MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME

Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court

- CARLA COETZEE

HE'S always been a big brother in the true sense of the word, the one his younger brother could turn to for advice and encouragement - the one who protected him with his own body against a robber's bullet.

And now it's his turn to stand up for his big brother, says Tinus Drotské, sibling of former Springbok Naka Drotské.

"My brother's name has been dragged through the mud and he didn't get a chance to tell his side of the story." Naka (53), the hooker of the 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning team, spent two nights behind bars last month and appeared in the magistrate's court in Bloemfontein following a fistfight with his neighbour, Vivian de la Hunt.

"Former Bok hero and his neighbour charged with assault", media headlines said. But before the court could figure out what had happened between Naka and Vivian - and who was guilty of what - both parties quietly withdrew their charges.

What bothers Tinus (50) now is that media reports were based only on Vivian's version and painted Naka to be the guilty one. "And that's just nonsense," he says. Which is why he wants to tell the tale behind the whole sorry mess.

"My brother called me the morning after the incident and sent me all the screenshots of conversations between him and his neighbour. He said, 'Tinus, you won't believe it - what happened last night was like an episode of Jerry Springer"."

The drama supposedly started three days earlier with a text message from Vivian on the community group of Pentagon Park in Bloemfontein, where Naka and Vivian live. In it he warned the Drotskés that their guests shouldn't park on his lawn.

"Three days later the neighbour sent another message saying Naka's kids were shooting at his dogs with a BB gun [air rifle]. Well, things escalated from there." Naka tried in vain to defuse the situation, Tinus claims.