Ken Borland

Our DP World Lions ensured that winning trophies is not just a once-off occurrence as #ThePrideOfJozi claimed their third successive title when they won the CSA T20 Challenge final in commanding fashion on Sunday, hammering the Momentum Multiply Titans by eight wickets with 29 balls to spare.

It ensured our Pride hung on to the CSA T20 Challenge trophy they won in April, which came after the CSA 4-Day Series triumph in February, making it three successive tournaments won by head coach Russell Domingo and his charges.

It was also the second convincing victory over the Titans at the DP World Wanderers Stadium in the space of a week, making up for the heavy defeat the Pride suffered against their Gauteng neighbours in the opening match of the campaign.

On Sunday the Titans once again elected to bat first and once the DP World Lions new-ball bowlers had bowled superbly in the powerplay to reduce the visitors to 34 for three in the first six overs, there was no stopping #ThePrideOfJozi.

Delano Potgieter and the freakish young talent that is Kwena Maphaka both struck once with the new ball and then Lutho Sipamla produced the spell of a lifetime.

The paceman produced an astonishing burst of four for seven in his first three overs, including the massive wickets of the Titans’ two most dangerous batsmen, Heinrich Klaasen and Donovan Ferreira.

Sipamla’s brilliantly consistent lengths proved the undoing of a Titans batting line-up that went hard on a pitch that certainly provided a bit of nibble for the bowlers.

Sibonelo Makhanya (4) was the first to try and hit Sipamla off his length and fail, hitting the ball to a straight midwicket. Rivaldo Moonsamy was then caught behind in Sipamla’s next over and, with the following delivery, the Proteas representative bowled Ferreira for a duck, snaking a delivery back into the flatfooted batsman.

Klaasen had just hit a six and was an obvious threat as he reached 13 not out off 12 balls, but Sipamla produced a fantastic delivery that just nipped away to find the edge and the T20 superstar was also caught behind by Connor Esterhuizen.

Sipamla finished with four for 12 in his four overs, the best ever figures in a CSA T20 Challenge final.

“It’s very special and I’m very grateful to God after a tough time with injuries last year. It’s nice to see my hard work getting results. I don’t try to think too much beyond my processes and being my best whether at practice or in the game,” Sipamla said after the impressive triumph.

“The top of off-stump is always very effective and [bowling coach] Allan Donald always pushes for that. Hitting the top of off is probably your best ball, especially on pitches like that and it’s all about execution. I just try to be in the moment and the rest will take care of itself,” Sipamla said.

Maphaka finished with two for 15 in another hugely impressive four-over stint, while captain Bjorn Fortuin took two for 10 in three overs as the Titans were bundled out for just 119.

The DP World Lions were in some early bother in their reply, slipping to 26 for two in five overs, but they were much more in tune with the conditions and batted with calculated precision to chase down their target in 15.1 overs.

In Rassie van der Dussen they had the perfect man to steer them home as he scored 44 not out off 31 deliveries with seven fours and a six. He showed his class and composure after coming to the wicket in the third over.

Esterhuizen, who has made his home superbly well batting in the middle-order, played some great strikes through the covers, collecting six fours and a six, but also gathering the important ones and twos to keep the scoreboard moving. Esterhuizen finished the match in style by pulling fast bowler Gerald Coetzee for a massive six, out of the ground and into the flats beyond the eastern stand.

The 23-year-old finished on 48 not out off 36 balls, putting on an unbeaten 98 for the third wicket with Van der Dussen, off 68 deliveries.

Victory over Boland in Paarl at the weekend has ensured our DP World Lions men’s team go into the final week of round-robin action in the CSA T20 Challenge at the top of the log, but it was no cruise for our gutsy Pride.

Having lost the toss, our DP World Lions had to bat second and, after another clinical bowling display, they may have been chasing only 130, but the Boland Park pitch just became slower and lower as the day progressed and #ThePrideOfJozi in the end won with six wickets in hand, but with just two balls to spare.

The hard-fought victory, their fourth in a row, mean they go into Wednesday’s match against Western Province at the DP World Wanderers Stadium with a one-point lead over the North-West Dragons at the top of the log. 

Leg-spinner Junaid Dawood again excelled as he took three for 21 to become the leading wicket-taker in the competition this season, and he was well-backed by our pair of returning Proteas spinners, Bjorn Fortuin (4-0-22-0) and Nqaba Peter (4-0-28-1). Paceman Lutho Sipamla was also excellent with the ball, taking two for 19 in three overs.

Reeza Hendricks then showed his experience and class as he steered the Pride to victory with a fluent 72 not out off just 50 deliveries, a matchwinning effort with the bat. Zubayr Hamza scored 37 and it was their second-wicket stand of 82 in a dozen overs that was the backbone of the successful chase.

