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Ken Borland



Bulls give Reds another Loftus hiding 0

Posted on June 08, 2016 by Ken

The Reds must be heartily sick of the view from behind the Loftus Versfeld goalposts as they succumbed to another heavy defeat there at the hands of the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday night, conceding six tries in a 43-22 defeat.

It was the Reds’ sixth successive loss in Pretoria and they have now conceded exactly 300 points in those games.

The Bulls are now top of the SuperRugby South African Conference, two points ahead of the Stormers, three points ahead of the Lions and four in front of the Sharks, with a game in hand over both of those last two sides, so they must be heading towards their overseas tour with confidence building.

Fullback Jesse Kriel must be in contention as a World Cup bolter later this year, featuring strongly in the tournament rankings for defenders beaten, carries and metres gained, and he was outstanding in all facets of his game on Saturday night, attacking with vigour from the back, kicking well and defending stoutly.

It was Kriel who set the Bulls on their way in the eighth minute as, following a Jacques-Louis Potgieter penalty four minutes earlier, he sped away from his own 22 after gathering an attempted grubber that had been deflected by wing Francois Hougaard.

Kriel ran all the way to the Reds’ 22 before passing inside to Hougaard, who had enough strength to carry a tackler over the line for the opening try.

The first half was dominated by the Bulls’ successful tactic of bombarding the Reds with high kicks, but it was nevertheless exciting viewing and the second half opened up into a try bonanza.

The Reds deserve to be included in any praise for the spectacle as they played with plenty of ambition, especially in the second half, and they showed their intent with their fine opening try in the 16th minute.

Flyhalf Nick Frisby attacked the line, chipped over and then re-gathered, before sending a long pass out to wing Lachie Turner to race away and score.

But aerial warfare was the name of the game for the Bulls in the first half and they quickly replied with their second try, eighthman Pierre Spies storming on to the ball after Turner had failed to gather a Kriel kick, the Bulls captain roaring over from 30 metres out.

The Reds actually had more possession than the Bulls in the first half, but the home side put in some tremendous hits as their aggressive defence continually pushed the Queenslanders back. Five minutes before the break, Hougaard stole the ball from prop James Slipper and was off for a 60-metre try that gave the Bulls a commanding 24-5 halftime lead.

The home side went into their shells a bit at the start of the second half and the Reds never hid their belief they could get back into the contest. And they did just that with two tries in three minutes closing the gap to 24-17.

Scrumhalf Will Genia was the spark as he scampered over from 20 metres out with a lovely run off a scrum and then placed a lovely dab through with the boot for Frisby to dash on to and score. The Reds had been put on attack by a powerful run by outside centre Samu Kerevi, and the 21-year-old Fijian then set up the visitors’ bonus-point try in the 59th minute with a breathtaking burst from his own 10-metre line. He powered on to a pop pass and then through half-a-dozen defenders before being stopped by Kriel just short of the line, replacement lock Marco Kotze being on hand to pick up and score.

But by then the Bulls had secured their own bonus-point try, replacement prop Marcel van der Merwe driving strongly off a rolling maul to score, eighthman Adam Thomson having just been yellow-carded for collapsing the previous maul.

It was a telling moment and, despite Kerevi’s magic, the Reds faded away at the end and conceded two more tries.

First Burger Odendaal produced an exceptional run from 30 metres out to power over the line and then another exciting run by Hougaard was stopped just short of the line, replacement scrumhalf Piet van Zyl then throwing a dummy and ducking over to score.

If Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has a natter with Frans Ludeke over the phone on Sunday then the Bulls coach can report back on a strong showing by Hougaard on the wing, another fine performance from tighthead prop Trevor Nyakane, and the continued growth of an exciting talent in Kriel.

But it was also pleasing to see loosehead prop Dean Greyling put in a number of massive hits and Spies did numerous good things around the park.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Francois Hougaard (2), Pierre Spies, Marcel van der Merwe, Burger Odendaal, Piet van Zyl. Conversions: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (3), Tian Schoeman (2). Penalty: Potgieter.

Reds – Tries: Lachie Turner, Will Genia, Nick Frisby, Marco Kotze. Conversion: Turner.

http://citizen.co.za/361081/bulls-give-reds-another-loftus-hiding/

Bulls regress to uninspired, stereotypical rugby 0

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Ken

 

The Vodacom Blue Bulls regressed back into the uninspired type of rugby that was derided as being stereotypical of their province as they sank to a disappointing 31-8 defeat at the hands of the Waratahs in their SuperRugby match in Sydney on Saturday.

They showed encouraging endeavour in the first half, operating off a strong scrum platform, but their error-rate was not befitting SuperRugby contenders and they failed to round off a number of promising opportunities. Their only points in the first half came after the hooter as a big scrum earned a penalty kicked by flyhalf Tian Schoeman.

