Ken Borland

The entire Bulls playing and management staff will be in Covid isolation until December 27, CEO Edgar Rathbone announced on Tuesday, but the awfulness of their situation is at least tempered by the opportunity to spend Christmas with their families.

The log-leaders’ vital Currie Cup match against the second-placed Lions has already been postponed to January 6 at Loftus Versfeld and the Bulls will end their round-robin campaign by travelling to Nelspruit just four days later to take on the Pumas.

“We have postponed the testing we were meant to have on Monday until Sunday, December 27, because it is still less than 10 days since the first positive tests and testing now would not give conclusive results, so we can get a more realistic picture next weekend. In the meantime the whole team is in quarantine at home, which makes it easier to control the infection.

“They will have no contact with other people outside of their families and we hope getting to spend Christmas with their families means they can come back recharged and refreshed. Obviously it is not ideal, but it has given the bodies some time to recover. If the players are clear on the 27^th, then we will start training on the 28^th and that gives us a week and a bit to prepare for the Lions game,” Rathbone said.

Rathbone refuted suggestions that the Bulls were being unfairly favoured in being allowed to postpone their match against the Lions, who have already had to share the points from two of their matches, and said in fact it meant they were risking their top position on the log because they have to play twice in five days. If the Bulls beat the Lions, then they can afford to play a second-string outfit against the Pumas and even if they lose they will still finish second on the log, the Sharks going top if they win their remaining three games.

“In terms of the tournament rules, the option has always been there to reschedule games and you need agreement between the two provinces, which we got last week already when we could see the Boxing Day match was at risk. Luckily our bye weeks are one week apart and the Pumas agreed to play us on the Sunday. But it means we have two games in a week, heading into the playoffs.

“The Lions will also play two games in a week before their bye, but for the integrity of the competition it is important this match is played. If the other matches could have been rescheduled then I’m sure they would have been. The log is important and we obviously want to finish on top, and it is a gamble that means we might have to prepare two squads that week. But the results will have to look after themselves,” Rathbone said.

Denied access to the front-foot ball they thrive on, the Sharks “were not able to fire a shot” in their 27-12 Currie Cup defeat to the Lions at Ellis Park at the weekend, coach Sean Everitt admitted after the game.

The Sharks’ points all came from the boot of flyhalf Curwin Bosch, with two of his four penalties coming from his own half, and the visitors were way behind the Lions in terms of possession and territory. With four of their first-choice tight five unavailable, their problems started in the scrums and the pressure just spread from there to the rest of their game.

“We can’t make excuses for that performance because we prepared well, but all the penalties against us – rightfully so – meant we weren’t able to fire a shot. The Lions put us under tremendous pressure for the full 80 minutes, but we have experienced individuals at Super Rugby level so it is no excuse. We had a penalty count of 14 against us and you’re not going to win many games with so many penalties against you.

“We are performance-driven and we are not happy with that performance because it was way below standard. The territory game is always important and it is affected by the number of penalties you concede. We had the Lions under pressure in their half, but then we would make a mistake, there would be a scrum and then we would concede a penalty which would release the pressure,” Everitt said.

The Sharks coach added that this chastening defeat was not due to a lack of effort nor was their game-plan at fault; under pressure, the Sharks simply failed to execute and made too many mistakes.

“You have to commend and congratulate the Lions for this pressure they put us under and they are probably the form team at the moment. It was not a lack of effort on our part, we just didn’t perform well and our kicking accuracy wasn’t good enough. We want to play according to the momentum and space and if we do have this momentum then we shouldn’t kick.

“I don’t think there were any kicks when we were on attack. But it’s not all doom and gloom, we were still in the game with 20 minutes to go. It’s hard to criticise the players for sticking to their structure, it has worked for us in the past when we came back from a nine-point deficit against the Bulls and 15 points against Griquas. If there were incorrect decisions made then we will rectify that,” Everitt said.

The two yellow cards in the Sharks versus Bulls Currie Cup match last weekend in Durban have caused much comment but, in my opinion, if rugby is going to continue to be officiated in that fashion then the sport itself is going to be fundamentally altered, alienating both fans and players.

Both Sharks centre Marius Louw and Bulls prop Jacques van Rooyen were yellow-carded for tackles which made contact to the head of their opponent. The head is now an extremely touchy subject in the sport given WorldRugby’s efforts to avoid future mega-millions law suits as we have seen in gridiron, but they were the sort of incidents that are going to happen numerous times in any game of rugby.

Rugby is a collision sport, it’s all about the gain-line now, there are going to be clashes of heads and it’s a bit like expecting a boxer not to be hit on the head. With some sports, there are just inherent risks that come with the game and are accepted by the participants: boxers are going to get hit in the face, formula one drivers are going to crash and rugby players are going to clash heads.