While praising the resilience and determination of the team in bouncing back from a poor opening match against the Titans, assistant coach Jimmy Kgamadi says our DP World Lions are still trying to improve with every outing as they look to defend their title.

“As coaches, we are very pleased because we did not start well against the Titans, who hammered us, really. But the team has shown great character to come back the way they have. And also to do it on the road in Bloemfontein and Paarl, to pull those matches through is great,” Kgamadi said.

“Paarl is a difficult place to play because it is very challenging conditions, a very slow pitch. We played three spinners to suit the conditions and that just shows the good depth in the squad, we can play in any conditions.

“For Reeza to avail himself to us is very special, he could have spent time with his family instead. He brings such experience and seniority, and enormous stability to our batting. He also uplifts guys like Zubayr, Wandile Makwetu, Connor Esterhuizen and Mitch van Buuren when they bat with him.

“But we never felt we had it in the bag because Boland bowled and fielded very well and the pitch went very slow, it really was difficult to score. But the guys held their nerve and were able to take it deep,” Kgamadi said.

Now the DP World Lions will be back in home conditions in Johannesburg against a Western Province team who are in sixth position in the standings and so desperately need a win to keep their hopes of being in the playoffs alive.

Our DP World Lions have shown glimpses of their best in each of the departments – the batting against the Warriors in their second game, the bowling in the first half of the innings against the Dolphins and against Boland, and the fielding versus the Knights in Bloemfontein – but Kgamadi is hopeful that #ThePrideOfJozi will be able to put all three facets together in a complete performance against Western Province.

“I’m still waiting for that great all-round performance, when all parts of our game come together. We’ve seen glimpses, but it hasn’t all come together from the first over to the 20^th and I can’t wait for when the puzzle all comes together. But the attitude and energies of the team is certainly up there,” Kgamadi said.

KEMPTON PARK, Ekurhuleni – Buying confidence is a bit like trying to find a shortcut to experience, but the brilliant golf Casandra Alexander produced on Saturday to win the Absa Ladies Invitational at Serengeti Estates has ensured she will approach the next two months cock-a-hoop.

Playing what she described as “flawless golf”, Alexander fired a superb six-under-par 66 on Saturday to finish on 12-under-par overall and win the R1.2 million Absa Ladies Invitational by four strokes.

The 24-year-old had begun the final day tied for the lead with fellow South African Kiera Floyd, but Alexander went out in 34 before a brilliant back nine saw her collect an eagle and two birdies to romp to victory.

While Floyd struggled to a 77 on Saturday and finished 11 strokes behind, Alexander’s closest challenger was Spaniard Harang Lee, who also shot a 66 to finish on eight-under-par.

“It was definitely very close to flawless golf, I played unbelievably well and I am really happy,” Alexander said after her fifth Sunshine Ladies Tour title. “I had one or two drops early on which was maybe a bit of nerves, but I must have had 10 15-foot putts and I just couldn’t miss the first few.

“So I just tried to give myself birdie opportunities and I did manage to sink a few more. I played smart, but still aggressively and had a hot putter. Everything was solid, I hot my irons really well.”

Next week Alexander will defend her Jabra Ladies Classic title at Glendower, and then follows six consecutive weeks of European Tour action, including two co-sanctioned events in South Africa.

“I’m going to take a lot of confidence into Glendower, I’m hitting the ball well and that is a ball-striker’s course. And then it’s the two co-sanctioned events. I have a lot of events coming up, eight weeks in a row, and hopefully I can hit the ball even better and make more putts. I will carry this win with me,” Alexander said.

Her eagle on the 483m par-five 11^th came after a superb four-iron over the flag.

“I kept missing my drives slightly left, so I decided to hit a little cut off the tee and hit an unbelievable drive. I then hit a grip-down four-iron 185 metres into the wind, another little cut, and I hit it flush straight at the pin. I told it to sit down and it pitched five metres behind, leaving me with a 15-foot putt for eagle.

“That kind of separated myself, allowed the nerves to settle. I just played smart from there, I didn’t need to do anything crazy. I held things together well, it was all really tidy and I had two lip-outs in the last three holes,” Alexander said.

The Johannesburger backed up her eagle with birdies at the 12^th and 15tgh holes, and then her challengers were spent.

South Africa’s Cara Gorlei also shot a 66 to finish third on five-under-par, with compatriot Stacy Bregman fourth on four-under after a 69.

