Ken Borland

There will be no lack of commitment, passion nor fire – nor even skill – when the Cheetahs meet the Bulls on Saturday in a potential decider for the South African SuperRugby conference.

The competition will then take a break for the June Tests and the humdinger in Bloemfontein is a perfect way to go into the recess. The Cheetahs are currently five points behind the Bulls so, with just three rounds remaining once the franchises return to action, it is imperative Naka Drotske’s men win in order to ensure the three-time champions don’t start running away with the conference title.

While both sets of forwards are phenomenally powerful in the collisions, the Cheetahs have the stronger scrum and a backline that is more likely to create something out of nothing. The Bulls have the most efficient lineout in the competition, but there is another key area where they have the edge.

The Cheetahs lack a general of the calibre of Morné Steyn at flyhalf and, as talented as Elgar Watts is, he lacks the experience and the masterful boot that his Springbok counterpart will surely bring to what is going to be a tight contest, played with the same intensity as a final.

With the announcement of the Springbok squad for those June Tests happening within an hour of the end of the Bulls/Cheetahs clash, there are also some intriguing individual clashes that could decide who gets a place in Heyneke Meyer’s match-day 22 and who doesn’t.

The most obvious of these contests in the match will be at inside centre where Jan Serfontein comes up against Robert Ebersohn; the physically strong young upstart against the silky skills and clever reading of the game that characterises Ebersohn after six years in SuperRugby.

The arrival of Lappies Labuschagné as an outstanding loose forward also sets up an intriguing battle with Bulls youngster Arno Botha, a member of last year’s Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship and the end-of-year tour but still uncapped. The reward of a place on the bench against Italy in Durban next weekend could be up for grabs.

A top-class Cheetahs loose trio also features Philip van der Walt and Heinrich Brüssow, who both also have plenty to prove after not getting a call-up from Meyer for the national training camps, a sad oversight in many people’s eyes.

While loose forward is, as usual, a department where the Springboks have a wealth of riches, there is a potential opening at fullback.

Willie le Roux is playing left wing for the Cheetahs, but he has a roaming role and if he can breach a superb Bulls defence on attack, make his tackles and absorb a probable aerial bombardment, then he might just encourage Meyer to take a chance on him at international level.

Hennie Daniller is also a solid figure at fullback for the Cheetahs, while Springbok incumbent Zane Kirchner could make a return to SuperRugby off the bench after a finger operation.

The Bulls scrum, up against the mightily impressive Coenie Oosthuizen, Adriaan Strauss and Lourens Adriaanse, will be a concern for Frans Ludeke and the coach has chosen an all-Springbok trio of Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Ralepelle and Dean Greyling in the front row.

The Bulls lineout makes up for any shortcomings there, however, with Juandré Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Pierre Spies and Ralepelle forming a superb unit.

The visitors are unlikely not to see enough of the ball then in Bloemfontein, but where the game will be won or lost is in how and where the possession is used.

The Cheetahs have to absorb the slow-poison tactics of the Bulls and make sure they don’t fall into the trap of trying too much in their own half of the field. The iron wall of the Bulls defence and the pressure they exert at the breakdowns will then inevitably bring the boot of Steyn into play.

But if the Cheetahs are able to spend lengthy periods in the Bulls’ 22, then they have the attacking weapons to score the tries that move the scoreboard along even quicker.

The Stormers and the Southern Kings meet earlier on Saturday at Newlands in the only other match involving South African teams this weekend.

The Kings will be without regular captain Luke Watson, who has withdrawn due to flu. He has been replaced by Jacques Engelbrecht, but that will only help as the Cape Town-born 27-year-old brings exactly the sort of physicality and power that is needed against the Stormers, especially if the weather is as wet as most people in the area are predicting.

The Kings are also without lock Steven Sykes, a real stalwart for them this season, and wing Siyanda Grey, but the Newlands faithful might want to shield the eyes of any women and children in the stadium as the Eastern Cape side are going to bring a ferocious attitude as this really is their last chance saloon when it comes to avoiding the promotion/relegation game.

