartzenberg
The South African
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Springbok Bolters: Top four uncapped players turning heads this season
These emerging talents in are making significant strides in their respective positions and are poised to make an impact at Test level for the Springbok in the near future. The Springboks are blessed a wealth of quality among its core group of players. But when Rassie Erasmus decides to cast his net wider, there won't be a lack of riches in the talent-pool at his disposal because South Africa is blessed when it comes to the next generation of professional players. With that in mind, we bring you the top four best rookies on Rassie Erasmus' radar for potential Springbok selection in the near future. Position: Centre/Wing Age: 21 Hartzenberg has been a standout performer for the Stormers, showcasing his versatility by excelling both on the wing and at outside centre. His impressive speed and agility have made him a key figure in the team's backline. A standout player who reach 50 caps for the Stormers this season, Hartzenberg now has experience on his side, and could serve as very good utility back for Rassie Erasmus' Springboks. Position: Loosehead prop Age: 23 Ntlabakanye has been a dominant force in the scrums for the Lions, earning recognition as one of the top loosehead props in the country. His powerful performances have made him a standout in the URC and he is widely regarded as one of the best in his position. A 145kg giant, his physical dimensions set him apart from the pack, and it would be interesting to see whether the Springbok conditioning coaches could see an opportunity to mould the youngster into an even more formidable weapon in the front row. Position: Wing/Fullback Age: 23 Makhaza has been a revelation in the 2025 Varsity Cup, earning both Player of the Year and Backline Player of the Year honors. His remarkable performance in the final, scoring 32 points, was instrumental in the Ikey Tigers' victory. His move to the Cheetahs for the Currie Cup season marks a significant step in his professional career. The Varsity Cup superstar was a bit of a bolter in the squad selection, but he fully deserves his Springbok call-up, and will add another exciting option on the wing. Position: Loose forward Age: 22 Another rising star in South African rugby, the dynamic loose forward is in the mould of Kwagga Smith, and it stands to reason that the Springboks will be keen to have a closer look at him. Du Plessis had a breakout season in the 2024 Currie Cup, earning the Premier Division Player of the Year award. His dynamic performances caught the attention of national selectors, leading to his inclusion in a Springbok alignment camp. Despite limited minutes for the Lions the URC this season, his domestic form has positioned him as a strong candidate for future national duties. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and BlueSky for the latest news. Meanwhile, here is an important reminder on ticket sales for the Springbok men's game against Argentina in the Rugby Championship at Twickenham in October. Ticket sales Tickets are on sale via and England Rugby, starting from just £55* for adults and £28* for Under-16s. (*booking fees apply)
The Citizen
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
URC result: Stormers wing it past Cardiff to secure fifth place
The Stormers bonus point win secured them fifth place on the URC log and they now wait to see where they travel for their quarterfinal. Stormers backline stars Manie Libbok and Suleiman Hartzenberg suring their URC clash against Cardiff at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday night. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images The Stormers produced an entertaining attacking performance to cruise past Cardiff 34-24 in their final United Rugby Championship (URC) pool match at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday night. The result secures fifth place on the log for the Cape side and they will now wait to see who they will be traveling to for their quarterfinal encounter in a fortnights time. It was the wings that setup the win for the Stormers, as right wing Suleiman Hartzenberg and left wing Leolin Zas scored four of their five tries, in a match that was closer than it should have been after the hosts missed a slew of chances. Special night For Hartzenberg it was a special night as he made his 50th Stormers appearance at just 21-years-old, dotted down twice and was named man-of-the-match after an action packed showing. The game also saw two red cards, Cardiff loosehead prop Danny Southworth receiving his marching orders for a high shot on Neethling Fouche in the 30th minute, while Stormers fullback Damian Willemse was sent off for his own high shot in the 58th minute to even the numbers. In the match it was a top start from the hosts as they dominated the early play, and were finally rewarded in the ninth minute when on attack in the Cardiff 22m the ball was spread wide, before being popped inside to Zas to run in his first try for a 5-0 lead. But Cardiff hit back almost immediately, as four minutes later they found themselves in the Stormers 22m, received a penalty and took a quick tap, with Southworth crashing over and flyhalf Callum Sheedy converting to put his side ahead. The Stormers were back ahead in the 24th minute, as they attacked in the Cardiff half, Hartzenberg received the ball outside the 22m, slid through a gap and stepped the final defender to score, with Willemse converting to make it 12-7. Southworth was then sent for an early shower, with the Stormers capitalising four minutes later as Zas showed great skill to