Ken Borland

Covid-19 is raging around Gauteng, but Siya Kolisi says the Springboks feel safe in their encampment at a Johannesburg hotel/biobubble and they are eager to once again put smiles on the faces of their supporters who are going through so much in their day-to-day lives.

Friday’s Test against Georgia in Pretoria is the Springboks’ first since Kolisi led them to a memorable World Cup triumph in the final against England in Yokohama on November 2, 2019. Since then the coronavirus has infiltrated every aspect of South African life and Kolisi knows his team can give people some respite from the slow vaccination programme, service delivery failures, water and electricity crises, Zuma’s attack on the constitution and the dire economy etcetera etcetera.

“We are being kept informed of what is happening around us and we know the number of Covid infections is climbing, but basically we are just staying at our hotel and just concentrating on our rugby. We are keeping safe and we want to make sure we make the most of the opportunity we have to play. When we play, it feels good for our fans and hopefully we can add to that.

“We want to put smiles on the faces of people, we are privileged and fortunate to be doing what we love to do, so we are going to give it everything and play as hard and for as long as we can. Sometimes we give the people smiles and hope, they are going through a really difficult time and if one or two of them can be lifted then that’s good because we don’t only play for ourselves,” captain Kolisi said on Thursday.

One should not expect the Springbok game to be adorned with fancy jewellery against Georgia, who are a workmanlike side that loves to make rugby a war of attrition. The home side will not want to buckle and they have to do the hard yards first before trying any of the pretty stuff against the world’s 12^th-ranked team.

“We all have to make sure we do our part – ‘know your job, do your job’ – and hopefully we can make a statement. Like a circus act, everyone can hopefully show why they have been picked in the team and we won’t beat Georgia without the unseen Warrior work like cleaning rucks. We need to do the stuff that nobody except the coaches and the team sees.

“For the Springboks to actually get out on to the field is huge for us because we’ve been talking about it since last year, when we thought we would get the opportunity to play. Every team has had to adapt to Covid, but we’re only coming together now, there’s great excitement and it’s awesome that so many players from the World Cup are still with us,” Kolisi said.

The impending series against the British and Irish Lions may be at the forefront of most rugby fans’ minds in South Africa at present, but the Springboks said on Thursday that their full attention is on Georgia at the moment ahead of the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

While Georgia are ranked 12^th in the world and it would be close to apocalyptic for the world champions to lose to them, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said the match goes beyond just being a dress rehearsal for the Lions series. But he did acknowledge pretty much the same tried-and-tested game-plan that won the World Cup will be used against the Lions, and will be fine-tuned against the Lelos.

“First of all we want to win and then we want to make sure our plans and systems are working. We’re not looking that far ahead to the Lions series. Our game-plan will not change, although there are a few tweaks here and there. Of course we will bring the same physicality and hard work, the things you don’t need talent for. We want to do all we can in the system, but the coaches also want us to be able to express ourselves.

“We need to make sure it all comes together on the field, the focus is on coming together as a group and making sure we’re ready for when the time comes for the Lions series. We haven’t played in 20 months so we can’t be watching out for the games after Georgia now, we have to focus on our system and our game-plan. And we always give every opposition everything we can,” Kolisi said on Thursday.

Backline coach Mzwandile Stick said while they were eager for the players to express their individual talents, the Springboks will always call on their physicality as the starting point of their efforts.

“Certain things never change in rugby like playing between four lines and having 15 starters and eight on the bench, and likewise we will never neglect our physical side. It’s part of our DNA. Normally we have big, physical forwards who can really dominate the collisions. That area will be a challenge on Friday because Georgia have a lot of pride in their physical game.

“They have strong set-pieces and we know it’s going to be a physical challenge. But we also always try to empower the players to express themselves. Guys like Rosko Specman and Aphelele Fassi have x-factor and you can’t tell them not to step when they get the ball. Winning the World Cup was special for us, but now we are starting from scratch again,” Stick said.

Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg says he will be looking to ensure the British and Irish Lions stamp their mark on their tour of South Africa with the right performance and result as he captains them in their opening match overseas against Gauteng’s Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The lively fullback leads an almost entirely new starting XV for the tourists and he certainly has the experience for the job, being on his third Lions tour and having led Scotland to momentous away victories over both England and France in this year’s Six Nations Championship.

“We will be looking to lay down a marker early doors and start the tour in the best way possible. I’ve watched the 1997 South African tour video about a million times and I reckon I can quote 90% of it. I absolutely loved Martin Johnson as the captain, but I will be my own man as a leader. It’s not my style to scream and shout, I prefer to lead from the front.

