Ken Borland

It looked like being another instalment in the Bulls’ woes on tour given their messy start, but the Currie Cup champions enjoyed an impressive second half as they hammered Zebre Parma 45-7 in their United Rugby Championship match at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi on Friday night.

Where the Bulls put things right

Having wasted half-a-dozen try-scoring chances through over-eagerness and impatience, the Bulls began demolishing their Italian opposition as soon as they turned to a more measured, patient build-up; attack by instalments if you like.

Allowing their massive ball-carriers up front to be more direct, the Zebre defence couldn’t just rush up on to the backline as they were doing before. Suddenly the Bulls were getting behind the gain-line with regularity and opening up the space for flyhalf Chris Smith to pull the strings and allow centre Lionel Mapoe and fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse to fulfil the attacking threat they displayed throughout.

Much to be happy about at flyhalf

Much has been said about the Bulls’ flyhalf crisis with Morne Steyn and Johan Goosen both unavailable at the moment.

So coach Jake White will be delighted by the assured showing of Chris Smith in the No.10 jersey.

Not only did he succeed with all six of his kicks at goal, a couple of them being right from the touchline, but his tactical game was excellent and he had much to do with the Bulls’ attacking flow.

He played a key role in the Bulls’ crucial first try of the second half, as they built on a 17-7 lead, staying on his feet really well under pressure from several tacklers and then freeing Arendse on a strong run that led to Marcell Coetzee’s try from close range.

Smith’s brilliant kick in the 62^nd minute gave the Bulls a 50/22 lineout, from which Mapoe burst through to score and make the game safe at 38-7.

Always trust the Bulls forwards to lay the attacking platform

While coach Jake White has ambitions of playing more expansive rugby, and he has exciting backs to do that, the Zebre win showed once again that he should always look to his superb pack to set the platform by dominating the gain-line.

Problems persist in the scrums & lineouts

The Bulls scrum did concede a couple of penalties in that set-piece, but it did not have a major effect on the game.

But the Bulls wasted several promising attacking positions due to their lineout failing, which will no doubt require work in the week ahead.

Scorers

Zebre Parma: Try – Antonio Rizzi. Conversion – Rizzi.

Bulls: Tries – Johan Grobbelaar, Embrose Papier, Marcell Coetzee, Arno Botha, Lionel Mapoe, Kurt-Lee Arendse. Conversions – Smith (6). Penalty – Chris Smith.

So what to do about Aiden Markram remains the big question for the Proteas to sort out despite the talented batsman’s return to form (almost) in scoring 42 in the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.

While 42 is a big enough score to generally get one’s name in the scores in brief of leading cricket publications, it is also the sort of so-so score that does not really answer any questions, especially when it comes after your 10 previous innings have only realised 97 runs.

Markram should get one more innings at the Hagley Oval, one last chance to ram home his case, but then the Proteas return to South Africa and will begin preparations for their series against Bangladesh, which includes two Tests in April.

Keegan Petersen should be available again after his positive Covid test stopped him travelling, and he was man of the series against India so he should come straight back into the team. And Sarel Erwee made his mark in just his second Test by scoring a great century on the first day of the second Test, so he surely can’t be dropped.

Of course, if Markram goes on to score big runs in the second innings then it could become very awkward for the selectors. Or the Proteas could go back to the far-from-ideal days when they had seven batsmen and just four bowlers.

Of course having to fit too many batsmen into too few places is a very nice problem to have for any team.

After having exploded on to the international stage with 1000 runs in his first 10 Tests in 2017/18, including two centuries against Australia, very few would have predicted that by 2022 Markram would be at a crossroads in his Test career, playing for his future.

But having struggled against spin on the subcontinent, scoring just 84 runs in eight innings in India and Sri Lanka, seam bowlers now seem to have the wood on Markram as well.

Part of the problem would seem to be that the 27-year-old is a victim of his own tremendous talent. He is such a wonderful stroke-player, but one gets the impression sometimes that he is a bit too keen to feel bat on ball.

That was certainly the case in the first innings of the second Test. Having fought hard to get in on a Hagley Oval pitch that was still providing the pacemen with some assistance, Markram was looking set for the type of big score that he is desperate to get behind his name as he went from 17 off 69 deliveries shortly after tea to 42 off 103 balls.

The boundaries were coming and Markram looked to be in firm control of proceedings. And then he contrived to edge a wide half-volley from Neil Wagner into the slips.

New Zealand then managed to get through Erwee’s defences in the next over, but the left-hander’s 108 had brought some much-needed solidity to the top-order and carried the Proteas to a dominant position.

