Ken Borland

Springbok resting protocols will allow numerous Sharks fringe players to cash in on some lengthy playing opportunity when a much-changed team travels to Johannesburg to take on the Lions in their Rainbow Cup match on Saturday.

Coach Sean Everitt on Thursday announced a team with 10 changes to the starting line-up that went down to the Stormers a fortnight ago. That includes a new front row, the return of Hyron Andrews at lock, two new loose forwards and four changes to the backline, one of which is the return of Springbok wing Makazole Mapimpi.

With the Currie Cup confirmed to start on June 18 and the Rainbow Cup final being played the next day, as well as the Sharks set to lose a large number of players to the Springbok squad, the jostling for starting spots in the team is increasing.

“The selection is very much about supporting the Springboks’ resting protocols, but it’s a good opportunity for other guys who we may be working with for a lengthy period, maybe until December. We do have the players to cover and most of them have been in the 23-man squad anyway, this is not a young and inexperienced team. It’s just starting is a different role for them.

“The matchday squad is not that different to the one against the Stormers [15/23] and it’s amazing the difference it makes to morale when everyone knows they’re going to get a shot. There has been good energy, a lot of excitement and attention in training this week. We know we have great depth, we are a vastly improved squad and the more the exposure the better the players will be for it,” Everitt said on Thursday.

Apart from resting protocols, Covid is also a massive factor in rugby today and Everitt’s plans of giving his first-choice front row of Fez Mbatha, Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit a complete rest this week were dashed when his third-choice trio of Khwezi Mona, Michael Kumbirai and Dan Jooste were all in contact with someone in the Toyota Invitation XV who tested positive after their friendly match against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein at the weekend.

It means Mbatha, Nche and Du Toit will have to sit on the bench on Saturday, and against a rock-solid Lions scrum, one would not bet against them having to come on and play a key role if the Sharks are to maintain their challenge for the Rainbow Cup title.

Sharks team: Anthony Volmink, Yaw Penxe, Werner Kok, Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Manie Libbok, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Henco Venter (c), James Venter, Hyron Andrews, JJ van der Mescht, Wiehahn Herbst, Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Bench – Fez Mbatha, Ox Nche, Thomas du Toit, Ruben van Heerden, Thembelani Bholi, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain, Jeremy Ward.

Duane Vermeulen must be used to being the object of huge admiration from rugby fans by now, so it was nice on Thursday to hear the talismanic Springbok eighthman almost gush over the prospect of teaming up with Marcell Coetzee for the first time in the Bulls’ loose trio when they take on the Stormers in their massive Rainbow Cup clash at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

Coetzee, who earned himself legendary status at Ulster when he moved there from the Sharks in 2016, will make his debut for the Bulls on Friday night in a highly-anticipated North/South derby that could well decide who wins the South African leg of the Rainbow Cup.

Vermeulen and Coetzee will be hoping to reproduce their epic performance for the Springboks back in 2014 when they beat the All Blacks 27-25 at Ellis Park to end a five-game losing streak against their great rivals. Vermeulen was immense despite playing with cracked ribs and won the man of the match award.

“Marcell has good character, he has great energy on the field and I’m really looking forward to playing with him again. He’s a good ball-carrier, he has pace to the ball. He’s actually just a really well-rounded player – he tackles and carries the ball well, and can play to the ball.

“And it’s going to be nice to have young Elrigh Louw playing with us, he can learn a lot from Marcell now too. Marcell is really experienced and he can back me up on decision-making as well,” Vermeulen said on Thursday.

Vermeulen is no stranger to playing with pain to this day, and Bulls coach Jake White said it was the courage of his captain that eggs his team-mates on to greater heights.

“Every week Duane is in the doctor’s room getting things drained out of his knee. He could hold back every week, he could say ‘Coach, I need a break’. But he always fronts up, it’s why he has achieved what he has and with that sort of leader I know I’ll have no problem with any other players. I don’t feel like anyone is not going to put their body on the line and give their absolute best,” White said.

The coach was similarly excited about being able to pick Coetzee, saying he can play in each of the loose-forward positions, but adding the Bulls’ combination of Vermeulen, Louw and Coetzee, with Marco van Staden on the bench, is probably the best in global club rugby.

White also praised his conditioning staff for ensuring Coetzee and fellow Springboks Ivan van Zyl and Gio Aplon have all been able to return to action in a crucial match in which the Bulls will need all the quality they can get against a powerful Stormers team that is gaining momentum.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Cornal Hendricks, Stravino Jacobs, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marcell Coetzee, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench – Schalk Erasmus, Jacques van Rooyen, Trevor Nyakane, Janko Swanepoel, Marco van Staden, Zak Burger, Chris Smith, Gio Aplon.