stay in play, grubber ahead and dot down to score, with Willemse nailing the touchline conversion. But Cardiff made sure they were in the game at the break as with a few minutes left Sheedy sent a cross kick to left wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb to cut in and score, making it 19-12 at halftime. Back and forth The second half continued the back and forth encounter as the Stormers were first on the board to extend their lead, a superb cross kick from flyhalf Manie Libbok finding Hartzenberg to go in for his second in the 47th minute. Cardiff hit back nine minutes later as a good attacking move from their backs earned right wing Harri Millard enough space to go over in the corner, with the score 24-17 after 56 minutes. Replacement flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu effectively sealed the win in the 72nd minute as he chased his own up and under, fielded it and offloaded to rampaging replacement forward Connor Evans to charge over for a converted score. Cardiff gave themselves a sliver of hope with four minutes left, as they kicked a penalty deep into the Stormers 22m, set up the maul and rumbled over with replacement hooker Dafydd Hughes scoring and Sheedy converting. But Feinberg-Mngomezulu made sure they would only leave with a four try scoring bonus point as he slotted a long range 79th minute penalty to put the shine on a solid win for the hosts. Scorers Stormers: Tries – Leolin Zas (2), Suleiman Hartzenberg (2), Connor Evans; Conversions – Damian Willemse (2), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu; Penalty – Feinberg-Mngomezulu Cardiff: Tries – Danny Southworth, Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Harri Millard, Dafydd Hughes; Conversions – Callum Sheedy (2)
The Citizen
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Suleiman Hartzenberg to hit 50 for Stormers against Cardiff
Hartzenberg made his Stormers debut at 19 and will make his 50th appearance at 21 against Cardiff on Friday night. Stormers utility back Suleiman Hartzenberg between fellow backs Ben Loader (left) and Damian Willemse (right), and Dan du Plessis, after their win over Dragons over the past weekend. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images Exciting rising backline talent Suleiman Hartzenberg will hit a significant milestone for the Stormers when he runs on for his 50th appearance in their final United Rugby Championship (URC) pool match of the season against Cardiff at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday night. The match comes just a few days shy of his birthday, with him turning 22 next week Tuesday, and comes hot on the heels of 27-year-old Damian Willemse making his 100th Stormers appearance against Dragons over the past weekend. Hartzenberg will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of his fellow utility back, at both the Stormers and hopefully one day for the Springboks, and is looking forward to the occasion on Friday night after a tricky season that saw him out for an extended spell with injury. Phenomenal season 'It's been a phenomenal season, and I've enjoyed every bit of it. Coming back from injury has been amazing as well and everything fell into place for me,' explained Hartzenberg. 'It's good to be back on the field with the guys. There have been things I had to improve on like my fitness and on defence when I returned. Things like poaching balls at the breakdown (after a tackle), and understanding the D (defence) better, from both perspectives, if I am playing at centre or wing. 'Being assisted by players around me has helped me a lot since my debut. There hasn't been one negative moment where no one was willing to help.' Since making his Stormers debut as a 19-year-old in 2022, Hartzenberg has featured at fullback, centre and on the wing for the team. He prefers to play in the midfield, but has turned out regularly on the wing in recent times, and admits that his versatility will aid him in his main goal of turning out for the Boks, with him having attended three alignment camps with them already. Versatile player 'It is ultimately about making myself more versatile as a player, and being able to adapt to both centre and wing (seamlessly),' said Hartzenberg. 'Those alignment camps are completely different (from his experience at franchise level). You understand how the Springboks work in their system. You want more from it. They give you enough to want more and to pursue that dream of becoming a Springbok one day.' Looking ahead to Friday's game against Cardiff, Hartzenberg says the team is fully focused on getting the win which will secure fifth place on the log for them and will see them likely face Glasgow Warriors or the Sharks, in the URC playoffs. 'Cardiff is 100 percent an attacking threat. We should not get comfortable because there's still a lot to play for. Whether they're playing to be in the play-offs or we're playing to either travel abroad or hopefully play in South Africa,' said Hartzenberg. 'We won't get complacent and continue to give our best. Our prep stays the same this week as it would with any other opposition. 'We're preparing as if we're playing a world-class team. It's going to be a competitive game, it's not going to be one where we feel they're not going to pitch and play for it.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
America Is the Land of Opportunity—For White South Africans