If rugby’s rule-makers are going to continue with their clampdown then the game will be changed and not necessarily for the good of the spectators, who are the people who pay the money that keeps the professional game afloat and pays the salaries of those administrators constantly tinkering with the laws.

As tacklers are forced to go lower and lower, rugby will become a sport dominated by attack, more like Sevens. Players will be able to offload at will, making for a much faster, less physical game. Which will then lead to coaches choosing quicker, more endurance-type athletes rather than those with power. It will be the end of the big strong guys in the tight five and rugby will have lost its unique selling point as a game for all shapes and sizes. As Duane Vermeulen said, we might as well just go and play ‘touchies’ – touch rugby, where no tackling is allowed.

Of course concussion and related head injuries are an issue in rugby and we are not going to encourage parents to let their children play the game unless it is going to be safe, or as safe as it can reasonably be made. It is all about risk management.

From that perspective, rules to clamp down on any foul or reckless act that leads to the head being targeted are most welcome. Things like shoulder-to-head or boot-to-head should absolutely be – pardon the expression – stamped out. But if every single incident of contact to the head is to be penalised with a card then we’re not going to have many players left on the field and games are going to be ruined.

In a World Cup final, are the tackles of Louw and Van Rooyen really going to be dealt with in the same way? I am inclined to think referee Marius van der Westhuizen only picked up on the incidents because Morne Steyn went down after Louw’s tackle and Van Rooyen left the field due to bleeding after his head clash with Venter. Van der Westhuizen’s comment to the TMO (who he later overruled anyway) that they should start at the high end of punishment and then work their way lower was also absurd.

The actions of the ball-carrier also have a great influence on the tackle as a whole. If they duck down and go in head first, much like Venter did, then the likelihood of being hit on the head is so much higher; it’s almost unfair on the defender to expect them, at the last second, to somehow get underneath the attacker to stop them.

Acts of foul play or recklessness must absolutely be dealt with harshly if it leads to a head injury, but the current interpretation our referees are using is going to lead to a major final being decided by the softest of moments when a player has unintentionally erred in tackling the way he was taught all those years ago when he started playing the game.

The log-leading Bulls may have had the disappointment of having their Currie Cup game this weekend cancelled due to Covid-19, but the Sharks are having to take on the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday with four of their tight five missing.

Hooker Dan Jooste and lock Ruben van Heerden have both tested positive for Covid-19, while tighthead prop Thomas du Toit has a rib injury and lock Hyron Andrews is missing for personal reasons. Michael Kumbirai will hopefully pick up from where he left off as Du Toit’s replacement last weekend, while hooker Kerron van Vuuren and lock JJ van der Mescht have both featured in the starting line-up already this season so their promotions are no big deal.

Aston Fortuin meanwhile, is a former Bulls lock and will make his debut for the Sharks in the No.5 jersey, replacing Andrews, who is unavailable due to a family bereavement.

“These sort of changes are always disruptive and Ruben, Hyron and Thomas have all been playing really good rugby, while Dan was outstanding last weekend. But JJ has had game time, it’s going to be exciting for Aston coming in next to him, Michael is back from his heroics last weekend and Kerron obviously comes in as well. It’s a nice opportunity for the guys, but they have had game time before.

“Travelling while there is so much Covid around is a concern and this weekend is a challenge because we don’t know who will be with us on the aeroplane to Johannesburg or who will be with us in the hotel. To play the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein next week we will be chartering our own flight, which means you spend a lot less time at the airport, but this weekend we just have to make sure the guys adhere to the protocols,” Sharks coach Sean Everitt said on Thursday.

Despite losing four tight forwards, Everitt has once again gone with a 6-2 split on the bench due to the expected heavy conditions at altitude.

“We know there could be showers at some stage, so it’s going to be a heavy field and it’s difficult playing on the highveld anyway, that’s why we’ve gone with a 6-2 bench. It is a 7pm kickoff though so fortunately we won’t be in the highveld sun. But we enjoy playing ball-in-hand and some of our best rugby has been played away from home. So hopefully it will be a dry ball.

“I wanted to reward the performance over the Bulls as well and ensure some continuity, but apart from needing speed around the field against the Lions at Ellis Park, we’re going to need fresh legs for the last 30 minutes because that is when the Lions score most of their tries,” Everitt said.

Sharks – Manie Libbok, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (capt), Marius Louw, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Aston Fortuin, JJ van der Mescht, Michael Kumbirai, Kerron van Vuuren, Ox Nche. Bench: Fez Mbatha, Mzamo Majola, John-Hubert Meyer, Thembelani Bholi, James Venter, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jaden Hendrikse, Jeremy Ward.