The Stormers are already 10 points in front of the Kings, so victory on Saturday will put to bed any fears that they won’t be in SuperRugby next year.

The home side, despite their lowly 11th position in the standings, showed last weekend in holding off the title-chasing Reds that there is still plenty of spirit and ability in the Stormers camp.

With this game likely to be won in the trenches, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has brought more experience back into the pack with Deon Fourie returning to the loose trio and De Kock Steenkamp back in the second row.

The reliable Steenkamp will be in the number five jersey, meaning Eben Etzebeth, who made such an impression there in last weekend’s game, will be back at the front of the lineout. Whether he will play in the same position in the Springbok side remains to be seen.

The Stormers have shown some inconsistency in the set-pieces, which is where the Kings could attack them, and the loose trio of Nizaam Carr, Fourie and Siya Kolisi will also have their hands full stopping the big ball-runners coming their way – Engelbrecht, Wimpie van der Walt and Cornell du Preez.

The weather forecast is awful, however, so the boots of Stormers fullback Joe Pietersen and Kings flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis could well have the final say.

Teams

Stormers (v Southern Kings, Saturday 15:05): Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Jean de Villiers, Damian de Allende, Bryan Habana, Elton Jantjies, Louis Schreuder, Nizaam Carr, Deon Fourie, Siya Kolisi, De Kock Steenkamp, Eben Etzebeth, Brok Harris, Tiaan Liebenberg, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: Martin Bezuidenhout, Chris Heiberg, Gerbrandt Grobler, Don Armand, Dewaldt Duvenage, Gary van Aswegen, Gerhard van den Heever.

Southern Kings (v Stormers, Saturday 15:05): SP Marais, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Ronnie Cooke, Andries Strauss, Marcello Sampson, Demetri Catrakilis, Nicolas Vergallo, Jacques Engelbrecht, Wimpie van der Walt, Cornell du Preez, David Bulbring, Darron Nell, Kevin Buys, Bandise Maku, Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: Hannes Franklin, Grant Kemp, Rynier Bernardo, Devin Oosthuizen, Shaun Venter, Shane Gates, George Whitehead.

Cheetahs (v Bulls, Saturday 17:10): Hennie Daniller, Raymond Rhule, Johann Sadie, Robert Ebersohn, Willie le Roux, Elgar Watts, Piet van Zyl, Philip van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagné, Heinrich Brüssow, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Lourens Adriaanse, Adriaan Strauss, Coenie Oosthuizen. Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Trevor Nyakane, Ligtoring Landman, Boom Prinsloo, Sarel Pretorius, Riaan Smit, Rayno Benjamin.

Bulls (v Cheetahs, Saturday 17:10pm): Jürgen Visser, Lionel Mapoe, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Bjorn Basson, Morné Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Pierre Spies, Arno Botha, Deon Stegmann, Juandré Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Dean Greyling. Replacements: Callie Visagie, Frik Kirsten, Grant Hattingh, Dewald Potgieter, Jano Vermaak, Louis Fouché, Zane Kirchner.

Other fixtures: Crusaders v Waratahs (Friday 9.35am), Brumbies v Hurricanes (Friday 11.40am), Highlanders v Blues (Saturday 9.35am), Reds v Rebels (Saturday 11.40am).

Byes: Sharks, Chiefs, Force.

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“I am still the man” was the overriding message from flyhalf Morné Steyn as he steered the Bulls to a tense 18-16 Vodacom SuperRugby victory over the Sharks in Durban and maintained their position atop the South African Conference and in second overall.

It was not just the fact that Steyn was once again on-target with the boot, his six penalties accounting for all the Bulls’ points, but even more so the way he marshalled his side, won them the territory battle and kept their structure and game plan rock-solid under intense, Test-like pressure. And he did all that even though his team were massively on the back foot at scrum-time.

There is now surely little doubt Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer will call on Steyn to wear the number 10 jersey for the national side in their quadrangular Tests involving Italy, Scotland and Samoa next month.