It was an innings of enormous maturity and composure by Erwee. There were shots, like the cover-drive, that he refused to visit until he had been at the crease for over an hour. New Zealand’s probing bowling also took him to some dark places, especially as he neared his maiden Test century before tea.

But the 32-year-old rode the ebbs and flows of his innings superbly. He stuck to his determined game-plan of playing as straight as possible and leaving well.

Astute shot-selection was the hallmark of Erwee’s innings. It is a quality Markram needs to revisit, post-haste, if he is to continue his Test career.

Sarel Erwee has the physique of a boxer and the mental focus of an endurance athlete, but the man from Pietermaritzburg was candid about the personal mountains he has had to climb in order to play Test cricket.

The 32-year-old reached the summit of his journey on Friday as he notched his maiden Test century in just his second game, his 108 leading the Proteas to a commanding 238/3 at the end of the first day of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.

“It’s a very special day for me, 28 months ago I didn’t think I was even close to the Test squad, in fact I was one phone call away from calling it quits on my cricket career,” Erwee revealed.

“But thanks to my parents’ encouragement and the help of a sports performance psychologist I began seeing in Durban, I got motivated again to give my best. We worked on my mental wellbeing.

“That was the turning point, it was daily work and a hard slog, but I could not just give up all the years I had sacrificed, even though at one stage it felt pointless and I felt worthless.

“But thanks to them I sit here today with a Test hundred behind my name, which is extremely special, even more so because of all the hard yards to get here,” Erwee said.

The left-handed opener was adroit in his shot-selection, showing great resilience, restraint and composure as South Africa elected to bat first in tricky conditions. Erwee showed a clear focus on playing straight, leaving well and putting away shots like the cover-drive that could get him in trouble early on in his innings.

“A lot has been said about the first Test and our preparation, and our backs were against the wall today,” Erwee said. “We had to stand up and deliver a punch and the best way to do that was by sticking to the basics.

“The way we performed today is going to be very uplifting for the next four days. We were all on the same page and we had a clear mindset before we went in to bat.

“The wind played more of a role today and the ball swung all day. But we are here to win, we want to leave these shores at 1-1 in the Test series.

“To do that we’ve got to man up, front up, and that’s what we did today. It’s a new Test with new energies, and if it meant batting first on a greenish pitch then so be it,” Erwee said.

Thirty-two year old opener Sarel Erwee has worked very hard to get to the top of the cricket pile and the left-hander made sure he enjoyed the view on Friday as he notched his maiden Test century to give South Africa the advantage after the first day of the second Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Erwee, playing in just his second Test, showed great maturity and shot-selection as he scored 108 to lead the Proteas to a rock-solid 238/3 at stumps.

South Africa were batting first having made a surprise decision at the toss, but captain Dean Elgar’s hunch that the pitch did not look as green as the one for the first Test, proved spot-on.

Elgar and Erwee were impressively watchful but positive in their intent whether defending or attacking as they backed up the brave decision at the toss with a wonderful opening stand that took the Proteas to 80/0 at lunch.

New Zealand eventually made their first breakthrough half-an-hour after lunch when Elgar, having scored a tenacious 41, was beaten and bowled all-ends-up by a superb Tim Southee delivery that was angled into the left-hander before nipping away to hit the top of off-stump.

Erwee batted on, however, going to his century in the over before tea, having stroked 13 fours in 188 balls. His driving through the covers and straight, and his clips off his pads, were particularly pleasing on the eye.

Aiden Markram, his Test career in flux, dug himself in carefully, building a vital second-wicket stand of 88 with Erwee. The Test rookie showed great composure through the ebbs and flows of his innings, as did Markram as they rode out a particularly testing period before tea when the Black Caps bowled five consecutive maiden overs.

Markram was just starting to shift gears and had played a number of fine attacking strokes to boost his score to 42 when he suffered a lapse in concentration, driving at a full, wide delivery from left-armer Neil Wagner and edging into the slips.

It ended a highly promising innings, plus New Zealand managed to add the wicket of Erwee in the next over, being caught behind off Matt Henry.

The two quick strikes led to a lift in intensity from the bowlers and Temba Bavuma survived a couple of edges through the slips and Rassie van der Dussen was dropped on 7 at midwicket by Will Young off Henry.

But they were both there at the end, ready to resume on the second day with Van der Dussen on 13 and Bavuma having added 22.

Given what transpired in the first Test, the opening day of the second Test was a massive positive for South Africa.