Ken Borland

Siya Kolisi said he can’t wait to tell his grandchildren that he played with Eben Etzebeth, while the giant lock himself said he would not have reached his landmark of becoming the most-capped Springbok rugby player ever if he had not been playing alongside his captain and other South African veterans who have won the last two World Cups.

Etzebeth won his 128^th Test cap on Saturday as the Springboks hammered Argentina 48-7 to claim the Rugby Championship title in Mbombela. He surpassed the previous record of 127 caps held by Victor Matfield, between 2001 and 2015.

“To Eben, you are an yster [iron man] and I’m so grateful to have been able to walk this journey with you and I’m so grateful for your support, from when Rassie first made me captain, you have had my back. He leads the team, he is so smart and I am so proud of you. I can’t wait to tell my grandkids that I played with Eben Ysterbeth. I love you, my brother,” Kolisi said in an emotional post-match interview on TV.

Etzebeth responded in the post-match press conference, saying: “Siya and I have come a long way and he spoke so nicely about me, he is an unbelievable person. As a small boy, you just want to play for the Springboks, and to now have the most caps feels unreal, it is unbelievable.

“To do it together with this team, we are best pals, makes it even more special. I could not have done it without the team, guys who I’ve been to three World Cups with. They’ve been with me from day one and I would not have reached this milestone if they weren’t there.

“It’s also not nice if you lose on a day like this. This was a final for us and the guys made it special for me. We will celebrate very nicely, you must win in this industry to be able to enjoy your beer,” Etzebeth said.

The 32-year-old Etzebeth will now have an eye on the all-time Test record of 171 caps set by fellow lock Alun-Wyn Jones of Wales and the British and Irish Lions.

“I’m staying put for now. I will push my body as far as it can go. The ultimate is playing rugby for this team, so I will keep on pushing, training hard and trying to perform for my club [the Sharks]. Hopefully the coaches will keep selecting me,” Etzebeth said.

Matfield praised Etzebeth for being an ambassador for South Africa as a whole.

“I was very fortunate to also become the most capped Springbok in Nelspruit, taking over from another legend in John Smit. And now another legend has overtaken me, I was there with him when he was 19 years old. What Eben does on the field is incredible, but he does even more off the field and is a great ambassador for South Africa,” Matfield said.

Triumphant Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said Argentina are a tough side to crack and his team had to first make them soft up front, setting up their emphatic 48-7 win in Mbombela, which also sealed the Rugby Championship title for South Africa.

Although the Springboks scored seven tries, four of them going to backs, the platform for victory, following their 29-28 defeat in Argentina last weekend, was laid up front. South Africa utterly dominated the scrums and won all 10 of their lineouts.

“The manner we are trying to play may be more attacking, but we still want to be physical, have scrum dominance and our lineout worked very well tonight too. It made them tired trying to stop our tight five all the time, it was a bit like slow poison.

“It was a learning school for us last week, but I didn’t expect that sort of scoreline tonight because Argentina are very difficult to play against. Things were really tight in the beginning and they kept us out. But we didn’t want to stand back, it was all about temperament and leadership for us.

“We’ve used 35 players in the Rugby Championship, but for those crunch games it’s the older heads who pull us through. It was not spectacular by us, but we showed good intent. Argentina are physical, nippy and great on attack. Jerry Flannery [defence coach] was very nervous before the game but we kept them to just one try.

“We were gutsy enough, we played brilliantly at stages, much better than we did against them that side. It wasn’t perfect, but there was some really good stuff to build on,” Erasmus said after South Africa won the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019.

While Argentina were able to keep the dominant Springboks out for the first eight minutes, they were unable to keep in touch thereafter as South Africa romped to a 27-7 lead at halftime.

“The heartbreak is because of how we lost,” Pumas coach Felipe Contepomi said. “We were never able to be the team we wanted to be, and then it becomes very hard when you play a team that has won the World Cup twice. They were better than us from minute one to 80 and that’s the story.

