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Ken Borland



Bulls not enervated by disjointed, error-ridden start 0

Posted on April 04, 2023 by Ken

The Bulls made a disjointed, error-ridden start to their United Rugby Championship match against Cardiff at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend, but it did not enervate them and coach Jake White was pleased by both their physical dominance and some superb touches on attack.

The Bulls scored six tries in a 45-9 thumping, but Cardiff were certainly more competitive than the scoreline suggests, some stout defence by the home side keeping them away from the tryline.

“In the first half we struggled to get our rhythm, we’d go for two or three phases, but it would be slow, slow ball or we would lose possession or concede a penalty,” White said.

“But we chatted about it at halftime and we decided to stay up a bit longer, don’t go to ground so quickly. But we had to work hard for that result after we gave them a good start.

“In the end we could see the power game come through, which is such a massive part of the Bulls game, but also the subtleties of the attack which was very pleasing to see.

“Some of our best players lost a couple of balls in contact and Cardiff loaded the breakdown really well. But it comes at a cost because if you don’t slow the ball down then there is space to attack out wide,” White said.

And the Bulls certainly had the machinery to take advantage of that space, as the visitors’ challenge faded as they were worn down by the heavy-duty bulldozers in the pack.

“We were able to attack that space out wide as Cardiff got more fatigued,” White said. “Canan Moodie and Kurt-Lee Arendse played really well together and every time Cardiff kicked on them you sensed something was going to happen.

“And also with Cornal Hendricks, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster and Johan Goosen, who were all on-song tonight, particularly when you give them good ball on the front foot.

“As soon as Goosen could run on to the ball, he opened holes or put other players away. He passed and ran to the line incredibly well, and the more he plays the better he and the players around him will be.

“I’m really excited, we scored lots of tries and we look dangerous every time the backs get the ball. And if you try a lot then you will make a lot of mistakes, but I don’t want the players to go into their shells,” White said.

So near and yet so far for Boks 0

Posted on December 01, 2022 by Ken

So near and yet so far is probably an apt summation of the Springboks’ Rugby Championship campaign, and there is a lingering feeling that Jacques Nienaber’s team are still not playing to their true potential and are still not ruthless enough when it comes to translating dominance to points on the scoreboard.

And their next opponents, on November 5 and 12 respectively, are Ireland in Dublin and France in Marseille. Those are the top two sides in the world rankings and then we will have a better idea of whether South Africa are genuine World Cup contenders or just also-rans in a southern hemisphere competition that is no longer the gold standard of international rugby.

Having hammered the All Blacks in Nelspruit on the opening weekend, the Springboks really only have themselves to blame for not winning the Rugby Championship for just the fifth time.

Their first misjudgement lies squarely on Nienaber (and maybe director of rugby Rassie Erasmus) for not choosing the best XV to play New Zealand the following weekend at Ellis Park. The All Blacks were in disarray and ripe for the taking after their 26-10 defeat at Mbombela Stadium. When your greatest rivals are on their knees, you don’t experiment and give them a helping hand, you ruthlessly turn the knife and ensure they sack their coach mid-competition.

Instead, Ian Foster’s men bounced back with an impressive win, the ship was steadied and, despite an historic first loss at home to Argentina, they were worthy winners of the Rugby Championship.

Having lost to the Pumas 25-18 in Christchurch, New Zealand then thrashed them 53-3 the following weekend in Hamilton, the result that ultimately won them the title, because it left the Springboks needing a bonus point and turning around a big points differential in the final round to claim the silverware.

It is that kind of ruthlessness, the ability to really put opposition away, that the Springboks lack. The last time they scored 40 points in the Rugby Championship, never mind winning by a margin of 39, was back in August 2019 against Argentina.

I get that Test matches cannot always be like a commercial for open, running rugby, but the great sides are able to leverage dominance and make it reflect on the scoreboard. And there have been periods when the Springboks have enjoyed an absolute monopoly on momentum, but just did not have the execution or intent to make it count.

In the last match against Argentina, I would have liked to have seen the Springboks try and play some expansive rugby. They had nothing to lose – even if they lost, they still would have finished second.

But with crash-ball centres at numbers 10 and 12 and the creativity of Lukhanyo Am missed at outside centre, the Springboks still just relied on their usual formula of scoring from set-pieces and rolling mauls.

They were not helped by a referee, Damon Murphy, who was determined to be in the middle of the limelight. If you are going to steal the show, at least make sure you are competent, but Murphy and his officiating team made a series of terrible decisions that robbed South Africa of momentum.

From winning the World Cup in 2019, the Springboks no longer seem to be the leaders of the pack. I don’t see much growth, especially in terms of their attacking play, since those heady days in Japan. The opposition will have had four years to work out how to blunt South Africa’s forward-based, strangling game of stout defence and contestable kicking, and the Boks better have more strings to their bow if they hope to defend their title.

Perhaps Nienaber, an inexperienced head coach maybe in Erasmus’s shadow, has tried too hard to prove he is the man and is too prescriptive in terms of the style of play. While throttling the opposition has worked, one wonders if the Springboks are not strangling their own potential in the process?

Let’s hope they express themselves more in Europe.

