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Ken Borland



Bulls need to jack up their ability to turn pressure into points – Coetzee 0

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Ken

After losing twice to the Stormers in January and April, the Bulls had to jack up their ability to turn their pressure into points according to captain Marcell Coetzee, and he is confident that their finishing is now on a par with their hosts ahead of their United Rugby Championship final in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Bulls lost 26-30 to the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld in January, a 20-minute purple patch giving them a 26-18 lead with 12 minutes left, but they frittered away their advantage. Then, in Cape Town in April, the Bulls were outscored two tries to one in a 17-19 defeat as the Stormers’ defence showed none of the little losses of concentration that their archrivals did.

“Execution was the difference in those matches,” Coetzee said. “We had a lot of opportunities and we could have sealed the deal. There were a lot of chances that we did not take.

“But the Stormers did, like they did in their semi-final last weekend against Ulster. That’s what makes them dangerous: They take their chances to the best of their ability.

“But we’ve got better at that too and we are more clinical now. So I would say the execution of our game-plans is at an equal level for both sides.

“There was huge jubilation after beating Leinster, but what we were most proud of was how we implemented our plan on the day with 100% efficiency. We showed we can win an away playoff,” Coetzee said.

With so much riding on the game – not just the previous history between the two great North/South rivals of South African rugby, but also the chance to be the first URC champions – it is unlikely the teams will be able to play with unfettered freedom. Adding to the Test match feel will be the fact that the Stormers will give the Bulls little leeway in the scrums or at the breakdown.

The Stormers have the edge in current Springboks and World Cup winners, and the Bulls will be running to the shelter provided by their experienced, internationally-proven men like Coetzee, Morne Steyn, Bismarck du Plessis, Cornal Hendricks and Arno Botha.

“I remember as a young player playing in finals for the Sharks between 2011 and 2013, there’s immense pressure on you, but you feel safe with guys who have been there and done it before. You feed off that,” Coetzee said.

“And those experienced guys feed off the youngsters’ energy, how much we appreciated being in a final. Guys like Morne and Bismarck, they know what to expect and we know what to expect from them.

“It’s not so much about revenge, but a final will be personal on both fronts and it’s always 50/50 on the day. We will approach the final with the humility and respect it deserves.

“Our job is not done yet, there’s still a lot for us to fix. Our plan worked to perfection but then we let Leinster back in the game at the end. But the Stormers were able to keep their composure towards the end of a tight contest,” Coetzee said.

Jake delighted Bulls are favourites, gives them golfing analogy 0

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Ken

Coach Jake White is delighted that most people seem to consider the Bulls the favourites for their United Rugby Championship match against the Sharks on Saturday, despite the KwaZulu-Natalians beating them twice this season, and said “my analogy to the players was that they are like a golfer who has a chance to win in the final round”.

The Bulls get to host the South African derby quarterfinal because they finished fourth on the final URC log, one place above the Sharks, and White really wants his players to feel at home in the pressure of a knockout game.

“I’m very proud we’re the favourites,” White said. “We’ve finished ahead of them on the log even though we lost to them twice and they have eight current Springboks and we have zero incumbents. It’s a feather in our cap for all our coaches and players.

“We’re really excited, there’s a buzz around Loftus like the old days. We will stick to what has been working for us and won’t be influenced by other people. My players have been given full carte blanche to express themselves.

“They’re like a runner coming down the last stretch now. I gave them a golf analogy and told them the pressure to make the cut on a Friday is very different to playing in the final round when you have a chance to win.

“I want them to enjoy it and give it a full go, and hopefully we can do our supporters proud. We’ve got a couple of new things we will bring to the Sharks and it will be interesting to see if it works …,” White smiled.

The Bulls lost 29-22 to the Sharks in their last meeting in Pretoria, in February, but much went wrong that day which White is confident won’t happen again.

“We made a couple of mistakes then – we had to play with 14 men, a kick-off bounced straight into Makazole Mapimpi’s hands and Lukhanyo Am scored a long-range intercept try.

“I’m fully confident going into this match and we have played well in knockout games,” White said.

The only thing White seemed to be unhappy about on Friday was an injury list that curls his toes. To the long-term blows that have ruled out Lionel Mapoe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johan Goosen, Jacques du Plessis and Jacques van Rooyen can now be added  the snapped hamstring suffered by bruising loose forward Cyle Brink.

Arno Botha is a fine replacement in the starting line-up and exciting youngster Reinhardt Ludwig will be on the bench.

Bulls: Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, Madosh Tambwe, Chris Smith, Zak Burger; Elrigh Louw, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements – Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Lizo Gqoboka, Robert Hunt, Janko Swanepoel, Reinhardt Ludwig; Embrose Papier, Morne Steyn, Stedman Gans.

