Ken Borland

Normally before the great North/South derby between the teams based at Loftus Versfeld and Cape Town, Bulls coach Jake White has enjoyed making a few mischievous digs at the opposition, like the harlequin in early pantomime, but on Friday he was refusing to take the bait and very much focused on his own team ahead of their United Rugby Championship match against the Stormers in Pretoria on Saturday.

As White correctly pointed out, the Bulls, while so dominant in domestic rugby, have fared the worst of the South African franchises so far in the URC and are second from bottom. The Stormers are two points and two places above them in 13^th.

“This is a chance for us to get off the bottom of the table,” White said on Friday. “It’s our second North/South derby this week, but our first home game in the URC. I don’t think many teams have played five away games.

“We have some momentum from the two Currie Cup wins, but it’s not just about preparing for Saturday, we’re building for three years’ time. We are still a work in progress, we are still looking to fill certain positions.

“It’s about playing teams like Leinster and Munster; we’re not a long way off but we are off. We have to find some depth and the right player profiles.

“And we’re looking forward to playing a couple of home games now. It looks as if Europe is getting back to normality and the competition will become more balanced. Hopefully by mid-tournament we’ll be more in it in terms of the table,” White said.

Because White has been willing to field many of his URC players in the first two rounds of the Currie Cup, his whole squad for Saturday have had game-time and he is hoping they start well against a Stormers side that has been inactive since being hammered by the Lions 37-19 in Cape Town in early December.

It also means the likes of flyhalf Chris Smith, hooker Johan Grobbelaar, props Gerhard Steenekamp and Mornay Smith and 19-year-old debutant flank Reinhardt Ludwig all have experienced and in-form cover on the bench.

“We have a bit of experience that can come off the bench,” White acknowledged. “We’re trying to balance the whole team and the players coming off the bench will help someone like Reinhardt.

“Playing at 5pm in 30° and at altitude and all our players have played recently – hopefully that will give us a head-start. But the Stormers are just ahead of us on the table and they will back themselves.

“Obviously they’ll be disappointed with the Lions game. If you look at their backline, there are a lot of Sevens players, so they won’t be scared to play. They’ll want space and time though … ” White said.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Lionel Mapoe, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier; Elrigh Louw, Reinhardt Ludwig, Arno Botha, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Impact – Bismarck du Plessis, Lizo Gqoboka, Jacques van Rooyen, Janko Swanepoel, Marcell Coetzee, Zak Burger, Morné Steyn, Harold Vorster.

The decision by the Bulls to field top players like Bismarck du Plessis, Marcell Coetzee, Morne Steyn, Harold Vorster and Lionel Mapoe in the Currie Cup loans some credibility to the competition, but truth be told, there can be little doubt that the famous old tournament is now on its last legs.

Of course it helps the Bulls that they have deep pockets thanks to the generous investment of their equity partners. But they should not be criticised for being professional and organised enough to attract those investments and also recognising the need to significantly improve the depth of their squad now that they are playing in two competitions at the same time.

The fact that they have been willing to field a number of players who will feature in Saturday’s URC derby against the Stormers shows that they, at least, are taking the Currie Cup seriously, unlike so many in South African rugby.

The Sharks are probably in an even better position financially, but they made a slow start to the Currie Cup by beating Griquas by just one point in Durban. But conditions – hot and humid and then raining – were definitely a levelling factor and the Sharks were not helped by having to play the final quarter with 14 men due to a red card. But even with all their riches – both in personnel and in finances – the Sharks only fielded one Springbok in 33-year-old prop Lourens Adriaanse.

The Bulls being 40-0 up against archrivals Western Province at Newlands and the Pumas putting fifty past the Lions at Ellis Park does little for the credibility of the Currie Cup.

Little wonder then that the public response has been muted. If SA Rugby is barely interested in the Currie Cup, why should spectators pay good money to support it? The Currie Cup, from being South African rugby’s second biggest brand after the Springboks, is now so devalued and the public are not going to be fooled by all the hype when there is little substance.

Some people do enjoy rugby more from the aesthetic of plenty of tries being scored and this mishmash Currie Cup will probably provide that. But even the Bulls are unlikely to use their top players in it once the United Rugby Championship gets into full swing.

SA Rugby find themselves with a problem because the URC hasn’t captured the public imagination yet like SuperRugby did in the early days. In that regard Covid has obviously not helped, neither have the poor performances of the South African franchises overseas.

But a disjointed, lopsided competition – Jake White made the point that Saturday’s game at Loftus Versfeld is the Bulls’ first at home in the URC, which started on September 24 – now also has its waters further muddied by the Currie Cup taking place at the same time.