“I recognise that our players kept battling hard and working to get back, but we did not do what we wanted to do, especially in terms of defence. It is disappointing but it is part of learning – how to be better when under pressure. You need to stay poised and believe in what you’ve done in training,” Contepomi said.

It was certainly a horror show for the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening as the Bulls walloped them by a record 64-0, a thrashing that was a reversal of the famous Jaws film but every bit as bloody for the visitors.

The Bulls scored five tries in each half and produced an outstanding display of rugby: forward dominance was complemented by a backline that was free-flowing and inventive, and showed both their skills and their physical attributes.

To be fair to the Sharks, they were up against a seasoned Bulls outfit featuring full internationals in brilliant flyhalf Jaco van der Walt and wing Aphiwe Dyantyi, plus a host of players with URC experience. The KwaZulu-Natalians are basically an U21 side playing in the senior Currie Cup.

While the slaughter made ugly viewing for Sharks fans, a good crowd at Loftus Versfeld were royally entertained. Understandably, the mood in the Bulls changeroom afterwards was reportedly “ecstatic”.

“The guys are obviously ecstatic. We were also able to celebrate our nine debutants from the last two weeks, so there’s a very nice vibe in the changeroom. We will all have a cold one tonight,” new Bulls lineout coach Josh Strauss said.

The Bulls’ new head honcho, Johan Ackermann, described this match as “the audition” when he spoke to the Currie Cup team in their changeroom before the match, and the hunger of the players, so many of them who barely had a look-in during the Jake White era, was palpable.

“We’re getting the blend right between the senior and younger players and that mix is definitely vital. We have one or two cooler, more experienced heads who can make decisions and guide the youngsters,” scrum coach Werner Kruger said.

“Obviously we’ve done really well in the first two games and there was probably less pressure today but there were still good lessons in terms of what areas we want to play in, when we want to slow things down and how to close out the game. When you have a performance like that, it means guys have definitely put their hands up, it’s undeniable.”

The Bulls hit the Sharks hard from the outset and there were already some pale Natal faces after the first 10 minutes with the home side 14-0 up. Wing Stravino Jacobs made a big hit after chasing a Van der Walt up-and-under and a penalty soon afterwards allowed the Bulls to use their powerful maul, hooker Juann Else scoring the first of his two tries and prop Dylan Smith also burrowing over the line.

The Sharks also had to face some storming runs from abrasive forwards like Nama Xaba, Jeandre Rudolph and Marvin Orie, and the defence was further tormented by a backline that was flowing beautifully thanks to the impressive and exciting combination of Van der Walt and inside centre Chris Smit pulling the strings.

Smit showed his strength in scoring his first try, and his second came five minutes later when he got on the end of a lovely little dink over the top of the defence by Van der Walt.

The second half started with fullback Boeta Chamberlain gathering a chip over the ruck by scrumhalf Zak Burger and racing away, setting up a try for eighthman Rudolph. An outstanding individual try by Jacobs followed and then it was Van der Walt’s turn to break, running practically from 22-to-22 before finding Rudolph storming through at great pace.

When replacement wing Cornel Smit scored in the 58^th minute, the Bulls went 59-0 up and were already ahead of the previous record winning margin for any Loftus Versfeld senior side against the team from Durban – 62-6 in the 1991 Lion Cup final.

The Sharks showed some character, however, and did okay in the final quarter, only conceding another try at the final hooter as replacement flank JJ Theron powered down the touchline to score.

Sharks coach JP Pietersen was bravely taking his medicine after the hiding, reminding the media that their objective in the Currie Cup is to develop players and not compromise their next URC campaign by sending for S.O.S. recruits from that squad.

He also pointed out that the Bulls had been particularly inspired on Saturday.

“It was close to the perfect game for the Bulls. They really hurt us in the collisions and at the breakdown. They kept stealing our ball and shutting us down. Their kicking game was good and then they would get a penalty and maul us,” Pietersen said.