When the welcome ceremony was over, and the Trump officials drove off in their black SUVs, a dozen or so newly arrived South African refugees stepped out into the parking lot of a private terminal at Washington Dulles International Airport yesterday afternoon, still carrying little paper flags they'd been handed. Now it was time for a smoke. Will Hartzenberg, a tall, sunworn 44-year-old farmer from the Limpopo region in the country's north, was on his way to Idaho with his family to start a new life. 'Relief,' he told me, when asked what he felt. 'We are really relieved.' Hartzenberg said his wife, Carmen, had teased him for worrying whether it was safe to leave their young children inside the building while they stepped out for a cigarette. He needed to learn to let down his guard, he figured. 'This is not South Africa, where you have to take your children with you wherever you go,' he said. A U.S. official came over to hurry the group back into the terminal. They smoked faster. Hartzenberg's parents and sister had been shot during an attack on the family farm in 1993, he told me as he walked. They survived, but he said he didn't see a future for his children in South Africa, or at least not a prosperous one. [Adam Serwer: Afrikaner 'refugees' only] The country's white minority—descendants of British colonists, and Afrikaners from the Netherlands and other European countries—once dominated South Africa through the apartheid system of legalized discrimination, confining the country's majority-Black population in slums. Three decades after that system's defeat, the plight of white South Africans has become a cause célèbre among white-nationalist groups. American President Donald Trump says they are victims of racial discrimination and genocide—claims that South Africa's government calls 'completely false.' Hartzenberg and his family will be resettled in a state that is 92.5 percent white. When he researched Idaho's landscapes online, he liked what he saw: 'We come from a farm that is surrounded by mountains. So I was quite excited when I Googled to see where we are going.' Hartzenberg's mix of bewilderment, relief, and optimism has been shared by generations of refugees as they set foot in the United States for the first time. Few have enjoyed the kind of support the South Africans are receiving from the Trump administration, which has all but frozen refugee admissions from other nations and cut off resettlement funding. That has stranded at least 12,000 refugees, many from conflict zones, who had flights to the United States booked after they were extensively vetted and approved for resettlement—only to learn that they were no longer welcome in the United States, according to aid groups suing the Trump administration. One resettlement agency affiliated with the Episcopal Church said yesterday that it will not help resettle the Afrikaners as required under its federal grant. The church's presiding bishop, Mark Rowe, sent a letter to members of the Church saying it was terminating its four-decade-old partnership with the government. The bishop said Trump's resettlement plan crossed a moral line for the Church, which is part of the global Anglican Communion and whose leaders have included the late South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. 'It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,' Rowe wrote. They include 'brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country,' he added. The Trump administration said yesterday that it will end temporary immigration protections for some Afghans who are already in the United States on July 12, leaving about 9,000 immigrants at risk of being deported back to the Taliban-controlled nation. The White House's grand welcome for the white refugees came as the Trump administration is waging a deportation campaign, aimed at removing millions of immigrants from the United States. Trump has depicted recent waves of immigrants, particularly from Latin America, as an existential threat to the United States that is 'poisoning the blood' of the country. Hartzenberg and his family and the other refugees were warmly welcomed after their chartered flight landed in northern Virginia around midday. They were greeted by Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who connected their own lives to those of the new arrivals. Landau said his father fled the Nazi takeover in Europe and found safety and freedom in the United States. Edgar told the group his wife is an Iranian Christian who fled persecution in her homeland. 'A lot of you, I think, are farmers, right?' Landau said. 'When you have quality seeds, you can put them in foreign soil and they will blossom. They will bloom. We are excited to welcome you here to our country where we think you will bloom.' Edgar told the South Africans they would receive the officials' personal contact info—a gesture that seemed to underscore the newcomers' special status. Refugees are in a distinct category among U.S. immigrant groups and are selected because they face persecution or harm in their home countries resulting from their race, religion, nationality, political views, or membership in a particular social group. In years past, the United States has welcomed Vietnamese fleeing a Communist takeover, Soviet émigrés, and Christians from across Africa and the Middle East. Refugees submit to a U.S. vetting and screening process, then endure waits that may stretch for years. They arrive with full legal protection and a path to citizenship, and they receive assistance from resettlement organizations, which are generally affiliated with faith groups and have long enjoyed bipartisan political support. The South Africans were processed by the Trump administration in a matter of weeks. Asked by a BBC reporter why they were fast-tracked into the United States at a time when other admissions from applicants in Afghanistan or war zones are frozen, Landau said Trump had made an exception based on the dire situation in South Africa. He and Edgar took only two questions in the tightly controlled press event (I was not allowed in) and left without speaking to reporters outside. South Africa has one of the world's highest crime rates, and land conflicts have fueled violence in rural areas. Crime data show a few dozen white farmers are killed each year, but their deaths account for fewer than 1 percent of the country's homicides. 