“There will be lots of great leaders in the team on Saturday like Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje, and I will just be going out and trying to do my job. I look forward to expressing myself, and contributing to a successful start to the tour. It’s all about the energy and buzz we create, those little victories in the game will be massive, that kicks you on. But if those moments don’t go according to plan then we have to regroup and start again,” Hogg said on Thursday.

For coach Warren Gatland, the pace with which his team settles into their combinations will be vital with just five matches to be played before the first Test in Cape Town on July 24.

“We’re a bit limited with there only being five games before the Tests, so we need to build confidence quickly and create combinations too and see how they work out as quickly as possible because there’s a lot of competition in the squad. If we play well on Saturday then we can get that confidence going. We’ve had a good look at the opposing Lions and they will be strong up front.

“The first game is always difficult as you need to get up to speed and we’re up against a side that is probably the least affected in terms of losing players to the Springboks. So they’re going to be a settled outfit and incredibly motivated to be the first team to beat us on tour. But it’s been above expectation how well we’ve gelled so far and we know how tough and physical it’s going to be,” Gatland said.

Team – Stuart Hogg, Louis Rees-Zammit, Chris Harris, Owen Farrell, Josh Adams, Finn Russell, Ali Price, Taulupe Faletau, Hamish Watson, Courtney Lawes, Jonny Hill, Maro Itoje, Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Wyn Jones. Bench: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mako Vunipola, Zander Fagerson, Iain Henderson, Sam Simmonds, Gareth Davies, Bundee Aki, Elliot Daly.

It’s always sad when the captain of the opposing team misses the tour due to injury before it has even started, especially when it is a classy rugby player such as Alun-Wyn Jones. I was curious about the veteran Welsh lock’s second British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa because his 2009 venture ended in rather inelegant fashion.

The last time I saw Jones in the flesh – and it was a lot of flesh – was when he was running around butt naked in the Sandton Convention Centre and then proceeded to urinate under one of the banquet tables. It was the final night of the tour and there had been an official farewell function, after which the Lions retired to their own after-party.

Certain members of the media had their own ‘little’ shindig after the formalities as well, and I was wandering back out of the building when I heard noise coming from one of the halls, poked my head through the door and saw the unforgettable sight of Jones letting loose.

It was one of the abiding memories of the five weeks I spent covering that Lions tour, from the sea to the Highveld, and what an experience it was.

The tour kicked off on May 30 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg as the Lions played against a Highveld XV, made up of players from the central unions excluding the Gauteng Lions and the Bulls. After playing the Golden Lions and the Free State Cheetahs in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein respectively, the Lions then decamped to the coast for a string of three matches in Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth before the first Test at Kings Park on June 20.

The Lions had to return to a sodden Newlands three days later to draw 13-13 with the Emerging Springboks and then the last two Tests were played at Loftus Versfeld and Ellis Park.

There was always a sea of red spectators in the stadiums and most of those jolly travellers then drank their fill in whatever establishments were nearby the match venues. I remember after the Lions beat the Southern Kings 20-8, all the pubs along the beachfront in Port Elizabeth ran dry. Even the Boardwalk Casino ran out of stock.

The wonderful thing about a Lions tour is that when your national team is done facing the best of Great Britain and Ireland on the field, there is always tremendous camaraderie after the game. What could be better than talking rugby with like-minded revellers?

One such occasion did lead to me losing face, however, and I felt as embarrassed as I hope Jones did the next morning.

It was after the Western Province match at Newlands on June 13 and the Cape Town weather was foul on that night too. But nevertheless all the drinking holes along Main Road were packed to the rafters as a crowd of 34 000 poured out of the stadium.

I found myself deep in discussion with a group of people and, pride always coming before a fall, I was very up front that I was covering the entire tour for international news agency Reuters. What an expert I was.

Standing next to me was an interesting fellow who had an unusual accent – either Australian or Kiwi (it was getting late and I wasn’t sure) – for someone watching a British and Irish Lions tour. So I asked hm what an Antipodean was doing following the tour and the words were no sooner out of my mouth when I realised what a complete idiot I was.

Standing next to me was Riki Flutey, the New Zealand-born centre, who had played for the Lions in that very match that night. Fortunately there were some sturdy pillars in this bar/restaurant and I rapidly slid behind the one next to me.

What an expert I was.

Despite that one humiliating moment, it is going to be utterly frustrating not having those crowds on this tour. But we will roar the Springboks along nevertheless, knowing that there will be many thousands of others roaring along the Lions in front of their screens on the other side of the equator.

It should still be a rollicking five weeks of rugby.