Pat Lambie, who also kicked superbly at goal on Saturday but was not as assured in general play, will probably be on the Springboks’ bench as Steyn won the battle of the flyhalves at King’s Park.

The passionate Sharks produced a display of much thunder and fury, but little actual impact as the Bulls sat back and defended stoutly, waiting for the inevitable handling error and then kicking the Sharks back into their own territory, from where lapses in discipline could be turned into points by Steyn. Often, the Bulls used the rolling maul to push the Sharks back and force the infringement.

While the Sharks thoroughly dominated the scrums, they struggled in the lineouts and one sensed the Bulls knew their hosts would err in that set-piece when they kicked-off in the 75th minute, trailing 15-16 after Charl McLeod’s try had snatched the lead for the KwaZulu-Natalians. Steyn kicked deep, the chasers did their job and the Sharks conceded a lineout just inside their own 22.

Unfortunately for the hosts, Tendai Mtawarira grabbed the leaping Flip van der Merwe a fraction early, while he was still in the air, conceding a penalty which Man-of-the-Match Steyn was never going to miss whatever the acute angle.

Despite it being a beautiful winter’s day in Durban, the evening was cruel for rugby because of heavy dew and that led to masses of handling errors, particularly by the Sharks when they were in the Bulls’ red zone.

But rather than focus on the Sharks’ lack of skills, one should also credit the Bulls’ heavyweight forwards, who dominated the collisions to such an extent that the Sharks were unable to rely on the likes of Willem Alberts, Jean Deysel, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Mtawarira for their usual go-forward ball.

The Bulls’ joy was tempered somewhat by the news wing Bjorn Basson has been cited, having already received a yellow card during the game, for an innocuous tip tackle on Lambie as he tried to run from his own 22, while Van der Merwe was given an off-field yellow for legally rucking Keegan Daniel away from the wrong side of a ruck, in clear view of experienced referee Jonathan Kaplan, who correctly took no action.

So many words have been written in recent weeks on the poor quality of refereeing, anonymous assistant referees and ludicrous TMO decisions that are having such a detrimental effect on this year’s competition. It seems out-of-touch citing commissioners now want to have more of an impact on the game as well, heaping more frustration on coaches, players and fans.

The Cheetahs, meanwhile, are cooking up a thrilling conclusion to the conference race – next weekend’s match in Bloemfontein between them and the Bulls will be a vital humdinger – and they kept the pressure on the three-time champions by beating the Southern Kings 34-22 in Port Elizabeth.

The Kings certainly weren’t soft pushovers, and they led 12-6 heading into the half-time break. But they weren’t able to do much more than defend and rely on Demetri Catrakilis’s boot and the home side’s tryline was finally breached by the Cheetahs on the hooter.

Willie le Roux, who was in sublime form, showed great acceleration to burst through the defensive line on the blindside and Johann Sadie was on his outside to take the perfectly-timed pass and dash over for the opening try.

The third quarter was an exhibition of clinical rugby by the Cheetahs as they scored three more tries and, trailing 15-34, the match was over for the Kings on the hour mark.

Left wing Le Roux was once again at the centre of the action, his quick hands setting up Sadie for his second try and then the former Stormers and Bulls centre repaid the favour with a mazy run that Le Roux finished off for the bonus-point try.

Scrumhalf Piet van Zyl also showed a keen eye for the gap as he grabbed his third try in two games.

The Stormers, meanwhile, shrugged off suggestions from their demanding fans that the whole management and playing staff should be disbanded as they secured a 20-15 victory over the Reds at Newlands that was full of immense character and also helped the Cheetahs considerably.

Stormers coach Allister Coetzee had been forced to dip into the ranks of Western Province’s Vodacom Cup side, and even as far as the UCT team, by a raft of injuries. But he was fortunate that experienced hooker Tiaan Liebenberg returned from injury at the same time and the likeable veteran pulled the pack together in superb fashion.

Eben Etzebeth was immense as he and Gerbrandt Grobler dominated the lineouts and the defence was back to its best with the loose forwards, Siya Kolisi and Nizaam Carr in particular, and inside centre Damian de Allende the leading lights.