'Farmers are being killed,' Trump told reporters at the White House yesterday. 'They happen to be white. But whether they're white or Black makes no difference to me; but white farmers are being brutally killed and their land is being confiscated in South Africa.' During his first term Trump slashed the number of refugees admitted to the lowest levels since the 1980 Refugee Act went into place. He went even further after he retook office this year, issuing an executive order that suspended refugee admissions. But within weeks he made an exception. White South African farmers have protested vigorously against a law adopted in January that allows courts to take land without compensation in some cases. Officials in South Africa say its purpose is to address inequalities that were lethally enforced during decades of apartheid rule. Although white people make up about 7 percent of South Africa's population, they own about 75 percent of the farmland, according to a South African government land audit. [George Packer: 'What about six years of friendship and fighting together?'] 'The South African government has treated these people terribly—threatening to steal their private land and subjected them to vile racial discrimination,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on social media yesterday. The Biden administration resettled about 100,000 people last year. None were from South Africa. Now about 8,000 South Africans have expressed interest in applying for U.S. resettlement, according to U.S. officials. U.S. visa statistics show that South Africans have been coming to the United States in greater numbers to work as temporary farm laborers—often to operate machinery or perform other skilled tasks. More than 15,000 South Africans came on temporary visas to perform farm labor last year, U.S. data show. Hartzenberg told me his family grew vegetables on their farm in South Africa. He hoped to return to farming in Idaho, he said, but he wasn't sure what work might be available. The caseworker assigned to his family hadn't told him yet. With one last draw on his cigarette, he hustled back into the hangar to gather his children and board a bus to a hotel with the others. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Atlantic
America Is the Land of Opportunity—For White South Africans
When the welcome ceremony was over, and the Trump officials drove off in their black SUVs, a dozen or so newly arrived South African refugees stepped out into the parking lot of a private terminal at Washington Dulles International Airport yesterday afternoon, still carrying little paper flags they'd been handed. Now it was time for a smoke. Will Hartzenberg, a tall, sunworn 44-year-old farmer from the Limpopo region in the country's north, was on his way to Idaho with his family to start a new life. 'Relief,' he told me, when asked what he felt. 'We are really relieved.' Hartzenberg said his wife, Carmen, had teased him for worrying whether it was safe to leave their young children inside the building while they stepped out for a cigarette. He needed to learn to let down his guard, he figured. 'This is not South Africa, where you have to take your children with you wherever you go,' he said. A U.S. official came over to hurry the group back into the terminal. They smoked faster. Hartzenberg's parents and sister had been shot during an attack on the family farm in 1993, he told me as he walked. They survived, but he said he didn't see a future for his children in South Africa, or at least not a prosperous one. Adam Serwer: Afrikaner 'refugees' only The country's white minority—descendants of British colonists, and Afrikaners from the Netherlands and other European countries—once dominated South Africa through the apartheid system of legalized discrimination, confining the country's majority-Black population in slums. Three decades after that system's defeat, the plight of white South Africans has become a cause célèbre among white-nationalist groups. American President Donald Trump says they are victims of racial discrimination and genocide—claims that South Africa's government calls 'completely false.' Hartzenberg and his family will be resettled in a state that is 92.5 percent white. When he researched Idaho's landscapes online, he liked what he saw: 'We come from a farm that is surrounded by mountains. So I was quite excited when I Googled to see where we are going.' Hartzenberg's mix of bewilderment, relief, and optimism has been shared by generations of refugees as they set foot in the United States for the first time. Few have enjoyed the kind of support the South Africans are receiving from the Trump administration, which has all but frozen refugee admissions from other nations and cut off resettlement funding. That has stranded at least 12,000 refugees, many from conflict zones, who had flights to the United States booked after they were extensively vetted and approved for resettlement—only to learn that they were no longer welcome in the United States, according to aid groups suing the Trump administration. One resettlement agency affiliated with the Episcopal Church said yesterday that it will not help resettle the Afrikaners as required under its federal grant. The church's presiding bishop, Mark Rowe, sent a letter to members of the Church saying it was terminating its four-decade-old partnership with the government. The bishop said Trump's resettlement plan crossed a moral line for the Church, which is part of the global Anglican Communion and whose leaders have included the late South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. 