Ken Borland

The Bulls may not have displayed many pleasing attacking shapes, but there was no denying the efficiency of their brute strength as they overpowered Glasgow Warriors 29-17 in their United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

Their dominance only really came through in the last 50 minutes though, with Glasgow only able to add to the try and penalty they scored in the first 20 minutes when there were five minutes left in the match. Despite their best efforts to slow the game down through spoiling tactics and continual breaks for ‘injury’ attention, the visitors were still sluggish and tentative when it came to trying to stop the Bulls’ charge once it gained momentum.

But despite the stop/start nature of the game in the first half, the Bulls were also to blame for their lack of momentum because they had precious little rhythm on attack.

The home side knew they were in for a tough evening as Glasgow were awarded a penalty try (and a yellow card to Elrigh Louw) in the fifth minute, after the Bulls had made a mess of defending a five-metre lineout maul, and then a penalty by Warriors flyhalf Duncan Weir.

The Bulls replied though with a try when lock Ruan Nortje darted just short of the line and scrumhalf Zak Burger completed the touchdown, and a Morne Steyn penalty drew them level after 28 minutes.

And they never looked back, helped by a crucial try after the halftime whistle when Louw charged around the back of a lineout and created the space for wing Madosh Tambwe to score out wide.

Two massive mauls which ran the Warriors back into their 22 and a powerful charge by lock Walt Steenkamp added a third try in the 58^th minute, and the bonus point was in the bag after 62 minutes as livewire hooker Johan Grobbelaar won a turnover penalty and replacement flank Cyle Brink forced his way over after a series of pick-and-goes by the forwards off the lineout.

That put the Bulls into a commanding 29-10 lead and they were perhaps guilty of losing concentration a bit in the last 10 minutes, and Glasgow duly punished them with a try when fullback Ollie Smith knifed through midfield.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Zak Burger, Madosh Tambwe, Walt Steenkamp, Cyle Brink. Conversions: Morne Steyn (3). Penalty: Steyn.

Glasgow Warriors – Tries: Penalty try, Ollie Smith. Conversion: Ross Thompson. Penalty: Duncan Weir.

A new T20 league co-owned by Cricket South Africa and SuperSport will be held in January and Indian Premier League teams are believed to be interested in four of the six pies that are up for sale.

According to a statement released by CSA on Friday, the new league will comprise six privately-owned franchises playing each other in a double round, before the top three sides move to the playoff stages.

These six teams will be totally divorced from the existing domestic teams, who will continue to play their own T20 competition. But grounds like the Wanderers, SuperSport Park, Kingsmead and Newlands are bound to be used as venues and will be paid hosting fees.

The previous problems faced by the ill-fated T20 Global League and Mzansi Super League in securing decent broadcast deals for the events are a thing of the past thanks to SuperSport’s investment not only in televising the matches and providing a global feed, but also as actual stakeholders in the tournament. SuperSport CEO Marc Jury told Saturday Citizen on Friday that “shareholding details will be provided later, but we can confirm that SuperSport and CSA are co-owners.”

The new franchise league seems to already have a better foundation than its predecessors and there has apparently been interest from four of the major IPL teams in getting involved. Names such as Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders have been mentioned, but Jury said the ongoing “discussions are confidential and SuperSport are not at liberty to provide more details at this time”.

While some local CEOs were a little gun-shy at the prospect of another T20 franchise league being launched, saying “we have heard and been through all this before”, others said they were “really excited and it’s a great opportunity” for what CSA have marketed as “all-action cricket sportainment”.

January provides a gap in the international calendar such that all the top local players, including the Proteas, should be available, as well as international stars, except for those who are playing in Australia’s Big Bash, which traditionally runs through until the end of January.

CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki said “a sustainable business model has been created for both the league and the teams, with a healthy salary bill to attract the very best local and international players.

“The league also represents a fresh injection of funds into the sport in SA, which will help grow the game.”

There will be a player auction and all the teams will be entitled to field up to four overseas players in any starting XI. No transformation targets will apply to the competition.

Having done all the hard work to get themselves into the top four of the United Rugby Championship, Sharks coach Sean Everitt says it is vital his unchanged team don’t miss the chance to move further up the log when they host Connacht at Kings Park on Saturday.

Connacht are out of the running for a quarterfinal place, but they have shown they will be a tough proposition who never miss a chance to slow down and frustrate their opposition.