The Stormers also scored the only try of the game and the much-derided Elton Jantjies was at the centre of it.

Jantjies, who finally got to play the full 80 minutes, changed the approach of the Stormers’ attack early in the second half as his perfectly-positioned cross-kick was fielded by left wing Bryan Habana, who immediately popped the ball inside to fullback Joe Pietersen. Perfect interplay between Pietersen, cutting inside, and Jean de Villiers, racing up outside him, then saw the Stormers captain score a thrilling try that was ultimately the difference between the two teams.

The boot of Pietersen, with five penalties, was also an obvious factor in the Stormers’ win, but it was the determination and composure of the makeshift team that stood out most of all as the title challenge of the Reds continued to falter on African soil. The 2011 champions have now slipped from third to fifth behind the Cheetahs after losing both their tour games.

In the words of De Villiers himself: “To beat a team like the Reds when you have 16 players out says something, and what it says is that we have the right coaches and they are choosing the right players. This was one of the most emotional wins of my career.”

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Just four months ago, the Blue Bulls Rugby Union was in a sorry state with Frans Ludeke about to be axed as coach, the SuperRugby side ending a miserable campaign with a humiliating loss at home to the Cheetahs, and the players, management and administrators all pulling in different directions.

The atmosphere at Loftus Versfeld was so bad and so stuck in its ways that I called them dinosaurs in this same column.

But since then, there has been rapid evolution and their fortunes have soared with new coach Nollis Marais taking them to a home semi-final in the Currie Cup, playing a fresh, invigorating brand of rugby that has brought the crowds back to Loftus Versfeld, and giving much of the young talent that was being unused and growing frustrated the chance to shine.

Marais has already received his reward in that he has been confirmed as the SuperRugby coach and he has been given a four-year contract, an incredible sign of faith from a Bulls board that has never been known for its willingness to take a chance.

But CEO Barend van Graan said the sight of families returning in droves to Loftus Versfeld made it an easy decision.

“We can see how the tide has turned the last few weeks and attendances have been double what they were compared to last year, nearly the same as for SuperRugby games. Not many applicants reached the standards we require and it was not a difficult decision, Nollis had the inside track because of what has happened in the Currie Cup.

“Our expectations are high, if not I’m sure we would have only given him a one or two-year contract. But we have a lot of confidence in Nollis and he now has the opportunity to build for the next four years. He’s already brought through a number of young, excellent players,” Van Graan said.

While Marais has thoroughly updated the Bulls’ style of play, credit must also go to Van Graan and his board for realising that they need to adapt as well. The CEO said the BBRU would need to adjust their strategies.

“There are decreasing White numbers in our area, the whole demographic of Pretoria is changing dramatically. There are eight PSL teams in Gauteng, plus one each in North-West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, so this is a soccer region. The average crowd for a PSL game is 5000.

“Twenty-eight percent of the Blue Bulls’ support comes from the Eastern Cape and 98% of that is Black, most of whom don’t have pay-TV at home. So we have to revise our strategy and penetrate new markets. In the last five years, we have seen a decline of more than 70% on the number of tickets sold at the ground. People just buy tickets on the internet now and they’re no longer buying season tickets,” Van Graan pointed out.

The Bulls have earned a reputation for being aggressive recruiters of junior players, but their showcase teams have also suffered due to a revolving door of players leaving or losing their contracts.

“Since 2011, we have lost 57 players, a lot of them to the Euro, Yen and British Pound. But things are cyclical in a team sport, you have to let guys go, but perhaps we released too many players, in hindsight. The last six or seven SA U21 captains have come from here, but our Currie Cup side will be even younger next year so we need to be smart in our recruiting. We need to fast-track talent, but only five percent of the schools in our region play rugby,” Van Graan said.

Marais has given the Bulls a new lease of life on the field and credit should also be given to Van Graan and the board for identifying the new direction the BBRU has to take. If they continue along this path, there’s no reason why the Bulls shouldn’t in time become the most powerful union in the country again.