for quality writing

Ken Borland



Rassie’s mental strength shines through as not even heatwave dissuades him 0

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Ken

Rassie van der Dussen is known for being a phlegmatic, composed guy, but his mental strength shone as brightly as it ever has in the first ODI against England as not even heatwave conditions that saw other players and spectators require medical treatment could dissuade him as he cruised to a brilliant century that set up victory for the Proteas.

The stadium management in Chester-le-Street issued health warnings to their spectators as temperatures reached 36°C, but Van der Dussen kept his cool, taming the weather and the England attack as he used his three hours at the crease to compile a remarkable 134 off 117 balls.

His best score in Proteas colours led South Africa to their highest ever ODI total in England – 333/5 – and then when the bowlers produced a marvellous all-round display – both the pacemen and the spinners met expectations – victory was completed by 62 runs.

“It was pretty hot out there but not too bad, mid-30s. We’ve just had a tour of India where it was a lot worse,” Van der Dussen said with characteristic understatement after he had met the challenge.

“I just tried to read the situation and adapt. I feel like I have the game and the shot options to put the bowlers under pressure. It was a massive outfield and the wind was quite strong, so it took the six option out for 25 overs.

“We knew we had to play smart cricket, hit the pockets in the field and run hard, make sure we got runs off good balls. The pitch got tough towards the end with the old ball keeping a bit low.

“It was like playing in Bloemfontein in terms of field size and temperature. There was not a lot of bounce and you had to play straight and try and accumulate runs,” Van der Dussen said.

England’s bowlers and fielders looked like they needed medical care as Van der Dussen and Aiden Markram (77 off 61) cut loose in a third-wicket stand of 151 off just 123 balls.

Apart from their meeting against South Africa in the T20 World Cup last November, when the Proteas won by 10 runs but still missed out on the semifinals, the last time England played with much at stake against the Proteas was in 2019/20 when they visited Africa and won the Test series 3-1 and the T20s 3-0 before bailing out of the ODIs due to supposed Covid fears.

South Africa have done much to rehabilitate their image since then and Van der Dussen recognised the importance of the Proteas laying down a marker, while stressing that it was merely the first day of a long tour.

“Obviously it’s a massive result, but it’s only one match on a long tour. We had to prep well, the batting was really good and the bowlers executed brilliantly, and now we will see where we can improve.

“England are still a world-class team, with various matchwinners on their day. But you could see they’ve played a lot of cricket lately, we were a bit more up for it today,” Van der Dussen said.

The day rugby returns to La Vida Normal 0

Posted on August 08, 2022 by Ken

Saturday is the day when South African rugby returns to, as the Spanish would say, La Vida Normal (the normal life) as the former national sport can once again be played in front of full stadiums of spectators.

Although, seeing as though it is Griquas and the Pumas who will contest the Currie Cup final in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon, we might be heading into a new normal for rugby. Griquas have actually won the Currie Cup three times, although the last time they did it was in 1970, which was also their last appearance in the final.

The Pumas, or South-Eastern Transvaal as they were then known, only came into being a year earlier, in 1969. This is their first ever appearance in the final, having been well-beaten by Northern Transvaal in the semi-finals in 1980, their previous best showing in the famous tournament.

It will be a massive day for two unions, their players and coaches, who don’t usually get to shine in the spotlight. Such occurrences are what makes sport so utterly charming at times.

But there is no denying the defending champion Bulls, who were desperate to become the first team to win a hat-trick of titles since the Free State Cheetahs did it between 2005 and 2007, are less than charmed about their exit from the Currie Cup at the semifinal stage at the hands of Griquas.

There is growing dissatisfaction amongst the country’s four international franchises that play in the United Rugby Championship that trying to contend in the Currie Cup at the same time is a bit like tilting at windmills. And next year will be even worse as they also have European cup tournaments to play in.

The sponsors, Carling Black Label, have also expressed their concern over the famous event continuing to lose prestige, and it is important SA Rugby lance this festering boil of malcontent over the Currie Cup.

As admirable as the campaigns mounted by the Griquas and Pumas have been, it has been unfortunate for the tournament that of the so-called Test unions, only the Bulls fielded anything resembling a top side and even they had to give in to the realities of fighting on two fronts in the closing stages.

Moving the Currie Cup until after the end of the European season seems the best way to go. Of course it will then clash with the international season of the Springboks, but that cavalry has long since departed the Currie Cup and fans and sponsors have become accustomed to them not featuring in the premier domestic tournament.

Speaking of the Springboks, there was certainly an air of great excitement in their camp this week as they gathered in Pretoria.

Eight new faces will always bring an injection of fresh energy and the URC has certainly unveiled some exciting new talent that deserves exposure at the highest level.

But without deflating fans too much, they should not expect the starting XV to pay Wales at Loftus Versfeld on July 2 to differ much from the team that last appeared in the UK at the end of last year.

Duane Vermeulen will need to be replaced at eighthman and Evan Roos and Elrigh Louw, who announced themselves in such incredible fashion in the URC, will be in the forefront of most fans’ thinking. But Jasper Wiese is the incumbent back-up No.8 and, after his inspirational display in the English Premiership final for Leicester, he is probably the favourite to come in for Vermeulen.

Key stars such as Cheslin Kolbe, Faf de Klerk and Pieter-Steph du Toit should also be back in action, and I look forward to Damian Willemse playing the Frans Steyn role of utility back on the bench. Hopefully there is space for one of Roos or Louw alongside him on the wood, and maybe even Marcell Coetzee.