The Waratahs were also guilty of handling errors and poor finishing in the first half, perhaps rattled by the loss of ace centre Kurtley Beale inside the first minute when he suffered a knee injury chasing after a kick and slipping as he tried to launch himself airborne.

The Waratahs scored the only try of the first half when scrumhalf Rudy Paige’s kick was charged down and Schoeman then knocked-on to give the home side territory deep inside the Bulls 22. New South Wales flyhalf Bernard Foley went on a strong run and scrumhalf Nick Phipps then went on a sniping run and, having not been held by the first tackler, he got up and dived over the line.

Foley converted and the Waratahs led 7-3 at the halftime break.

The second half was a miserable affair for the Bulls. They just could not get their hands on the ball, not helped by the tendency to launch poor up-and-unders from the middle of the field, and the Waratahs spent most of the last 40 minutes inside the Bulls half.

The memo that the Bulls clearly didn’t get or ignored – just to hang on to the ball through phases and build pressure on a slippery, poor surface at the Allianz Stadium – was followed to the T by the Waratahs in the opening minutes of the second half.

The home side kept the ball tight, using the pack to pick and go, driving forwards, until Phipps went wide, the draw-and-pass sucking in prop Marcel van der Merwe and allowing flank Dean Mumm to burst through the gap and score the second try.

Foley converted and then kicked a penalty for the Waratahs to lead 17-3 going into the last 10 minutes. They extended that scoreline with two further tries as the Bulls simply froze, unable to break out of their shells.

Israel Folau, the darling of the great city of Sydney, made two separate breaks in the build-up to Phipps’s second try, while a very disappointing game for the Bulls ended with replacement prop Angus Ta’avao rumbling over to secure a bonus point win for the Waratahs.

The visitors did manage to score a single try, in the 74th minute, when replacement centre Dries Swanepoel burst through in midfield after the Bulls showed how capable they are of opening up defences when they hang on to the ball for several phases.

The Bulls are now returning home and are going to have to ask themselves some tough questions about their desire to advance their rugby. They are being outworked and outmuscled by sides, which are not good signs.

There are few Bulls players who can feel satisfied with their performances; flank Lappies Labuschagne was immense and his work-rate was exceptional, while loosehead prop Lizo Gqoboka scrummed superbly along with Van der Merwe, and was good in the loose as well. Fullback SP Marais showed some fine touches on attack, but the Bulls are not attacking nearly enough.

Scorers

WaratahsTries: Nick Phipps (2), Dean Mumm, Angus Ta’avao. Conversions: Bernard Foley (4). Penalty: Foley.

Vodacom Blue BullsTry: Dries Swanepoel. Penalty: Tian Schoeman.

http://citizen.co.za/1115465/bulls-regress-to-uninspired-stereotypical-rugby/

Springboks can’t feel hard done by 0

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Ken

 

Although it was undoubtedly a valiant effort by the Springboks, they can’t feel hard done by after their exit from the World Cup at the hands of the All Blacks in their semi-final at Twickenham over the weekend.

It is often said that you can’t play rugby without the ball and that is also true of territory: against top defensive patterns like New Zealand have, you’re not going to be causing many problems if you’re playing from your own half all the time.

South Africa only had 33% territory against the All Blacks – in other words two-thirds of the game was played in their own half. We saw magnificent defence from the Springboks, but we didn’t see anything else. As predicted before the game, they could only offer one-off ball-carriers, strong as they were, and no variety to their attacking play.

Much of the territory problems came down to poor exit strategies. When your scrumhalf is chiefly responsible for clearing your lines via a box-kick from the base – which by its very nature is going to be a higher, shorter kick – then you’re not going to be gaining as much ground compared to when your flyhalf, with a bit more space, can fire a long, raking touchfinder off after a couple of phases. It’s become a bugbear of mine, but Handre Pollard has a massive boot, why wasn’t it used more to drive the All Blacks back?!

The Springboks were hoping that their physicality would wear down the All Blacks, but that’s not going to happen when the opposition can match you physically and is better conditioned. In fact, it is the defending champions who did all of the wearing down, because they constantly asked different questions of the defence, as Nick Mallett pointed out.

“The All Blacks tried to attack in a variety of ways – they had Julian Savea coming off his wing, they played off nine, then they tried going to the backs with Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu carrying the ball, then they went to pick-and-goes and they even tried grubbers. They kept on trying different things, which keeps the pressure on the defence. They don’t just have one game plan, they have a whole variety of attacking options and we were beaten by a better team. We were lucky it was a very wet day,” Mallett said on SuperSport after the game.

There is understandably some negativity around South African rugby at the moment, but I believe our glasses aren’t just half-full of talent, they are full to overflowing, as shown by some of the wonderful Currie Cup rugby produced by the Lions, Western Province and Blue Bulls.