“Like the other South African teams, we were under the pump right from the start in this competition because we dropped points away,” Everitt said. “We’ve had to build our performance.

“The guys know winning every game is important, but this is a really big game and it’s very important for us to go up the log. We don’t want to get on the plane for our last match under pressure to qualify.

“Connacht are a difficult side to play against, as they showed in beating the other three South African teams. They are certainly gutsy and they have a good defence that flies off the line.

“One of their main attributes is the way they attack the breakdown, they tend to spoil at the breakdown and set-piece and try not to let you get into any rhythm. They come with unbelievable speed and energy,” Everitt said.

With the URC now at the sharp end of the season, Everitt says it is the soft moments, the errors that often come after a period of good rugby, that you cannot afford against the likes of Connacht.

“Things are coming together nicely for us, but what has let us down is our alertness on the field and you can’t afford to give away soft opportunities.

“Against Leinster it was two moments we lacked concentration on defence, not closing down the space, and the top teams are ready for any opportunity like that – around the ruck or a quick tap on the 22 or a crosskick.

“Connacht are also a massive threat on the floor, so you obviously have to focus on that. But our breakdown has improved a lot, both in defence and attack.

“We have a good blend of attack and kicking and we had some very good counter-attacks against Leinster, with Aphelele Fassi having a wonderful game. Hopefully it’s dry and we’ll have more time on the ball to get it to the edge where our dangermen are,” Everitt said.

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Ben Tapuai, Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Henco Venter, Siya Kolisi, Gerbrandt Grobler, Le Roux Roets, Thomas du Toit (CAPT), Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Reniel Hugo, Jeandre Labuschagne, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain.

Graeme Smith may have only been 22 years old when he was appointed as national captain in 2003, but democracy in this country was only nine years old then and the Proteas were a bit of a mess, so in many ways he was the big, older brother South African cricket desperately needed.

As a brash young man still trying to make his way in international cricket, Smith was probably only fully aware of the culture problems within the team after a few years. After the disappointment of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, Smith set about fixing the Proteas, alongside manager Mohammed Moosajee, who was appointed in 2008, and the input of life coaches like Paddy Upton and Jeremy Snape.

Protea Fire and a far more inclusive culture were born, one which acknowledged that they were representing a country which had a divided past. Honesty and Ubuntu were required, they were playing for more than just themselves.

The result was a much happier team and it showed in performance as they became the No.1 side in the world.

When Smith retired in 2014 he hoped the Protea Fire legacy would live on. How sad it must have been for him that, just five years later, the Proteas were in rack and ruin. Typical of the leader he is, Smith agreed to try and restore South African cricket to former glories by becoming Director of Cricket at the end of 2019.

But worse was to follow as the very people who had pushed Cricket South Africa to the precipice then spearheaded a campaign against Smith. It culminated in the Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings, where it seemed as many vile untruths were spoken as there were painful reminders of a shameful past.

The totally inadequate work of Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza was finally undone this week when Smith was cleared of all charges of racism by an independent arbitration hearing. CSA gave notice of their defeat – with costs – at 9pm on a Sunday night and board chairman Lawson Naidoo issued a statement that said it was now “appropriate to recognise the extraordinary contribution that Graeme has made to South African cricket”. It was almost as if the history we know we lived through as Proteas fans was now officially approved.

Unfortunately, there is lasting damage – one only has to see on social media the bitter divisionists refusing to accept the arbitrators’ findings – and Naidoo’s closing comment – “we very much hope that he will still work in the cricket world in appropriate capacities going forward” – hints at the fact that Smith’s expertise as the most experienced captain in Test history is now probably lost to South African cricket and will be snapped up by some other country.

If it’s not bad enough losing so much talent and I.P. to overseas teams thanks to the exchange rate, we are also actively chasing away people who could contribute so much good to our sport.

Head coach Mark Boucher’s disciplinary hearing is still to come and the outcome of Smith’s arbitration suggests there is still hope that the ‘tentative’ and unproven but damning allegations made by the SJN will receive the proper, unbiased and legally sound treatment they deserve.

A new Director of Cricket is also still to be appointed, with Enoch Nkwe probably still the favourite to succeed Smith.

Having to appoint a new head coach for tough tours of India, England and Australia as his first task would not make his life any easier, but then again the good of the Proteas, who bring in 80% of CSA’s income, is way down the list of priorities of those who have grudges to settle.