Ken Borland

The Springboks are finally home after spending 14 weeks in a bio-secure bubble, having restored their pride with their epic win over the All Blacks in the last Rugby Championship Test, having pushed them to the brink in the previous match.

The world champions are also back at number one in the WorldRugby rankings, a quite remarkable achievement when one considers that, having not played since winning the World Cup in November 2019, they had to play the might of the British and Irish Lions and four Tests away from home against top three sides New Zealand and Australia.

The Springboks certainly deserve their rest now, until the end-of-year tour to the United Kingdom at the end of the month. Of course, half the team that beat New Zealand last weekend will already be heading off to the Northern Hemisphere, because they play for overseas clubs.

There are also, of course, four South African teams currently in Wales and Scotland, playing in the United Rugby Championship. Starting that tough new challenge away from home has been a bridge too far for the South African franchises with just one win from eight matches so far.

The struggles in the URC have further justified Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus’s decision to look to the Northern Hemisphere for the bulk of the national squad, due to the poor state of the local game. For those who have been involved in South African rugby for a while, there are definite parallels with when we returned from isolation in 1992.

It took a while for the Springboks to adapt to where the game had moved on to, and the input of two overseas-educated coaches in Ian McIntosh and Kitch Christie.

We can blame Covid for the recent isolation that meant no international competition for our domestic teams for nearly 20 months.

This has been exacerbated by the talent-drain from these shores to those self-same European teams that has been going on for several years now. This means we are currently trying to find our feet in a new competition, overseas, against some of the leading clubs in the world, with weakened teams who have been denied international competition for more than a year-and-a-half.

The damage done by the talent-drain and Covid to our game seems to have been underestimated in many quarters, and this is reason enough to be a little patient when it comes to expecting our four franchises to contend with the top URC teams.

The size of the fight in the dog is going to have to come to the fore over the next fortnight, because matching the skills that the European teams are executing at high tempo is not just going to happen overnight.

Tempo and skill-set are two factors that have dogged our local rugby players for a while, which explains why the Springboks choose so many overseas-based players, and even then use something of a dumbed-down game-plan to ensure success.

This is not to say we don’t have skilful players. Just think of Lukhanyo Am and his ridiculous behind-the-back, reverse-flip pass to set up the first try last weekend, or Cheslin Kolbe and how we missed his dazzling feet. Elton Jantjies stamped his mark on the final minutes against the All Blacks by showcasing his excellent skills as well, and Lood de Jager is a lineout practitioner of great expertise.

But they are the outliers and one can only praise Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber for his pragmatism in recognising not just the strengths of his team, but also their weaknesses, and building his strategy around that.

Advertisers may love to say “But wait, there’s more”, but for Western Province rugby it is a case of it being far less.

At least when it comes to the money they are spending on players, and in particular on young Springbok fullback Damian Willemse.

Recent reports have alleged Willemse is earning R5.6 million a year to play for the Stormers, linking the extraordinary salary to allegations of reckless spending at the troubled union.

But Stormers coach John Dobson on Tuesday lashed out at the unethical reporting of individual player’s salaries and stated that the figures were wrong in any case.

“We have done very well to retain most of the squad we have until 2024 and we are still 15.3% below the salary cap. So we are certainly not throwing money at players as alluded to, and that’s with several Springboks staying, even though some of them were offered more elsewhere. Some players were even approached outside the transfer window.

“A line was absolutely crossed when Damian Willemse had an incorrect salary published, the figure was considerably off, it is much less than reported. To speculate about someone’s salary and then not get it right affects both the player and the cohesion of the squad. He’s a 23-year-old who is playing superbly and is desperate for Western Province to be successful,” Dobson said.

Dobson also confirmed that negotiations with 2019 World Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit are ongoing, saying that the talismanic Springbok has a strong affinity with the Western Cape.

“We’ve been talking to Pieter-Steph the whole year and he wanted to get back on to the field first before making any decisions. He has not signed anywhere overseas yet and we have planned for both scenarios – him staying with us or leaving – in our budget. But when a global star comes on the market, no South African franchise would be able to stand against the offer.

“But Pieter-Steph has got family and business interests in the Western Cape, he’s a big part of the team and the region, and he and his agents have been very transparent. Trying to match an overseas offer – if it’s a million euro or more particularly millions of yen – would break our salary cap, that would be about one-third of the salary cap on one player. But maybe he’ll go away for a short time and then come back,” Dobson explained.