Zak Burger is the latest in a number of Paarl Gimnasium products that have landed up at Loftus Versfeld, including Handre Pollard, Johan Grobbelaar, Stravino Jacobs and Muller Uys, but the 22-year-old scrumhalf is a bit different in that he has taken a more scenic route into the Bulls team.

Born and bred in the Cape, Burger missed out on SA Schools selection but took up a junior contract with the Sharks. It was a foot in the door at a major union, and he was chosen for the SA U20 squad for the 2018 Junior World Cup, but Burger then gambled by joining Griquas in a move that has turned out to be every bit as audacious as some of his trademark breaks from the back of the ruck or scrum.

“It was a bit of a gamble, but after the Junior World Cup I got the opportunity to play Currie Cup rugby at the age of 19 in Kimberley. So I sat with my Dad and we decided that it was a big privilege to get senior experience at my age, rather than waiting to come through the ranks at the Sharks, through the U21s into senior level.

“It worked out very well. I learnt so much in Kimberley and I ended up as captain, so now I have leadership experience from a young age. Scrumhalf is a crucial position in terms of leadership and it was a big privilege to captain Griquas. I definitely grew and became a better player there,” Burger explained on Wednesday.

In a struggling side, Burger’s vision, reading of the game and all-round ability caught the eye of Bulls coach Jake White, who snapped him up after the Currie Cup. With Ivan van Zyl’s tour of duty at Loftus soon coming to an end, Burger is going to be playing a more and more influential role alongside Embrose Papier, if he does not return to the Springbok squad.

And Burger says he is particularly looking forward to running on to the field on Friday night against the Stormers, the team he supported as a kid.

“I grew up in the Cape and went to school there, so naturally I supported Western Province. My Mom and Dad were big Stormers supporters since I was small. So I know it’s the big North/South derby and every match between the sides is very physical, I can remember Schalk Burger and Bakkies Botha going up against each other.

“I’m looking forward to Friday night, it will be lekker to play the Stormers at Loftus. I definitely don’t have a point to prove though, it’s not a grudge meeting, just another game. At the moment I’m playing for the Bulls so I want to do my best for them in every game. Losing to the Lions was a big disappointment for us, but it was a good wake-up call,” Burger said.

When Willie le Roux hared off to Wasps in 2017 he knew that he was putting his Springbok career at risk such were the stricter rules surrounding the use of overseas players at the time. But he was still in the Green and Gold two years later and his experience at fullback was important in winning the 2019 World Cup.

And now, with almost another two years having passed, Le Roux is still the first-choice fullback at an evergreen 31-years-old. This is both a blessing and a concern because should the Toyota Verblitz star get injured, it is probably the position in the squad for the series against the British and Irish Lions where coach Jacques Nienaber has the least back-up, especially with Warrick Gelant unlikely to recover in time from his ACL surgery.

Damian Willemse was a late call-up to the World Cup squad as a replacement for Jesse Kriel and has only accumulated six caps. His recent form for the Stormers has been promising rather than spectacular and there are many who believe Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi should now be considered the back-up to Le Roux.

Fassi himself is uncapped though and the development of his undoubted talent was put back a bit by the serious shoulder injury he suffered last year.

So fullback looks a little thin for Nienaber’s liking, and he could be looking at utility players like Francois Steyn, Johan Goosen or Raymond Rhule to provide cover there or maybe even Kriel, Handre Pollard or Sbu Nkosi in an emergency.

In terms of the all-important tight five, while there is pleasing depth in the front row and lots of in-form Black stars like Bongi Mbonambi, Lizo Gqoboka, Ox Nche, Scarra Ntubeni, Joseph Dweba and Trevor Nyakane to choose from, injuries have marred Nienaber’s options at lock.

World Cup winners RG Snyman and Lood de Jager are both racing against time to be fit and are unlikely to make the 45-man squad that will be announced on Saturday.

While the Springboks’ starting pair of Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert are absolutely world-class, there is a lack of experience thereafter.

Marvin Orie has been capped only three times and Jason Jenkins has played just a solitary Test. The other two main contenders for a place – Ruan Nortje and JD Schickerling – would both be making their international debuts.

Toulouse hardman Rynhardt Elstadt has helped his French club to European glory and top of the log domestically, and can cover lock as well, but has played just two Tests. The Springbok management will be loathe to move Pieter-Steph du Toit to the second row given what a tremendous impact he has had playing on the flank.