Rough CC year for Lions gets worse with unexpected loss to Bulls 0

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Ken

A rough year in the Currie Cup just got worse for the Lions as the Bulls unexpectedly beat their URC-strength side 43-37 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, in an entertaining game watched by more than 7000 spectators.

The Bulls led 35-10 at one stage, but they only sealed victory in the 77th minute when Lions captain Burger Odendaal conceded a bizarre try and would have learnt a harsh lesson that it always pays to remember the colour of your team’s jersey!

Bulls took their chances

When you are the underdogs, taking your chances is crucial. Territory and possession were fairly even in the first half, but the Bulls were just so clinical in using their opportunities inside the Lions’ 22 as they went to the break 35-17 ahead.

Their forwards were a tight unit, carrying most effectively and prop Lizo Gqoboka, hooker Bismarck du Plessis and lock Janko Swanepoel all powered over the line.

There was also some beautiful running and handling by the backs, who showed some really smart touches. Like the line wing David Kriel ran to score from a dummy maul and the lovely kick infield he made for outside centre Stedman Gans to run on to and score.

Bulls on the wrong side of the referee in second half

On the anniversary of a Captain’s Challenge being introduced on a trial basis in the Rainbow Cup, the Bulls would have been desperate for anything to stop the incredible flow of penalties awarded against them by referee Griffin Colby in the second half. At one stage he gave the Lions 10 penalties in a row and overall the Bulls conceded twice as many penalties as their opponents.

Discipline is obviously an issue the Bulls will have to deal with, and they were regularly penalised at ruck time.

It meant they could barely get out of their 22 and the Lions fought back to within a point at 37-38 with five minutes remaining.

Odendaal’s awful mistake

The Lions captain has been flourishing this season, but he also spent many happy years at Loftus Versfeld playing for the Bulls. He will be gutted by the mistake he made right at the end though, when he passed the ball straight to Bulls replacement wing Richard Kriel inside his own in-goal area. Brother David Kriel had made the initial searing break that put the Bulls on attack, but the Lions regained possession behind their tryline, only for Odendaal to think he was back playing for the Bulls and passing to a blue jersey!

Learnings for youngsters as hard men shine

Playing against, and beating, a URC side would have been a tremendous learning experience for the Bulls’ young Currie Cup players. And the way they defended for the vast majority of the second half showed superb character. They had some hardened campaigners to help them along though and Du Plessis and Gqoboka were in the frontline of the effort.

Swanepoel, strong with the ball and in defence, and able to make crucial lineout steals, looks a player with a great future, and it was an excellent outing for David Kriel, who has been out in the wilderness for the last few weeks.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Lizo Gqoboka, Bismarck du Plessis, David Kriel, Janko Swanepoel, Stedman Gans, Richard Kriel. Conversions – Juan Mostert (5). Penalty – Keagan Johannes

Lions: Tries – Ruben Schoeman, Burger Odendaal, Francke Horn, Jordan Hendrikse, Sibusiso Sangweni. Conversions – Hendrikse (3). Penalties – Hendrikse (2).

Ulster discover how difficult a place Loftus has become to visit 0

Posted on May 03, 2022 by Ken

Loftus Versfeld is becoming a very difficult place to visit in the United Rugby Championship and, with the addition of more than 19 000 spectators at the weekend, it was too much for the quality Ulster side to handle as they were blown away 34-16 by the Bulls.

Coach Jake White made a point of thanking the spectators who were right behind a Bulls side who were in a destructive mood in the second half as they turned a 9-3 deficit around with four tries.

“Thank you to the 19 000 who came to the stadium, we like to play in front of our crowd. It was new pressure for me because imagine if we’d lost, but thankfully we won with a bonus point.

“Hopefully we will see more big numbers at our games in the coming weeks. It was unbelievable and there’s no question we played better with spectators behind us.

“It was like a genuine Test match and we were never going to run away with things in the first half, but to score four tries in the second half was fantastic.

“It was not the case that our play in the first half was not good, it was just that they strangled us. We had to find a way to get out of that and the message to the players was to just play, to not stand back,” White said.

While the Bulls produced some superb attacking play in the second half, White also praised the hard work done in defence and in the set-pieces for doing the groundwork for the impressive victory.

“The cornerstone of our game is good defence and set-pieces and if you get those right then you will win more games than you lose,” White said.

“Our defence was outstanding, we defended our like with all our worth, but we also scrummed well and in the lineout we had things like Ruan Nortje turning over an Ulster throw near our line.

“Our attack was very good too, we opened them up at times and Kurt-Lee Arendse was outstanding. We’ve got a good backline now and they showed that they understand how Ulster defend.

“It was hard and physical for our forwards, but jeez, our backs played well. Guys like Harold Vorster and Madosh Tambwe are playing phenomenal rugby,” White enthused.

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Thought of the Day

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

    James 2:14 – “What good is it if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?”.

    Love without action is useless.

    If you love God unreservedly, you will offer your best to him and be willing to serve him wherever he wishes to use you.

    Love has to manifest itself practically.

    “Love requires uplifting and inspirational deeds.

    “How genuine can your love for God truly be if you are aware of a serious need and do nothing to alleviate it?”- Solly Ozrovech, A Shelter From The Storm



↑ Top