Ken Borland

The Bulls will not have their sensational young eighthman, Elrigh Louw, for their United Rugby Championship match against the feisty Dragons side at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, and it’s not as if the 22-year-old is resting either after a series of powerhouse displays.

Louw has tested positive for Covid but is not symptomatic. Nevertheless, the protocols still in place mean he has to miss the opportunity for some Dragons-slaying this weekend. What the Bulls lose in youthful vitality they gain in battle-hardened experience though as Arno Botha comes in at the back of the scrum, joining a formidable, seasoned loose trio alongside Marcell Coetzee and Cyle Brink.

“It’s out of our hands with Elrigh,” coach Jake White said on Friday, “but it does give Arno an opportunity in the back row. Elrigh is not symptomatic, but the rules state he has to spend seven days in isolation.

“He will then follow the return-to-play protocols after testing on Monday again. But I’ve learnt over the years from playing teams like the Chiefs in a Super Rugby semifinal with the Brumbies that you need to build a squad with international depth.

“That kind of experience is vital. We’re not there yet, but we do have Springboks on the bench like Morne Steyn and Cornal Hendricks, and we’ll get Bismarck du Plessis back too.

“You know those sort of players will add value and the other players get confidence from that as well. And the players have adapted well under pressure before to things like Elrigh not playing now,” White said.

While it is perfectly natural for the players to have more of a buzz, more of an edge, before matches against top teams like Munster, White said one of the focal points this week has been on ensuring the Bulls don’t compromise their recent excellent run with complacency on Saturday against a Dragons side that is second-bottom and has won just one of their 10 games.

“For big games the players automatically go up another level, for example when I coached the Springboks, before an All Blacks Test you could sense a different mode. It’s the same for everyone.

“But other teams probably take playing us at Loftus Versfeld very seriously and we need to make sure we don’t get caught short.

“The Dragons have had just one bad loss, they stay in the game and will be competitive. I expect them to have a full go at us, they play quite quickly too with tap-and-goes.

“They like to use their backs and they’re not afraid to give the ball some air. I expect them to challenge us, but we’re learning all the time that there are no easy wins, no game is a given,” White said.

Bulls team: Kurt-Lee Arendse,Canan Moodie,Lionel Mapoe,Harold Vorster,Madosh Tambwe,Chris Smith,Embrose Papier;Arno Botha,Cyle Brink,Marcell Coetzee (CAPT),Ruan Nortje,Walt Steenkamp,Jacques van Rooyen,Johan Grobbelaar,Gerhard Steenekamp. IMPACT – Joe van Zyl,Simphiwe Matanzima,Mornay Smith,Reinhardt Ludwig,WJ Steenkamp;Zak Burger,Morne Steyn,Cornal Hendricks.

Zak Burger is the latest in a number of Paarl Gimnasium products that have landed up at Loftus Versfeld, including Handre Pollard, Johan Grobbelaar, Stravino Jacobs and Muller Uys, but the 22-year-old scrumhalf is a bit different in that he has taken a more scenic route into the Bulls team.

Born and bred in the Cape, Burger missed out on SA Schools selection but took up a junior contract with the Sharks. It was a foot in the door at a major union, and he was chosen for the SA U20 squad for the 2018 Junior World Cup, but Burger then gambled by joining Griquas in a move that has turned out to be every bit as audacious as some of his trademark breaks from the back of the ruck or scrum.

“It was a bit of a gamble, but after the Junior World Cup I got the opportunity to play Currie Cup rugby at the age of 19 in Kimberley. So I sat with my Dad and we decided that it was a big privilege to get senior experience at my age, rather than waiting to come through the ranks at the Sharks, through the U21s into senior level.

“It worked out very well. I learnt so much in Kimberley and I ended up as captain, so now I have leadership experience from a young age. Scrumhalf is a crucial position in terms of leadership and it was a big privilege to captain Griquas. I definitely grew and became a better player there,” Burger explained on Wednesday.

In a struggling side, Burger’s vision, reading of the game and all-round ability caught the eye of Bulls coach Jake White, who snapped him up after the Currie Cup. With Ivan van Zyl’s tour of duty at Loftus soon coming to an end, Burger is going to be playing a more and more influential role alongside Embrose Papier, if he does not return to the Springbok squad.

And Burger says he is particularly looking forward to running on to the field on Friday night against the Stormers, the team he supported as a kid.

“I grew up in the Cape and went to school there, so naturally I supported Western Province. My Mom and Dad were big Stormers supporters since I was small. So I know it’s the big North/South derby and every match between the sides is very physical, I can remember Schalk Burger and Bakkies Botha going up against each other.

“I’m looking forward to Friday night, it will be lekker to play the Stormers at Loftus. I definitely don’t have a point to prove though, it’s not a grudge meeting, just another game. At the moment I’m playing for the Bulls so I want to do my best for them in every game. Losing to the Lions was a big disappointment for us, but it was a good wake-up call,” Burger said.

Sweet success in winning the South African Open made it the best day of Brandon Stone’s young life, but the 22-year-old admitted that it had also been the toughest day of his life as he clinched victory by two strokes in a fraught final day at Glendower Golf Club on Sunday.

Having completed his third round early on Sunday morning with three birdies to go into the final round with a two-shot lead, Stone was in sublime form in the opening holes of the fourth round, two more birdies stretching his lead over Englishman Daniel Brooks to five strokes after four holes.

And then the wheels fell off.

Stone began leaking the ball left and right off the fairway and missing short putts as his lead all but evaporated with three successive bogeys from the fifth hole. A birdie on the par-five eighth, where he was fortunate to get away with another wayward drive, brought brief relief, but another trio of bogeys followed on nine, 10 and 11.

Stone was in freefall, but with the advisory words of his father and successful former Sunshine Tour pro Kevin in his mind, the highly-rated prospect showed remarkable composure and mental strength to get back on track, finishing in style with four birdies in his next five holes to reclaim the lead, confirming his victory with nerveless pars on the last two holes.

“It’s incredible to win a tournament that I’ve watched so passionately since I was about five and to have my name on that trophy … you just can’t put a value to it. It’s not meant to be easy, but today was definitely the hardest day of my life. Today was a real roller-coaster, I left every single thing I had out there, which is why I sank down on my knees after the final putt. I was so overcome by emotion, but it’s special.

“I had a stern talk to myself on the 12^th tee and a quiet word with my caddy Chris Simmons, who said just get the drive in play. It felt better, like I had been swinging on the first few holes, and there the ball was, middle of the fairway, my favourite yardage. I hit it to six feet and everything just clicked after that,” Stone said.

The winner of the Freddie Tait Cup for leading amateur in the 2011 SA Open, is the first local golfer to win the national open since Hennie Otto’s triumph that year at Serengeti and, in a sure sign that the future of South African golf was in full view on Sunday at Glendower, 21-year-old Christiaan Bezuidenhout finished alone in second place on 12-under-par after an inspired 67 that included seven birdies.

Brooks played solidly but just could not get the birdies he needed in the closing holes to catch Stone, and a bogey on the last left him with a 72 and alone in third place on 11-under.

Family friend Ernie Els, the tournament host but also a mentor for Stone, was in the clubhouse ready to warmly embrace the winner, who is the youngest SA Open champion since the Big Easy’s own breakthrough triumph in 1992 in Houghton.

Stone said a tricky eight-footer for par on the 17^th, and a similar length bogey putt he made on the par-three sixth, after his tee shot was short and in the water, was where he won the tournament.

Glendower Golf Club, where Stone lost a lead in the final round of the 2011 SA Amateur Championship, surely saw the unveiling of a new South African golfing superstar on Sunday.