The Gauteng Lions played like the team that has had more exposure to the higher level of the United Rugby Championship as they swept aside a young, inexperienced Natal Sharks XV 46-5 in their Currie Cup opener at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Lions were captained by stalwart hooker Jaco Visagie, a man with plenty of SuperRugby and URC experience, while players like Morgan Naude, Darrien Landsberg, Jarod Cairns, Nico Steyn, Rynhardt Jonker and Gianni Lombard are also regular participants in the European franchise tournament.

The Sharks, in contrast, had captain Nick Hatton and scrumhalf Bradley Davids from last year’s Currie Cup, and centre Litelihle Bester is highly-rated as a former SA U20 star and has even played in the Challenge Cup. But the rest of the squad they brought to Johannesburg was really made up of young talents they are looking to develop further.

The youngsters started well, won the early kicking game and dominated the first seven minutes in terms of territory. But they just could not crack open a committed, physical Lions defence.

And then a poor kick by flyhalf Jean Smith, with father Franco watching from the stands, went over the dead ball line and gave the Lions their first entry into Sharks territory with a scrum. The opening try came after 10 minutes, with three more coming in the first half, the Lions going into the break 24-0 to the good.

The home side scored three more tries in the second half and coach Mziwakhe Nkosi said he was satisfied by the level of performance, whatever the large difference on the scoreboard.

“We were quite apprehensive going into this game because we didn’t have a warm-up match, but it was a good start and we will certainly take it. It was good to get the cobwebs out and get the result we did.

“We came in blind and in the first half, the ball-in-play time was so low, so there wasn’t really any flow due to all the stoppages. With guys like Angelo Davids and Rabs Maxwane on the edges, it’s best to get the ball to them sooner rather than later, and it was good to see us get on to it in terms of how we want to play.

“We were probably the more settled side, but not that much more experienced. These okes have not had much game time in the URC,” Nkosi said.

Visagie was the first to use the space out wide to good effect, finding left wing Maxwane, who then sent flank Cairns charging down the touchline to score the opening try.

Right wing Davids then sliced through a number of defenders after some scrappy play off a lineout, scrumhalf Steyn then sending a crosskick heavenwards and Maxwane leaping high to claim the ball and go over for his first try, in the 22nd minute.

Real calamity struck the Sharks in the 34^th minute, however, when wing Phiko Sobahle was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on that prevented a certain try by Davids after a blindside move by fullback Lombard. The penalty try took the Lions 17-0 clear, and they added two more tries either side of halftime as Smith was also yellow-carded for the same offence.

Maxwane was put in space again for his second try in the 39^th minute and he fed Davids for a try on Lions debut in the 51st minute. Davids had provided the initial impetus for the superb move with his counter off a Sharks kick, while impressive centre Jonker did great work down the right touchline and then cutting infield.

With flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela kicking a penalty and the conversion, the Lions were 34-0 up with half-an-hour to play.

But the Sharks were the next to score, a breakdown in the chain of communication at the back allowing Sobahle to dot down a kick through by Bester, with Lombard getting in the way of replacement flyhalf Kade Wolhuter.

Davids was running free again in the 71st minute and set up Jonker for a try, while replacement prop SJ Kotze burst through off a lineout and sent replacement scrumhalf Layton Horn over for the final try.

Sharks XV coach JP Pietersen acknowledged that he is still trying to bring this new young group together as they look to defend the Currie Cup title they won in thrilling fashion at Ellis Park last year.

“It was our first game together as a group and the average age of the team is 23. So it was a challenge for these young men. They did alright and we showed some fight, especially in defending the Lions’ mauls. But we stayed in the pressure cycle and a team like the Lions will always capitalise.

“We’ll have better cohesion next week and we’re going to be working hard together from Monday. The Sharks angle in the Currie Cup is to develop youngsters for the URC, that’s the trend in the competition.