I would call it an absolute howler by SA Rugby but there are some extenuating circumstances in their defence.

First of all, it is the provinces who have said they want a double-round of Currie Cup, which then becomes a challenge to fit into an already crowded calendar. Player workload concerns are also a factor, with URC starting in January and running through to June 18, after which there is the Test window.

But the last time a normal Currie Cup season was played in a double round, it began on June 18 and ended on September 11. I would still play the Currie Cup after the URC. Sure, the current Springboks would not play, but when last did they feature in a proper Currie Cup anyway?

At the moment, this most famous of domestic competitions has been reduced to Vodacom Cup status.

Siya Kolisi and Bongi Mbonambi will be missing, but the Sharks will still bring six current Springboks and a Wallaby to Ellis Park for their United Rugby Championship match against the Lions on Saturday.

Coach Sean Everitt, in announcing his team on Thursday, revealed that loose forward Kolisi and hooker Mbonambi have been given more time to recover from their exploits for the Springboks at the end of last year.

“Siya and Bongi were not considered for selection because we gave them an extended break in December and they are still in their pre-season training. We thought they’d be better off with one more week of training.

“The rest of the guys returned to training on December 27 and it has been tough for them, working really hard in tough conditions, we’ve had our traditional January/February weather in Durban,” Everitt said.

But the presence of props Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit gives the Sharks a powerful front row and the backline is star-studded with captain Lukhanyo Am at centre, Makazole Mapimpi and Sbu Nkosi on the wings and Aphelele Fassi at fullback.

Partnering Am in midfield will be Ben Tapuai, who will be making his Sharks debut and has seven Test caps for Australia and previously played for Harlequins in the English Premiership.

“Ben was going to start against the Bulls on December 3 but Covid protocols meant he was not able to play,” Everitt said. “He’s a skilful player with a left boot like Andre Esterhuizen.

“He brings an added dimension at inside centre, especially with his confident communication among the backs. We were looking for experience at 12 because our flyhalves are young.

“Grant Williams, Sanele Nohamba and Jaden Hendrikse, our first-choice scrumhalves, are also very young.

“Ben’s different skillset will allow us to play a little differently,” Everitt said.

Openside flank Dylan Richardson, who is now eligible to play in the Six Nations for Scotland, is currently out injured as he recovers from a stress fracture in his leg. James Venter will start in the No.6 jersey with other young talents in Jeandre Labuschagne and Phepsi Buthelezi completing the loose trio.

They will be busy as the Sharks expect an open, running game starting at 3pm at Ellis Park.

Sharks team: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (c), Ben Tapuai, Makazole Mapimpi, Boeta Chamberlain, Grant Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jeandre Labuschagne, James Venter, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit (v/c), Kerron van Vuuren, Ox Nche. Replacements – Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Reniel Hugo, Henco Venter, Jaden Hendrikse, Tito Bonilla, Jeremy Ward.

The Proteas have every reason to be like an excited puppy bouncing around after winning the first ODI against India – making it three wins in a row over the superpowers of cricket – but key bowler Tabraiz Shamsi says they have to forget about what has gone before and approach Friday’s second ODI at Boland Park as the start of a new series.

If South Africa do win on Friday then they have clinched the three-match series 2-0 even before they go to Newlands over the weekend. Following the heroics in the Test series, the 31-run win in the first ODI was an impressive way to add to the feel-good factor and keep the momentum going.

“It was a very nice way to start the series, beating one of the strongest teams in the world, which shows we are also one of the strongest teams,” Shamsi said on Thursday. “But it’s about focusing on the next game now.

“We will go into it with much the same plan. We have made a great start but we need to forget about that game now and play the second match like it’s the first game of the series.

“Hopefully we can go 2-0 up and close off the series. But we are both very competitive teams,” Shamsi said.

The highlight of the first ODI was the incredible 204-run partnership between Temba Bavuma (110) and Rassie van der Dussen (129*), the pair coming together in the 18^th over with South Africa in trouble on 68/3.

But the way they handled the dual spin menace of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal showed the massive improvements in playing spin that are evident in the Proteas batting line-up. That will hold them in good stead in the second ODI, which is also being played in Paarl.

“It was a very slow pitch and there was some assistance for the spinners,” Shamsi said. “It was more of a subcontinental wicket than a South African one, which makes it even sweeter to outplay them.

“It was a massive statement the way Temba and Rassie batted. It was a tough situation when they came in, but the way they counter-punched and took the initiative away from India was incredible.

“Especially the way they played spin in helpful conditions, it shows that there has been a lot of growth in our team,” Shamsi said.