Ken Borland

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi on Friday pronounced himself 100% ready to give everything and inspire his team to do the same in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Saturday.

Kolisi played in the Test against Georgia but then missed the two SA A games due to a brush with Covid, and questions have been asked in some, largely foreign, quarters over his readiness for what will certainly be an all-out game of Test rugby.

“I’ve had a good build-up. Obviously it was tough testing positive and going through isolation and everything, but I was involved in every meeting and looking at the team’s preparation. And then I felt really good when I went back to training because fortunately I did not have any Covid symptoms. I was fine by the second day and after that it was all just mental being isolated in my room.

“The coaches know if I get tired, they are very good at noticing that and making substitutions a the right time, and they will definitely take me off. But I know what our bench can do, we have depth and they will turn it up even more, so I won’t be holding back, I am going to give it my absolute all on the field. My focus is just on the stuff I can control and I have a very big job on the field,” Kolisi said on Friday.

Particularly in the northern hemisphere, there have been whispers that the Springboks’ World Cup triumph was somehow a fluke and they should not be considered the best team in the world anymore. The 2007 World Cup champion Springboks were extremely motivated to beat the Lions in 2009 just to counter any such suggestions themselves and Kolisi hinted that his outfit are using similar fuel to fire them up.

“I spoke to John Smit last night and we have the same mindset as the 2007 side. We have come through many challenges, guys have been out for a long time with injuries and we have worked hard to get here. It’s rare to get this opportunity to play against the Lions again, most of us won’t. So we really want to win and we will give everything for that result.

“It’s going to be all about whose plan comes out on top and our plan hasn’t changed at all. It’s going to be about who is able to adapt and enforce their game-plan for 80 minutes. Our fitness levels and plans are there. We are also in a place of privilege to put smiles on peoples’ faces when unfortunately the country is not doing well, and that drives us even more,” Kolisi said.

David Miller crushing the Irish bowlers like ants at the end of the innings was one of the last pieces of the Proteas puzzle to fall into place in the second T20 International and they will be looking to build on that and complete a 3-0 whitewash in the third and final game in Belfast on Saturday evening.

Miller smashed 75 not out off 44 balls, including hitting four sixes in the final over, to lift South Africa to 159/7, a total which proved well beyond Ireland on a tricky pitch. Ironically, it was the failure of the top-order, the Proteas slumping to 58/5, that provided Miller with the opportunity for a lengthy stint at the crease, in which he posted his first half-century since his 85 not out against Pakistan in Lahore in February.

A better display by the top-order, with the Proteas still pondering their best combination there, will be one of the boxes they will want to tick on Saturday night.

But for Miller, there was just satisfaction that a run of minor contributions had come to an end.

“I have not really felt out of form, but in T20 cricket over the last six games, the situations have been tough. Which is why I try and stay away from worrying about form, I just try to make an impact. I want to be hard on myself and do well every game, but doing that in my role at No. 6 is very difficult. Today I had a lot of time to bat and I’m very chuffed to have put the team in a winning situation.

“I have been a bit low in runs, but I’ve been coming in low down the order and haven’t had a proper opportunity to score big runs. So I’ve just been trying to have an impact, rather than thinking about trying to have an average of 50, it’s the strike-rate I look at. So I just trust my instincts, I try and stay in the right mindset, that never changes,” Miller said.

The 32-year-old Miller also paid tribute to another top-class bowling display by the spinners and a vital contribution with the bat by Wiaan Mulder, with whom he shared a sixth-wicket stand of 58 off 43 balls. Wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi took three for 14 and orthodox left-armer Bjorn Fortuin claimed a career-best three for 16.

“The spinners have been phenomenal, we are really blessed with Shamo, Bjorn and George Linde. You can’t necessarily play all of them but it’s a good problem to have since the T20 World Cup is obviously the goal and we are building nicely. But we are still going game-by-game.

“Wiaan also played exceptionally well, that was probably the matchwinning partnership. His intent was great, he took the pressure off me and looked to take the bowlers down. I would like to bat higher but at the same time there is a bigger goal and the other guys are finding their groove in the batting line-up. There’s a particular role required of me, but I love opportunities like this one,” Miller said.

A top-class British and Irish Lions side that can play in a variety of ways awaits the Springboks at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

A World Cup winning Springboks side that has a simple, but highly effective game-plan awaits the British and Irish Lions at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

So who is going to win what should be a gripping encounter? Either way, it is surely going to be a Test that keeps everyone on the edge of their seats.