Bulls looked set for old domestics dominance, but Griquas refused to be subservient 0

Posted on June 07, 2022 by Ken

The Bulls, with numerous URC players in their squad, looked set to impose their old dominance of domestics rugby with a commanding first half against Griquas in their Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, but the visitors refused to accept a subservient role and nearly overthrew the form book in the second half.

The Bulls, having led 36-5 at halftime, eventually won 48-38 but Griquas were clearly the better team in the second half as they outscored the defending champions 33-12 in the second forty.

Tempo the chief difference for the Bulls

The Bulls’ experience of playing against European opposition in the URC served them well in the first half as Griquas just could not cope with the pace and intensity of the game. The visitors were properly dominated as the Bulls ran in six tries to roar into a commanding lead at halftime.

It was clinical from the Bulls as just about every pass stuck, the forwards gave them a wonderful platform and they played with quite some adventure.

Yellow cards lethal for Bulls & momentum for Griquas

The Bulls picked up where they left off in the early stages of the second half as a rolling maul try for hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels took their lead to 41-5. But then two yellow cards – for prop Lizo Gqoboka, for collapsing a maul, and wing Madosh Tambwe, for a deliberate knock-on – in the space of three minutes were a massive blow for the Bulls. Playing against 13 men provided momentum and confidence for Griquas and they played tremendously well to provide a proper, competitive match for the crowd.

Tambwe’s sale price should go up

Wing Madosh Tambwe’s move to Europe has now been confirmed, but the new Loftus Versfeld star would have impressed his future employers with a dazzling first-half display. He started with a crunching tackle in defence, made excellent takes in the air and he looked lethal every time he ran with the ball. He would pop up all over the backline with an injection of raw pace, a perfectly-timed pass to wing Stravino Jacobs setting up the opening try in the third minute. His power game was also on display and he also set up the last try of the first half, by fullback Canan Moodie, by bumping off a couple of tackles and then breaking through the defensive line.

Griquas show they should not be underestimated

Scoring six tries gave Griquas a bonus point, keeping them in the top four on the log and maintaining their semi-final challenge. One of the premises of being in the semi-finals is that you are a highly competitive side and Griquas showed in the second half that they certainly belong.

Flank Hanru Sirgel led the way with two barnstorming tries as the Griquas pack began bossing affairs.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Stravino Jacobs (2), Cyle Brink, Reinhardt Ludwig, Canan Moodie, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Harold Vorster. Conversions – Chris Smith (5). Penalty – Smith.

Griquas: Tries – Sango Xamlashe, penalty try, Munier Hartzenberg, Hanru Sirgel (2). Christopher Hollis. Conversions – Zander du Plessis (3).

Boks need to return to their soul & usual strengths – Nienaber 0

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Ken

Coach Jacques Nienaber said on Tuesday that the Springboks need to return to their “soul”, and one of their usual strengths they have sorely missed over the last fortnight has been physical dominance on the gainline.

The South African team is known for massive ball-carries and bone-crunching defence, both of which were strangely absent from their defeats against Australia.

So when the decision was made to give hardworking utility forward Franco Mostert a break and play him off the bench in Saturday’s Test against the All Blacks, it was surprising that the Springboks did not take the opportunity to play a big ball-carrier at blindside flank (such as one of the Du Preez twins), instead opting for the pace and Sevens skills of Kwagga Smith.

Nienaber explained on Tuesday that this particular selection was a balancing act.

“If you want to get a result against New Zealand then you have to test them in various areas. Physicality is obviously one area we enjoy, but you can’t only bring physicality, you need to test them in more than one department. You have to look at the balance of your pack and weigh up ball-carriers against players who can cover width and scramble for you.

“We have a lot of strong ball-carriers in the pack and Kwagga can carry in a different way with his evasion skills and timing of his carries, he brings those Sevens skills. You don’t want to have too many of the one kind of player. Franco has been a real stalwart for us this season, playing 80 minutes after 80 minutes, and moving him to the bench is purely to give him a bit of a break,” Nienaber said.

The Springbok backline has also missed some cutting thrust, some penetration, and Nienaber has looked to boost that department by returning to a 5-3 bench, with Elton Jantjies and Francois Steyn recalled to the matchday squad.

While the Springboks tried to go wide more often last weekend, they were not direct enough to create space for their wings and Jantjies is adept at playing flat and getting his backline away, while Steyn can hopefully make big metres across the gainline.

“What Australia did really was beat us with our own game, they changed completely from how they had played in the games against France and New Zealand. We probably got caught up in that a little and played twice the amount of rugby that they did. We probably pushed things a bit, but we need to play when it’s on, when the opportunity is there. We forced a few carries.

“The pressure from ourselves as a team is probably more than what the public put on us. We are all – coaches, management and players – in it together and we have been open and honest with each other, we can talk straight up with each other. We take the criticism, it is tough to swallow, but I would worry if there was no criticism – it shows that people feel something for the team,” Nienaber said.

Springbok team: Willie le Roux, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk, Duane Vermeulen, Kwagga Smith, Siya Kolisi (captain), Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Trevor Nyakane. Bench – Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Franco Mostert, Marco van Staden, Herschel Jantjies, Elton Jantjies, Francois Steyn.

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    1 John 2:5 – “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.”

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