A 46-40 victory over group winners Bordeaux-Begles has ensured the Bulls will be listed in the final 16 of the Champions Cup, and coach Jake White is delighted by that, but he did admit to being a little bemused by how hard they made life for themselves at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulls scored six tries, some of them absolutely brilliant, with flank Marcell Coetzee going over twice and wing Devon Williams, centre David Kriel, fullback Willie le Roux and scrumhalf Embrose Papier, with a superb individual effort, also getting on the try-scorers’ list. Flyhalf Johan Goosen converted five of the tries and his replacement, Jaco van der Walt, kicked two crucial late penalties.

Bordeaux-Begles also scored six tries, taking two bonus points from the match, which was enough to confirm they will finish top of the group.

The Bulls twice found themselves in a rock-solid position of dominance, leading 21-7 after 26 minutes and then 40-21 after 53 minutes, but on both occasions their concentration and game-management wobbled and they ended up letting the quality Bordeaux side back in the game.

It was the home side’s replacements who saw out the final quarter, their strong ball-carrying earning them the two penalties that enabled them to just hold off the French challenge.

“We did make it difficult for ourselves and maybe at halftime we started to think about winning by 36 points because that would have seen us top the pool if Bordeaux didn’t get any bonus points,” White admitted afterwards.

“Maybe we were seduced into that style of play, it became like a sevens game and that probably helped Bordeaux, who are a good team. This is such a big competition and there are very small margins, those are the things we need to be sharper on.

“But I can’t be cross with the team, we had four forwards under the age of 22. This is the next step to Test rugby and the only way the team is going to learn to cope with these sort of situations is by going through it. We need to be more streetwise, but that comes with time. When we have our debrief, we’ll look at what some of the best options should have been.

“But I’m obviously still very proud of the win and scoring 46 points versus Bordeaux, they don’t often concede that many and they have been dominant in France. So I’m happy and it’s nice to learn when you’ve won,” White said.

The Bulls gave the visitors, on an eight-match winning streak, a ferocious welcome as eighthman Cameron Hanekom was ruled to have just lost the ball over the line and tighthead prop Carlu Sadie was yellow-carded for a ruck offence. After seven minutes, the Bulls were finally on the board as Coetzee went over from a tap-penalty.

Bordeaux equalised six minutes later when fullback Romain Buros knifed through to score, but the Bulls then thrilled the crowd of more than 10 000 with a superbly-executed try off a lineout. Strong carries by hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels and lock Ruan Nortje were followed by a lovely pass out wide from Goosen to Williams, who scampered over for the try.

Coetzee forced his way over for a second try on 26 minutes, but in the last 10 minutes, the Bulls had to call on all their scrambling ability in defence as Bordeaux put them under severe pressure following prop Gerhard Steenekamp’s yellow card for ruck offences.

The Bulls did concede a try to lock Adam Coleman, but half-time beckoned with them still in the lead, 21-14, and then they added a vital score against the run of play. Stedman Gans sparked the counter with a half-break and lovely offload to Le Roux, who was through the gap in a flash and then threw a pinpoint pass to Kriel, who went all the way from long range.

The 26-14 lead would have pleased White, and the try that opened the second half would have delighted him even more. Goosen produced a brilliant up-and-under despite being under big pressure from two defenders, wing Sebastian de Klerk made a fine aerial win and Kriel then made the initial break before Le Roux was, as is his trademark, in the right place at the right time to score.

Papier’s try was a brilliant piece of individual play as his team presented him with untidy, backfoot ball, but the scrumhalf spotted a hole in the defence and raced through it before swerving past the cover defence to dot down.

But White would have then been po-faced as Bordeaux scored three times in the next 15 minutes. But the smile was back as his team held on for a good win.

With Saracens beating Olympique Lyon later on Saturday night, the Bulls remained second in the final group standings and will have a home match in the last 16.

Ironically, White believes finishing second and getting a home match in the last 16 could boomerang on the Bulls.

“I would love to have a home knockout game in this competition, but that means we will play Dragons and Leinster away in the URC, come back for a home last-16 Champions Cup match and then an away quarterfinal before coming back to Loftus to play Munster.

“It will be helluva tough flying back and forth like that. But the nice thing is it shows the improvement and growth we’ve had in the Champions Cup. There is belief that we can win it, but we also need to understand that the big guns are now coming.

“It will be teams where 20 of the 23 are internationals playing against youngsters who are still growing and learning the ropes. I’m a realist and this competition now goes on steroids,” White said.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Marcell Coetzee (2), Devon Williams, David Kriel, Willie le Roux, Embrose Papier. Conversions: Johan Goosen (5). Penalties: Jaco van der Walt (2).

Bordeaux-Begles – Tries: Romain Buros, Adam Coleman, Madosh Tambwe, Tevita Tatafu (2), Paul Adadie. Conversions: Zack Holmes (3), Mateo Garcia (2).