Ken Borland

Wednesday night’s SA A game against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town is another step in the Springboks’ preparation for the Test series, according to backline coach Mzwandile Stick, and the important lesson they will want to carry from the Georgia Test two weekends ago is that they have to start well.

It took the Springboks a good half-hour before they got into the swing of their Test against Georgia, which was understandable since it was their first Test in 20 months. Georgia’s physical, combative approach troubled South Africa in the first quarter, but they know a slow start against the British and Irish Lions will lead to way more severe punishment.

“For us, this is an SA A game, but in terms of the Springboks it is about making sure we are better than we were against Georgia, that’s our main focus. For example, one of the things is that we did not start very well. It’s most important that we keep chasing that 80-minute performance. We certainly can’t afford to switch off against the Lions.

“Against them we have to make sure we are at our best from the start and for all 80 minutes. It’s difficult to find weaknesses in the Lions, there’s not much to speak about because they have the best in Europe in each position. So we have to be at our best in every department otherwise the Lions are a team that will punish you,” Stick said on Tuesday.

But with the country in a miserable state due to Covid and civil unrest, Stick admitted that the Springboks will once again have a higher purpose – trying to lift the mood of the people as they did when they held the World Cup aloft in 2019.

“We are living in a very sad time with what we see on social media and on the news on TV. One of the main things the Springboks aim to do is put smiles on peoples’ faces, we want to give them hope. I will never forget after we won the World Cup everyone was on the street – whatever colour: black, brown, white, yellow – and we all spoke one language.

“That’s the sort of hope we want to create, we want to make sure we unite the country. Hopefully all the bad stuff going on at the moment stops soon,” Stick said.

The first ODI between South Africa and Ireland may have been washed out, but it did provide the Proteas with a valuable demonstration of how accepting that conditions are going to be tough for batting up front and not pushing too hard in the first powerplay is going to be crucial when the second match is played at the same Malahide ground in Dublin on Tuesday.

Ireland had reached 195-4, after being sent in to bat, in the 40.2 overs that were played before the rain ended matters, and were well-placed to post a decent total. That was partly due to, and not despite, a fairly painstaking start in which they scored just 28 runs in the first 10 overs but did not lose any wickets.

It is the exact opposite situation to what the Proteas experienced in the West Indies, where batting up front in the powerplay was the time to cash in and the best chance to score quickly.

“The pitch was a tad slow, but it was a good wicket. We’ll have to assess again for the next game, but up front was the toughest time to bat. So you have to be very watchful the first 10 overs and then the ball doesn’t do as much. The game gets easier and then you can press on.

“It’s definitely the right thing to field first because then you know what score you’re chasing and you know the conditions better. We need to show what we’ve learned from the West Indies and be clinical with the bat. We bowled pretty well, but we just need to remind ourselves that we need to execute day in, day out. It’s about being consistent, that’s the key word, we need to repeat the good performances,” all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo said on Monday.

Given that South Africa never got to bat, any changes to the batting line-up are going to be unfair on the likes of Janneman Malan and Kyle Verreynne. But if Quinton de Kock is ready to go after his rest, then who wouldn’t want him in a game that has crucial World Cup qualification points at stake?

Consistent fast bowler Anrich Nortje was also rested for the first game and he could return at the expense of left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who did not get any wickets but was tight, conceding just 38 runs in his nine overs.

Lukhanyo Am will captain a shadow Springbok side dressed up as SA A against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Wednesday and the captaincy could also be on loan to him for the first Test on July 24 after director of rugby Rassie Erasmus admitted that those players who are currently Covid-positive and isolating will be in a race against time to make that match.

Regular captain Siya Kolisi is one of the players currently in quarantine.

The numerous Covid infections in the Springbok camp led to the second Test against Georgia being cancelled, and Erasmus admitted that that has forced them to pick many of the players they have pencilled in for the first Test for Wednesday night’s game.

“It depends on how the players progress through the Return-to-Play protocol and some of them will definitely be available from Wednesday and Thursday next week. Guys like Frans Steyn and Handre Pollard might make it because they tested positive really early. And some guys can just slot into the team, while others need more time to get their engines running. For them it will be touch and go.

“Losing the second Georgia Test has been massive and it would have been much easier if we had had that game and the SA A one. But we have a lot of knowledge about some of the players, we know their class and how they react under pressure, so for us, it’s not so much about gelling as about match fitness because it’s a bit of a worry for some guys how long it’s been since they last played,” Erasmus said on Monday.

Erasmus is also clearly trying to convince the British and Irish Lions to agree to Saturday’s tour match also being between them and an SA A side, instead of the Stormers. But like an over-enthusiastic puppy getting a paw to the nose, Lions coach Warren Gatland made it clear in his concurrent press conference that he was not in favour of that.

So Erasmus could well be left hoping his team has enough conditioning in the kitty from their three-week camp in Bloemfontein and the single Test against Georgia to match the Lions’ impressive build-up to the Test series.

“We had three weeks of good intensity training in Bloemfontein and the plan then was two Tests against Georgia and the SA A game to be ready and we could not have asked for more than that. So now we have lost one week of training and one match. But after seven days in their hotel rooms, the guys shouldn’t totally go to pieces and get out of shape.

“But I’m sure Warren Gatland wold like to play against the best possible Springbok team and the safest thing medically would be for SA A to play again against the Lions on Saturday. We have been in a totally hard bubble and we are all negative. I’m sure they would not be afraid to play us again and that would be the best preparation for us to provide good competition in the Tests against the Lions,” Erasmus said.

With so much uncertainty around at the moment, it is a good thing that Am has temporarily taken over the captaincy because he is a leader who provides a haven of calm.

SA A team – Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Sbu Nkosi, Morne Steyn, Faf de Klerk, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marco van Staden, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Trevor Nyakane, Joseph Dweba, Steven Kitshoff. Bench: Coenie Oosthuizen, Malcolm Marx, Vincent Koch, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Rynhardt Elstadt, Herschel Jantjies, Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse.

Only a wee bit more than 40 overs were able to be played in the first ODI against Ireland in Dublin on Sunday, but in that time there were suggestions that South Africa still have a little problem in terms of death bowling.

The Proteas had won the toss and sent Ireland in to bat under gloomy, overcast skies that had already caused the start to be delayed by 45 minutes.

When Ireland had reached 195 for four after 40.2 overs, the rain returned and became a persistent drizzle, forcing the umpires to call the match off an hour-and-a-half later.

That had been the second time rain had forced the players off the field because Ireland’s innings was first interrupted on 145 for two after 35 overs. When they returned, the match had been reduced to 43 overs a side and the home side went on the thrash.

The last 5.2 overs that the Proteas bowled were hammered for 50 runs, a bit on the expensive side and cause for some thought by the coaching staff.

But overall it had been a solid bowling performance by the Proteas. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi were both impressively accurate up front and Ireland only scored 28 runs in the first 10 overs.

But the South Africans were unable to buy a wicket until the end of the 13th over when Paul Stirling (13) sliced an attempted pull off Andile Phehlukwayo into the covers.

William Porterfield (63 off 87) and captain Andy Balbirnie (65 off 79) then laid a solid platform for the innings with their second-wicket stand of 87 in 17.2 overs.

Porterfield fell trying to reverse-sweep Tabraiz Shamsi and Rabada (8.2-2-43-2) then picked up two wickets when the slog was on towards the end of the innings.

Harry Tector (25) and Mark Adair (16*) gathered quick runs with good cameos at the death.