Twice Bulls built spacious lead, twice they had to repel Griquas comebacks 0

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Ken

Twice the Bulls built a spacious lead for themselves and twice they had to repel ferocious Griquas’ comebacks before eventually pulling away in the final quarter to win 56-33 in their Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday evening.

Having weathered a torrid start when they struggled at the breakdowns, conceding several penalties and a yellow card to prop Mornay Smth, the Bulls used the power of their rolling maul and scrums, as well as some swift counter-attacking play, to score three tries for a 20-6 lead.

The first went to flyhalf Johan Goosen and was thanks to a very fortuitous bounce after scrumhalf Zak Burger charged down a kick. Hooker Schalk Erasmus then scored from a maul and wing Kurt-Lee Arendse slipped through a tackle to score in the left corner after a sweeping counter by the Bulls from deep in their own half.

The Bulls closed the half in sloppy fashion though, allowing Griquas flyhalf George Whitehead to kick a third penalty and then the home side conceded a scrum penalty inside the visitors’ 22. Outside centre Chris Hollis made a break and scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer squeezed over in the corner to bring Griquas right back into the game at 16-20 at the break.

Another Whitehead penalty early in the second half closed the gap to just one point, but then the Bulls simply powered their way into a 30-19 lead as lock Walt Steenkamp drove over for a try and Goosen kicked another penalty.

Still Griquas came back although the Bulls were once again their own worst enemies as Arendse dropped the restart and then stopped Griquas from using a blindside overlap with a deliberate knock-on. A yellow card and a penalty try were rightly awarded.

But then the Bulls brought their A-game in the final quarter as all the exciting young talent they have bought stepped into the limelight.

Chief amongst those was eighthman Elrigh Louw, who burst clear from next to a ruck 20 metres out for the try that provided some breathing space. The rolling maul provided further tries for Erasmus and his replacement young Jan-Hendrik Wessels, while Arendse redeemed himself with his second try.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Johan Goosen, Schalk Erasmus (2), Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), Walt Steenkamp, Elrigh Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Conversions – Johan Goosen (4), Chris Smith. Penalties – Goosen (2).

Griquas: Tries – Stefan Ungerer, penalty try, Janco Uys. Conversions – George Whitehead (2). Penalties – Whitehead (4).

From being in the shadow of Tahir, Shamsi now wants to win games in all formats for SA 0

Posted on June 08, 2021 by Ken

Tabraiz Shamsi has been in the shadow of Imran Tahir in white-ball cricket for most of his international career and is finally back in the Test squad after appearing in the longest format of the game just twice, in 2016 and 2018, and says he is eager to win games in all formats for the Proteas in the West Indies.

Shamsi has established himself as South Africa’s No.1 limited-overs spinner, winning the T20 Player of the Year award on Monday night and featuring in seven of their nine ODIs since the start of 2020. But it is his Test prospects which are perhaps most interesting.

The left-arm wrist-spinner took a wicket in each innings on Test debut against Australia in Adelaide in November 2016 and his second Test was against Sri Lanka in Galle in July 2018. Shamsi was threatening in the first innings, taking three wickets, and then added a single wicket in the second innings.

But that was his last Test appearance, although coach Mark Boucher did want to play him in a three-pronged spin attack in the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi in January, but Shamsi pulled out shortly before the toss with a back spasm.

“As far as the Test team goes, I feel like I have unfinished business, but I have to wait my turn and give it my all when the chance comes, I only think about winning games for my country. The role of a spinner is very important in the West Indies because their batsmen play calypso cricket, high-octane cricket, just playing shots. So a leg-spinner or a wrist-spinner can definitely turn the game there.

“It hasn’t been easy being behind Imran Tahir for so many years, just playing one or two games here and there, usually when we’ve already won the series. But you only really learn when you play regularly: If you make a mistake on Wednesday then you can try and rectify it on Friday and Sunday. Consistency of playing leads to better performances,” Shamsi said.

Confidence and consistent performances are certainly also products of having the same team together for a while and Shamsi is looking forward to the T20 squad playing some regular cricket now ahead of their World Cup in October/November. South Africa will play five T20s against the West Indies and three versus Ireland, as well as having series against Sri Lanka and India lined up.

“It will be nice to go into the World Cup with some confidence, but it is five months away. So I just want to keep improving and hopefully I’ll be in even better form then after quite a good last season. The World Cup will be in the subcontinent so this is a nice opportunity to fine-tune and come up with and perfect game-plans where the pitches are normally slow.

“We may get the same conditions at the World Cup so we want tough games now. The team maybe does not have a lot of caps, but we have all played a lot of domestic cricket. We know the skills in the squad and that gives us confidence, we know the firepower we have is really exciting. It’s not bad to be flying under the radar and I think we will surprise a few people,” Shamsi said.

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