“The defence wasn’t there today, but that does not mean it is an issue. Defence is about cohesion and trust. This Lions group have been together for three+ years and they have that synergy and understand their game better,” Pietersen said.The Gauteng Lions played like the team that has had more exposure to the higher level of the United Rugby Championship as they swept aside a young, inexperienced Natal Sharks XV 46-5 in their Currie Cup opener at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Lions were captained by stalwart hooker Jaco Visagie, a man with plenty of SuperRugby and URC experience, while players like Morgan Naude, Darrien Landsberg, Jarod Cairns, Nico Steyn, Rynhardt Jonker and Gianni Lombard are also regular participants in the European franchise tournament.

The Sharks, in contrast, had captain Nick Hatton and scrumhalf Bradley Davids from last year’s Currie Cup, and centre Litelihle Bester is highly-rated as a former SA U20 star and has even played in the Challenge Cup. But the rest of the squad they brought to Johannesburg was really made up of young talents they are looking to develop further.

The youngsters started well, won the early kicking game and dominated the first seven minutes in terms of territory. But they just could not crack open a committed, physical Lions defence.

And then a poor kick by flyhalf Jean Smith, with father Franco watching from the stands, went over the dead ball line and gave the Lions their first entry into Sharks territory with a scrum. The opening try came after 10 minutes, with three more coming in the first half, the Lions going into the break 24-0 to the good.

The home side scored three more tries in the second half and coach Mziwakhe Nkosi said he was satisfied by the level of performance, whatever the large difference on the scoreboard.

“We were quite apprehensive going into this game because we didn’t have a warm-up match, but it was a good start and we will certainly take it. It was good to get the cobwebs out and get the result we did.

“We came in blind and in the first half, the ball-in-play time was so low, so there wasn’t really any flow due to all the stoppages. With guys like Angelo Davids and Rabs Maxwane on the edges, it’s best to get the ball to them sooner rather than later, and it was good to see us get on to it in terms of how we want to play.

“We were probably the more settled side, but not that much more experienced. These okes have not had much game time in the URC,” Nkosi said.

Visagie was the first to use the space out wide to good effect, finding left wing Maxwane, who then sent flank Cairns charging down the touchline to score the opening try.

Right wing Davids then sliced through a number of defenders after some scrappy play off a lineout, scrumhalf Steyn then sending a crosskick heavenwards and Maxwane leaping high to claim the ball and go over for his first try, in the 22nd minute.

Real calamity struck the Sharks in the 34^th minute, however, when wing Phiko Sobahle was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on that prevented a certain try by Davids after a blindside move by fullback Lombard. The penalty try took the Lions 17-0 clear, and they added two more tries either side of halftime as Smith was also yellow-carded for the same offence.

Maxwane was put in space again for his second try in the 39^th minute and he fed Davids for a try on Lions debut in the 51st minute. Davids had provided the initial impetus for the superb move with his counter off a Sharks kick, while impressive centre Jonker did great work down the right touchline and then cutting infield.

With flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela kicking a penalty and the conversion, the Lions were 34-0 up with half-an-hour to play.

But the Sharks were the next to score, a breakdown in the chain of communication at the back allowing Sobahle to dot down a kick through by Bester, with Lombard getting in the way of replacement flyhalf Kade Wolhuter.

Davids was running free again in the 71st minute and set up Jonker for a try, while replacement prop SJ Kotze burst through off a lineout and sent replacement scrumhalf Layton Horn over for the final try.

Sharks XV coach JP Pietersen acknowledged that he is still trying to bring this new young group together as they look to defend the Currie Cup title they won in thrilling fashion at Ellis Park last year.

“It was our first game together as a group and the average age of the team is 23. So it was a challenge for these young men. They did alright and we showed some fight, especially in defending the Lions’ mauls. But we stayed in the pressure cycle and a team like the Lions will always capitalise.

“We’ll have better cohesion next week and we’re going to be working hard together from Monday. The Sharks angle in the Currie Cup is to develop youngsters for the URC, that’s the trend in the competition.

“The defence wasn’t there today, but that does not mean it is an issue. Defence is about cohesion and trust. This Lions group have been together for three+ years and they have that synergy and understand their game better,” Pietersen said.