'It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,' Rowe wrote. They include 'brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country,' he added. The Trump administration said yesterday that it will end temporary immigration protections for some Afghans who are already in the United States on July 12, leaving about 9,000 immigrants at risk of being deported back to the Taliban-controlled nation. The White House's grand welcome for the white refugees came as the Trump administration is waging a deportation campaign, aimed at removing millions of immigrants from the United States. Trump has depicted recent waves of immigrants, particularly from Latin America, as an existential threat to the United States that is 'poisoning the blood' of the country. Hartzenberg and his family and the other refugees were warmly welcomed after their chartered flight landed in northern Virginia around midday. They were greeted by Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who connected their own lives to those of the new arrivals. Landau said his father fled the Nazi takeover in Europe and found safety and freedom in the United States. Edgar told the group his wife is an Iranian Christian who fled persecution in her homeland. 'A lot of you, I think, are farmers, right?' Landau said. 'When you have quality seeds, you can put them in foreign soil and they will blossom. They will bloom. We are excited to welcome you here to our country where we think you will bloom.' Edgar told the South Africans they would receive the officials' personal contact info—a gesture that seemed to underscore the newcomers' special status. Refugees are in a distinct category among U.S. immigrant groups and are selected because they face persecution or harm in their home countries resulting from their race, religion, nationality, political views, or membership in a particular social group. In years past, the United States has welcomed Vietnamese fleeing a Communist takeover, Soviet émigrés, and Christians from across Africa and the Middle East. Refugees submit to a U.S. vetting and screening process, then endure waits that may stretch for years. They arrive with full legal protection and a path to citizenship, and they receive assistance from resettlement organizations, which are generally affiliated with faith groups and have long enjoyed bipartisan political support. The South Africans were processed by the Trump administration in a matter of weeks. Asked by a BBC reporter why they were fast-tracked into the United States at a time when other admissions from applicants in Afghanistan or war zones are frozen, Landau said Trump had made an exception based on the dire situation in South Africa. He and Edgar took only two questions in the tightly controlled press event (I was not allowed in) and left without speaking to reporters outside. South Africa has one of the world's highest crime rates, and land conflicts have fueled violence in rural areas. Crime data show a few dozen white farmers are killed each year, but their deaths account for fewer than 1 percent of the country's homicides. 'Farmers are being killed,' Trump told reporters at the White House yesterday. 'They happen to be white. But whether they're white or Black makes no difference to me; but white farmers are being brutally killed and their land is being confiscated in South Africa.' During his first term Trump slashed the number of refugees admitted to the lowest levels since the 1980 Refugee Act went into place. He went even further after he retook office this year, issuing an executive order that suspended refugee admissions. But within weeks he made an exception. White South African farmers have protested vigorously against a law adopted in January that allows courts to take land without compensation in some cases. Officials in South Africa say its purpose is to address inequalities that were lethally enforced during decades of apartheid rule. Although white people make up about 7 percent of South Africa's population, they own about 75 percent of the farmland, according to a South African government land audit. George Packer: 'What about six years of friendship and fighting together?' 'The South African government has treated these people terribly—threatening to steal their private land and subjected them to vile racial discrimination,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on social media yesterday. The Biden administration resettled about 100,000 people last year. None were from South Africa. Now about 8,000 South Africans have expressed interest in applying for U.S. resettlement, according to U.S. officials. U.S. visa statistics show that South Africans have been coming to the United States in greater numbers to work as temporary farm laborers—often to operate machinery or perform other skilled tasks. More than 15,000 South Africans came on temporary visas to perform farm labor last year, U.S. data show. Hartzenberg told me his family grew vegetables on their farm in South Africa. He hoped to return to farming in Idaho, he said, but he wasn't sure what work might be available. The caseworker assigned to his family hadn't told him yet. With one last draw on his cigarette, he hustled back into the hangar to gather his children and board a bus to a hotel with the others.
