RUGBY: A minimum of two black players, instead of one in 2001, will be represented in South African rugby starting line-ups this season during the Super 12, the South African Rugby Football Union said yesterday.

The increased representation is the result of a gentleman's agreement between the coaches of the four South African teams in the Super 12 and SARFU, declared former SARFU head Rian Oberholzer, following contacts with the coaches at the end of the 2001.

The agreement is to put "two players on the field, one on the bench and hopefully one more on the bench if possible," said Oberholzer, who is confident that the coaches will respect it.

Fiji's Marika Vunibaka, who was cited for punching an opponent during a World Sevens Series semi-final last Saturday, has been banned from all rugby for 12 weeks, the International Rugby Board (IRB) announced following an enquiry in Dublin yesterday.

Twickenham is today expected to unveil a new code of conduct for those involved in the professional game. The original reason for drawing up the code was public criticism of the England team by the Newcastle director of rugby Rob Andrew last November, an outburst which infuriated the national manager Clive Woodward.

The need for a new code has been given an added urgency in the past week after the public spats between Newcastle and Gloucester and between Northampton and London Irish.