FORMER Blue Bulls flanker Joseph Ntshongwana appeared relaxed and coherent in the dock yesterday -- in stark contrast to his previous court appearances when he clutched a Bible, howled and spoke in tongues

The heavy-set 34-year-old man accused of the grisly axe murders of three men acknowledged his relatives in the public gallery as he entered the Durban magistrate's court dock.

He wore a Nike tracksuit, a change from the blue overalls he had worn during previous court appearances.

Prosecutor Martin Mntambo told the court the national director of public prosecutions had managed to secure a bed for Ntshongwana in the Fort Napier mental hospital, outside Pietermaritzburg, from June 24.

He said the bed would be available and that a team of psychiatrists and psychologists would observe Ntshongwana.

The matter would resume on June 23, for a formal referral to Fort Napier, Mntambo said.

Meanwhile, the family, neighbours and friends of Paulos Hlongwa, whom Ntshongwana is accused of decapitating with an axe in Lamontville, Durban, on March 22, protested outside court.

Hlongwa's head was found in a dustbin in Merebank.

Ntshongwana is also charged with the murder of Thembelenkosini Cebekhulu in the suburb of Montclair on March 20, and of an unidentified man in Umbilo on March 23.

According to a report by Ntshongwana's private psychiatrists, who had been treating him since 2009, the ex rugby player suffered from bipolar disorder.

Psychiatrist SB Maharaj saw Ntshongwana in December when he was admitted to the King George V Hospital for 11 days.

"He presented with persecutory delusions, auditory hallucinations and poor sleep," Maharaj said in his report.