Ken Borland

Players arriving at a union normally have to earn a starting place through proving their worth over a period of time, but Bulls coach Jake White is so sure of Walt Steenkamp’s abilities that the former Free State Cheetahs lock has been vaulted straight into the starting line-up for Saturday’s Super Rugby Unlocked match against the Lions at Ellis Park.

The introduction of Steenkamp, replacing Ruan Nortje, who has an injury niggle, is the only change to the Bulls team that thumped the Stormers last weekend in such impressive fashion. The 25-year-old from Rustenburg, who only arrived in Pretoria at the start of the week, leapfrogs Sintu Manjezi, who stays on the bench partly because he can play in both the number four or number five jerseys.

“I signed Walt on the basis that I wanted to use him, and with Ruan Nortje having a bump on his knee I didn’t want to risk him as a 22-year-old who has played every minute for us so far. So it’s a good chance to give Walt an opportunity, he has played well for the Cheetahs, who are an unbeaten team, and he will bring that confidence, he knows how to win.

“Walt is 120kg, more than two metres tall and a mean scrummager. That’s my kind of forward – I want the biggest, meanest, strongest Bulls pack ever. It’s also Jason Jenkins’ last week with us before he goes back to Japan, so maybe next week we will play Ruan and Sintu. I thought Sintu would be a No.5 for us, but he can double up and is maybe more of a No.2 jumper, No.4 lock,” White said after announcing his team on Thursday.

While White is busy assembling some marvellous talent at Loftus Versfeld, he stressed on Thursday what a large part his two veterans – flyhalf Morne Steyn and eighthman Duane Vermeulen – are playing in their success so far.

“Morne has been fantastic for us and there’s no doubt he’s playing really good rugby. Of course the pack of forwards have helped him, as has Fourie du Preez helping with the scrumhalves and that has seen Ivan van Zyl blossoming. But Morne, at his age now, is clever enough to know what works for him and what doesn’t. The line is going nicely, he’s gelling with his centres and everyone around him just gets confidence from how he’s playing.

“Duane is also very important for us and you can see the difference when he doesn’t play. He just gives calmness and confidence to the team and he likes direction, structure and clarity. The way he thinks about the game, the way he understands lineouts and scrums, is also very important. He gives the juniors unbelievable confidence because he is so experienced,” White said.

Bulls team:  David Kriel, Travis Ismaiel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Walt Steenkamp, Jason Jenkins, Trevor Nyakane, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements – Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marcel van der Merwe, Sintu Manjezi, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.

Selection – barring two unfortunate injuries to World Cup winners – was clean and simple for Sharks coach Sean Everitt this week as he rewarded the effort of the players who saw off the Pumas in a comprehensive 42-19 win last weekend by choosing an otherwise unchanged side for Friday night’s Super Rugby Unlocked clash with the Free State Cheetahs in Durban.

Regular skipper Lukhanyo Am has a broken right hand and will be out of action for a month, while wing Sbu Nkosi has a hamstring strain but he should be over it soon. Jeremy Ward will now play outside centre and Yaw Penje starts on the wing, with flank Henco Venter taking over the captaincy.

“We worked really hard last week and showed a huge improvement against the Pumas. Because of that effort I’ve decided to stick to the same team because the players need to be rewarded. It’s not ideal losing two Springboks from the backline ahead of the Cheetahs game, but we have good replacements in Jeremy and Yaw, and I’m excited about giving them the opportunity to start.

“Yaw is a special talent, quick and exciting and he was impressive off the bench against the Pumas. Jeremy has been in our system for quite a while and filled the outside centre role when we rested Lukhanyo in Super Rugby and played very well. Lukhanyo was always due to rest at some stage and Jeremy and Marius Louw are very close friends and a settled combination at centre,” Everitt said on Wednesday.

The relatively lightweight but extremely nimble Sharks loose trio may be slightly at odds with the big hitters that are mod in South African rugby at the moment, but Everitt gave a flowing assessment of their performance against the Pumas, and he has added another ball-playing, agile loosie to a 6-2 bench in the form of returning Springbok  Sikhumbuzo Notshe. Dull rugby is clearly not going to be the order of the day against the always entertaining Cheetahs.

“We’ve got quality coming off the bench and the way Phepsi Buthelezi played last weekend warranted another start for him. Sikhumbuzo is a Springbok who has been in great form this year and now that he’s recovered from injury, he will strengthen that bench. It’s going to be a high-tempo game and we need to have an impact off the bench and those guys will certainly have that and they have the opportunity to change the game.