A lack of international rugby since winning the World Cup has been held against the Springboks’ chances, but perhaps a team that has a simple, more focused strategy is going to be able to deal better with what will be a high-pressure game full of intensity.

The Lions seem intent on playing a high-tempo game that stretches the Springboks in the wide channels, but having so many options at their disposal could actually be a negative. Running around like excited puppies is not going to win the tourists the first Test, especially against a side that relishes defending as vigorously as South Africa do. The defeat to the SA A side showed the Lions that they too are human and costly errors were made under pressure.

Obviously having great depth in playing resources is a positive, but the other side of that coin is that there may be a lack of certainty in exactly what the Lions are planning to do on Saturday. Coach Warren Gatland made a great deal of how he and his coaching staff all had different selections when it came to the 23 for the first Test.

Eventually the team was chosen by consensus, but the possibility of horse-trading exists and this could lead to a lack of a united, singular vision for the Lions.

So what are the potential weaknesses of the Springboks?

Their backline all played and shone in that World Cup final win over England in 2019, but key players in Handre Pollard, Damian de Allende and Makazole Mapimpi could be a little short of rugby.

But, as in all closely-contested Test matches, it is all going to come down to the forwards. The selection of the two players who did not feature in the World Cup – loosehead prop Ox Nche and eighthman Kwagga Smith – would seem to be all about mobility and being able to defend in those wide channels the Lions have used so effectively.

While Nche is a wonderful ball-playing prop, and a strong defender, all eyes – and possibly even the outcome of the match – are going to be on his scrum battle with Tadhg Furlong, who many consider to be the best tighthead in the world.

Smith made his name in the Green and Gold colours of the Springbok Sevens team and he is a wonderful athlete and potent with ball in hand. He will have a key role at the breakdown and in defending the wide channels with Pieter-Steph du Toit. But Smith lacks the physicality of his predecessor, the injured Duane Vermeulen, which could make a difference when it comes to the key gainline battles which South Africa need to dominate.

Re the gainline battle, it is going to be interesting to see how the Lions cope with the likes of Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx and Rynhardt Elstadt coming off the bench in the second half to back up the mighty Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert.

The fact that the phonelines have been buzzing between the Lions camp and WorldRugby over a South African TMO being appointed and Rassie Erasmus acting as a waterboy on the side of the field suggests the tourists are feeling the pressure.

In many ways they are the favourites, which has allowed Jacques Nienaber and the Springboks to go into the match a little more under the radar.

An epic test awaits, but what a pity there won’t be 55 000 fans cheering on in the ears of the players.

David Miller put his foot on the pedal in spectacular fashion at the end of his innings, after the wheels had fallen off the Proteas top-order, leading South Africa to a 42-run win over Ireland in the second T20 International at Stormont in Belfast on Thursday evening, giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Paul Stirling’s part-time off-spin was the vehicle for Ireland to make a dream start after they lost the toss and had to bowl first, the burly opening batsman having both Temba Bavuma and Janneman Malan caught at backward point for ducks in the first over.

South Africa were three down in the fourth over when Aiden Markram, driving loosely, was bowled by Mark Adair for 8, and when Quinton de Kock (27 off 20) was adjudged to be lbw to off-spinner Simi Singh to the first ball after the powerplay, the Proteas were in desperate trouble on 38 for four.

That’s when Miller came to the crease and South Africa were driven to their total of 159 for seven by his fabulous 75 not out off 44 balls. Wiaan Mulder helped his experienced partner to break the cycle of wickets as he contributed an impressive 36 off 26 balls as they added 58 off 43 deliveries for the sixth wicket.

South Africa went into the final over on a moderate 135 for seven, but Miller finished the innings in magnificent style, hitting left-armer Josh Little for four sixes and turning down singles on the other two deliveries.

Left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin then removed veteran Kevin O’Brien in the first over of Ireland’s innnings, for his second successive duck, and left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks had Andy Balbirnie caught behind for 6 inside the powerplay.

The middle overs were once again a time of celebration for superstar wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi as he removed the dangerous duo of Paul Stiring (19) and birthday boy George Dockrell (20) in his first two overs. In between, part-time off-spinner Markram dismissed Harry Tector  as Fortuin plucked a low catch diving forward at extra over.

Shamsi also added the wicket of Ireland’s top-scorer, Shane Getkate for 24.

Ireland were eventually all out for 117 in the last over, with Fortuin finishing with a career-best three for 16 in his four overs, which included a maiden, while Shamsi posted the outstanding figures of three for 14.

Seamers Lungi Ngidi (3.3-0-14-1) and Hendricks (4-0-28-2) displayed encouraging form with the ball as well.