Van Zyl mystery captures headlines

The bizarre life story of the man charged with assaulting referee David McHugh continues to capture the headlines in South Africa, with it being reported that whilst on the run from a troubled business, he became a squid fisherman under an assumed name.

The front page of the Afrikaans Die Burger newspaper carries the headline "My name is ..." followed by two photos of what appears to be the same figure under the names of Pieter Van Zyl and John Smith.

It reports that Van Zyl had fled to the Eastern Cape after a swimming pool business had got into financial difficulty in 1990 and he allegedly adopted the name of 'John Smith', although his wife continued to call herself Rosemary Van Zyl.

Van Zyl denied ever living in the Eastern Cape at a packed press conference on Tuesday and has refused to comment on the further allegations, his wife saying, "the whole thing has been taken out of context."