Experienced, visionary coaches are a bit thinner on the ground, but appointing Heyneke Meyer as Springbok coach again is not going to take our rugby forward. The high-intensity, ball-in-hand game plan which Meyer flirted with and then ditched is the way forward, but he clearly does not believe in it and/or cannot coach it.

Two of the most promising young coaches in the country, Nollis Marais of the Bulls and John Dobson of Western Province, have both gone on record in the last couple of weeks as saying the Lions’ brand of rugby, which is all about laying a platform up front and then using the ball while playing what is in front of you, is the way forward.

Lady Luck is a fickle mistress in the arena of top-level sport, but she seldom favours the team that isn’t willing to try anything; the team that hardly plays any rugby at all.

 

Titans bowl & misfield their way into a massive ditch 0

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Ken

 

Never mind digging themselves into a hole, the Unlimited Titans managed to bowl and misfield their way into a massive ditch as they succumbed to a two-wicket defeat with a ball to spare at the hands of the Eastern Cape Warriors in the Momentum One-Day Cup season-opener at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday night.

The Titans had batted well enough after losing the toss, a late surge by Grant Thomson and Qaasim Adams taking them to 327 for four in their 50 overs. But the Warriors chased down a record 354 to win the corresponding fixture last season and the Titans were once again dreadful with the ball, conceding 24 extras, including 17 wides, during the innings.

History looked likely to repeat itself during the second-wicket stand of 133 off 126 balls between Jon-Jon Smuts and Yaseen Vallie, with opener Smuts in complete control as he blazed 101 off just 74 balls with 14 fours and two sixes.

But the game of cricket showed her tendency to turn things on their head as, from 160 for one in the 24th over, the Warriors slumped to 230 for six in the 41st as the Titans mounted Operation Fightback.

Smuts had been absolutely clinical in putting away the many loose offerings of the Titans bowlers, but when Ethy Mbhalati finally managed to find a good line just outside off stump, Smuts tried to cut too close to his body and edged through to wicketkeeper Mangaliso Mosehle.

Leg-spinner Shaun von Berg removed Clyde Fortuin for eight and Junior Dala made two important incisions when he had a composed Vallie caught skying a hook for 52 and had Somila Seyibokwe caught at third man for 23.

Captain Henry Davids claimed an important wicket for the Titans when he had the dangerous Christiaan Jonker caught at deep square-leg for 15, Rowan Richards judging a steepler well, and the home side would have thought a required run-rate of 10.50 runs per over would be too much for Simon Harmer and Andrew Birch at number seven and eight in the order.

But both showed enough ability for them to be considered as all-rounders in the future as they lashed 89 off the next 50 balls, the Titans bowlers generally failing to go for the blockhole, as Harmer and Birch swung merrily at length deliveries. Several fielding errors also cost the home side crucial runs, exacerbating the two lives that Smuts had earlier been given on 25 and 55.

The Warriors needed just 14 off the last two overs for another sensational chase at SuperSport Park and victory seemed assured when Birch hit the first ball of the penultimate over, bowled by Dala, for four.

But the unconventional fast bowler provided some hope for the Titans as he trapped Harmer lbw for 42 off 35 balls, Mother Cricket playing her games again as he seemed to edge a delivery angled down the leg-side into his pads.

Only two more runs came off a superb over and left-armer Rowan Richards heightened the drama when he conceded only five runs off the first four balls of the final over, only for Basheer Walters to lash the penultimate ball through extra cover for the winning boundary.

Birch finished with 55 not out, needing only 28 balls for his remarkable innings, which included five fours and three sixes.

The Titans, having been sent in to bat, promoted Mosehle to open the innings with Davids, but the wicketkeeper was kept firmly in his shell by a superb opening spell by Walters, who had him dropped on one.

Birch removed Davids for 20 in the ninth over and Theunis de Bruyn looked in fine form as he breezed to 26 before edging Sisanda Magala into the gloves of wicketkeeper Fortuin.

Mosehle was just beginning to get into his stride when he was bowled by impressive off-spinner Harmer for 49 off 81 deliveries, but Dean Elgar showed fine intuition in terms of shot-selection and placement as he cruised to 57 off 59 balls.

Thomson, making his Momentum One-Day Cup debut at the age of 27, also showed great awareness of the match situation as he was positive from the outset, racing to 50 off 39 balls and finishing with a wonderful 98 not out off 71 balls.

Adams has become the remorseless finisher for the Titans and he did his job again, smashing 65 not out off 39 balls as he and Thomson plundered 119 runs from the last 11.4 overs.

But as well as the Titans batted, they really did not get with the programme in the field and coach Rob Walter will no doubt have cast a thoroughly disapproving eye on the dropped catches and misfields, as well as the bowlers’ tendency to bowl on both sides of the wicket and their poor lengths at the death.

 

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