Malibongwe Maketa is spending the winter as the head coach of the national academy at the CSA Centre of Excellence at the University of Pretoria, but the Warriors mentor is already thinking ahead to how he will handle the greater expectation that their excellent performances at franchise level have created for the Eastern Cape side.

In his second full season in charge, Maketa led the Warriors to both limited-overs finals and they were strongly in contention through the first five rounds of the Sunfoil Series as well, before losing their last three matches to finish last.

“It’s a great honour to be entrusted with such great talent at the academy, and as a group we’re going to commit to world-class standards. As a coach, I’m going to learn and grow as we try and keep South Africa as the number one cricketing nation. It should be the most memorable three months.

“I am happy with the progress the Warriors made last season, their hard work was rewarded. But the true test comes now because the supporters will expect us to box in that weight division from now on. As much as people say we don’t have any big names, we have a lot of very intelligent players and that is a big part of our success,” Maketa told Saturday Citizen at the CSA Centre of Excellence.

Many South African sports treat their up-and-coming coaches with almost criminal neglect, but it seems CSA certainly have a plan for Maketa, and his stint in charge of the academy is indicative of that. How does the 36-year-old see his own career pathway?

“I believe I’ve really grown as a coach. The players are also looking to grow and I’ve set barriers for them to get over, in a way I have to keep up with their growth. I enjoy all aspects of coaching, you have to give the players a lot of reassurance. If you don’t want to get better as a coach then you must not do this, because it’s about personal development, you want to see your players going up to the representative teams.

“I also want to go to higher levels as a coach, which means internationally, but the main thing is building relationships with the players. They must have enough trust that they know I am doing what is best for them,” Maketa said.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-kzn/20170610/282385514491146

I was pleased to hear Titans and South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris say this week that, despite a little tiff with Mother Cricket and her often tough ways, he has been spending more time than ever hitting balls in the nets.

Morris, having struggled in Bangladesh and then missing the series against New Zealand with an abdominal/groin muscle strain, has been recalled to the national squad for the tour of India which starts on September 29 as the selectors continue their search for a genuine all-rounder.

“I had a poor tour to Bangladesh, I shouldn’t have gone but you never want to turn down an opportunity to play for the Proteas,” Morris, whose grandfather also passed away in the middle of the T20 series, said.

“I came back from there and a lot of things in my head needed sorting out, because you’re in a very dark place when you’re injured. I thought about what I wanted to achieve – doing so badly made me think I wasn’t good enough to play for South Africa – and I went back to the drawing board.

“A couple of days in the bush and playing golf meant I got my passion for cricket back and I’m trying to be a proper all-rounder. It’s the hardest I’ve ever worked on my batting, I’m hitting more balls than ever with [Titans coach] Rob Walter. My bowling will get me in the team, but I want to be a genuine all-rounder,” Morris said with surprising candour.

This will be great news for the selectors, who are known to be searching for someone who can hold their own with bat and ball in the number seven position. It’s amazing how South Africa’s all-round stocks have diminished when, for so many years, we had several of the best multi-skilled players in the world – Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Shaun Pollock, Nicky Boje, Lance Klusener, Eric Simons, Brian McMillan, Mike Procter, Clive Rice, Anton Ferreira, Eddie Barlow and Trevor Goddard all spring to mind.

The selectors are not just looking for someone who can swing the bat to good effect in the lower-order, but a proper batsman who scores regular first-class centuries and who is a good enough bowler to be relied upon for 10 overs in an ODI.

The prime candidates to fit the bill are Morris, David Wiese and the unfortunate Ryan McLaren, who missed the World Cup because the selectors somehow reasoned that Farhaan Behardien and JP Duminy were genuine all-rounders. Wayne Parnell is also still in the picture.

The Australian team that won the World Cup had Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc batting from five to number 10, and you can also throw Mitchell Marsh’s name into the discussion as an all-rounder.

The balance of the South African side is just so much better with a fifth frontline bowler, but then he has to be good enough with the bat to fill the number seven position. The gauntlet has been thrown down by the selectors and it will be interesting to watch the progress of the likes of Morris, Wiese and McLaren in the coming summer .

It will certainly help if the franchises give these candidates as much opportunity with the bat as they can.