“We had dominance in the majority of the set-pieces last week and although the Pumas turned over four balls, we got six turnovers and Phepsi and Dylan Richardson were very good at the breakdown. I believe in a specialist openside flank and Dylan played there for the SA U20s so it was an easy decision to move him from hooker when James Venter got injured,” Everitt explained.

Sharks team: Manie Libbok, Yaw Penxe, Jeremy Ward, Marius Louw, Madosh Tambwe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Phendulani Buthelezi, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, JJ van der Mescht, John-Hubert Meyer, Dan Jooste, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, Ruben van Heerden, Thembelani Bholi, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Werner Kok.

The one-year anniversary of South Africa’s Rugby World Cup win has been a time of celebration for the Springboks as well and central to that has been a sense of how the game was taken to the people, which is why captain Siya Kolisi was so delighted on Tuesday to be part of the launch of the new Carling Black Label Currie Cup.

The country’s biggest-selling beer and a shebeen staple was announced on Tuesday as the title sponsors for the next three seasons as the world’s oldest provincial competition enters a new era. This season’s Currie Cup will be a continuation of the Super Rugby Unlocked competition and will culminate in the final on January 23. Which will allow all the Springboks to be available before South African rugby makes the bold leap into European rugby, with the four major franchises being involved in the Pro16 from February.

Carling Black Label’s brand director, Arné Rust, indicated that, as with their other involvement in sport, there are bold plans to bring the Currie Cup closer to the fans. “The Currie Cup is what they love, we want to give them more of a voice, make the Currie Cup feel more important and re-explode the viewership because this competition is what the players and fans remember. We want to take it into the taverns and the mind boggles at the possibilities,” Rust said.

Western Province and Stormers star Kolisi, fresh from the joy of his virtual celebration with the rest of his Springbok team on Monday night, gave away his excitement for the new-look Currie Cup when, during the video presentation showing the Cheetahs hoisting the trophy last year, he looked across at Free State flank Junior Pokomela and, smilingly, gave him a hand signal to indicate “We’re coming for you”.

“It’s been a difficult year from a rugby point of view, it’s been tough for the Springboks to not be playing, especially coming from such a high, to be stuck at home and not see our team-mates. You want to keep that momentum, but to see the people celebrating our win again this week has been a great feeling and I hope it continues.

“As coach Rassie said, the Rugby World Cup was not about pressure for us, we were in a place of privilege to be able to do what we love doing and impact on peoples’ lives. The Currie Cup can do that as well, we set standards in the World Cup and hopefully we can drive those same standards in the Currie Cup. And it’s killing me that I haven’t been able to win the trophy in the special blue-and-white hoops of Western Province.

“My career started in the Currie Cup because that’s where you have to prove yourself against everyone else who is fighting to be a Springbok. I remember my first game was against Griquas at Newlands and I am forever grateful for that chance. I look forward to a lot of fan involvement in the Currie Cup because rugby is for everyone; we have to make sure we make it accessible for everyone from the townships to the suburbs. I think this Currie Cup will draw a lot of people back,” Kolisi said.

Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies was also excited about the impact the Curie Cup could have outside of the cities and all over the country.

“The Currie Cup is going to be something new with such a big sponsor, it will have a new image and we’ll be able to get different communities involved. It’s a competition I really cherish and it’s for both the younger and older players. I really feel that we have to invest in the Currie Cup for the good of rugby in South Africa, it’s a very tough competition and very personal,” Jantjies, who fondly remembered his debut as seven minutes off the bench as a 19-year-old against the North-West Leopards in Potchefstroom, said.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt admitted that his team still has plenty of work to do on their efforts in the tight-loose, despite their comfortable winning margin of 42-19 over the Pumas in Nelspruit at the weekend.

The Pumas were typically robust and confrontational up front, but where the Sharks had a decided edge was in terms of their clinical finishing, and the sharpness of both their backline and the rolling maul. But were it not for the Pumas being extremely wasteful on several occasions when they were inside the Sharks’ 22, the match would have been a lot closer.

“We’re very happy with the result, especially since last year we lost here, and we showed a lot of energy for the full 80 minutes, but the breakdowns let us down and that still needs a lot of attention. Francois Klelinhans and Jeandre Rudolph are both very good on the ball, but we need to tidy that area up,” Everitt said.

Not that the Sharks coach was upset with his forwards though, because there were areas where they played much better than last weekend against the Bulls in Pretoria, and the Sharks were expert at mining that front-foot ball and turning it into gold.

“There were obviously things we worked on after the Bulls game and it was great to see the set-piece come through – we were rewarded for some good scrums and we didn’t lose a lineout. Plus our maul was really good and led to two tries for us,” Everitt said.