Ken Borland

Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg says he will be looking to ensure the British and Irish Lions stamp their mark on their tour of South Africa with the right performance and result as he captains them in their opening match overseas against Gauteng’s Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The lively fullback leads an almost entirely new starting XV for the tourists and he certainly has the experience for the job, being on his third Lions tour and having led Scotland to momentous away victories over both England and France in this year’s Six Nations Championship.

“We will be looking to lay down a marker early doors and start the tour in the best way possible. I’ve watched the 1997 South African tour video about a million times and I reckon I can quote 90% of it. I absolutely loved Martin Johnson as the captain, but I will be my own man as a leader. It’s not my style to scream and shout, I prefer to lead from the front.

“There will be lots of great leaders in the team on Saturday like Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje, and I will just be going out and trying to do my job. I look forward to expressing myself, and contributing to a successful start to the tour. It’s all about the energy and buzz we create, those little victories in the game will be massive, that kicks you on. But if those moments don’t go according to plan then we have to regroup and start again,” Hogg said on Thursday.

For coach Warren Gatland, the pace with which his team settles into their combinations will be vital with just five matches to be played before the first Test in Cape Town on July 24.

“We’re a bit limited with there only being five games before the Tests, so we need to build confidence quickly and create combinations too and see how they work out as quickly as possible because there’s a lot of competition in the squad. If we play well on Saturday then we can get that confidence going. We’ve had a good look at the opposing Lions and they will be strong up front.

“The first game is always difficult as you need to get up to speed and we’re up against a side that is probably the least affected in terms of losing players to the Springboks. So they’re going to be a settled outfit and incredibly motivated to be the first team to beat us on tour. But it’s been above expectation how well we’ve gelled so far and we know how tough and physical it’s going to be,” Gatland said.

Team – Stuart Hogg, Louis Rees-Zammit, Chris Harris, Owen Farrell, Josh Adams, Finn Russell, Ali Price, Taulupe Faletau, Hamish Watson, Courtney Lawes, Jonny Hill, Maro Itoje, Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Wyn Jones. Bench: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mako Vunipola, Zander Fagerson, Iain Henderson, Sam Simmonds, Gareth Davies, Bundee Aki, Elliot Daly.

It’s always sad when the captain of the opposing team misses the tour due to injury before it has even started, especially when it is a classy rugby player such as Alun-Wyn Jones. I was curious about the veteran Welsh lock’s second British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa because his 2009 venture ended in rather inelegant fashion.

The last time I saw Jones in the flesh – and it was a lot of flesh – was when he was running around butt naked in the Sandton Convention Centre and then proceeded to urinate under one of the banquet tables. It was the final night of the tour and there had been an official farewell function, after which the Lions retired to their own after-party.

Certain members of the media had their own ‘little’ shindig after the formalities as well, and I was wandering back out of the building when I heard noise coming from one of the halls, poked my head through the door and saw the unforgettable sight of Jones letting loose.

It was one of the abiding memories of the five weeks I spent covering that Lions tour, from the sea to the Highveld, and what an experience it was.

The tour kicked off on May 30 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg as the Lions played against a Highveld XV, made up of players from the central unions excluding the Gauteng Lions and the Bulls. After playing the Golden Lions and the Free State Cheetahs in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein respectively, the Lions then decamped to the coast for a string of three matches in Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth before the first Test at Kings Park on June 20.

The Lions had to return to a sodden Newlands three days later to draw 13-13 with the Emerging Springboks and then the last two Tests were played at Loftus Versfeld and Ellis Park.

There was always a sea of red spectators in the stadiums and most of those jolly travellers then drank their fill in whatever establishments were nearby the match venues. I remember after the Lions beat the Southern Kings 20-8, all the pubs along the beachfront in Port Elizabeth ran dry. Even the Boardwalk Casino ran out of stock.

The wonderful thing about a Lions tour is that when your national team is done facing the best of Great Britain and Ireland on the field, there is always tremendous camaraderie after the game. What could be better than talking rugby with like-minded revellers?

One such occasion did lead to me losing face, however, and I felt as embarrassed as I hope Jones did the next morning.

It was after the Western Province match at Newlands on June 13 and the Cape Town weather was foul on that night too. But nevertheless all the drinking holes along Main Road were packed to the rafters as a crowd of 34 000 poured out of the stadium.

I found myself deep in discussion with a group of people and, pride always coming before a fall, I was very up front that I was covering the entire tour for international news agency Reuters. What an expert I was.

Standing next to me was an interesting fellow who had an unusual accent – either Australian or Kiwi (it was getting late and I wasn’t sure) – for someone watching a British and Irish Lions tour. So I asked hm what an Antipodean was doing following the tour and the words were no sooner out of my mouth when I realised what a complete idiot I was.

Standing next to me was Riki Flutey, the New Zealand-born centre, who had played for the Lions in that very match that night. Fortunately there were some sturdy pillars in this bar/restaurant and I rapidly slid behind the one next to me.

What an expert I was.

Despite that one humiliating moment, it is going to be utterly frustrating not having those crowds on this tour. But we will roar the Springboks along nevertheless, knowing that there will be many thousands of others roaring along the Lions in front of their screens on the other side of the equator.

It should still be a rollicking five weeks of rugby.

Western Province were grateful for the services of an ace goalkicker in Tim Swiel as they edged out the Sharks 32-31 in their Currie Cup match in Cape Town on Wednesday evening, the flyhalf succeeding with all eight of his kicks at goal.

Western Province were outscored four tries to two by the Sharks, but Swiel’s man-of-the-match display ensured they were in the lead for almost the whole game. The Sharks led twice, taking a 21-19 lead into halftime after a sensational run by wing Thaakir Abrahams from his own 22 set up scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse for his second try; and then flyhalf Curwin Bosch kicked an easy ruck penalty to put them 31-29 up with just four minutes remaining.

But as happened so often in the game, the Sharks messed up the restart, being penalised for hands in the ruck, and Swiel nailed the kick to make the final score 32-31.

But the hardworking flank Thembelani Bholi won a turnover penalty in the final minute, only for Bosch to kick the ball dead, Western Province then stealing the lineout throw to notch their first win at Cape Town Stadium.

Western Province fullback Sergeal Petersen had an elegant response to the halftime deficit as he cut the line soon after the restart and then passed to powerhouse eighthman Evan Roos, who muscled over the tryline with only scrumhalf Hendrikse fighting a lone and futile battle to try and bring him down.

It was yet another moment of sloppiness by a Sharks side who played some beautiful rugby, but were beaten by a team that simply made fewer mistakes.

Not even dominating the lineouts and scrums could win the game for the visitors, who dominated territory and possession. That allowed them plenty of opportunities to maul from the lineout, from which three of their tries came, but Western Province’s new-look side proved their character by winning against the run of play.

Scorers

Western Province: Tries – Paul de Wet, Evan Roos. Conversions – Tim Swiel (2). Penalties – Swiel (6).

Sharks: Tries – Thembelani Bholi, Jaden Hendrikse (2), Fez Mbatha. Conversions – Curwin Bosch (4). Penalty – Bosch.

Phepsi Buthelezi’s Facebook page has just one Life Event posted on it: “October 30, 2018 – Started a new job at the Sharks”.

In the 32 months since then it is fair to say that the 22-year-old from Hluhluwe has blown away his employers with his dedication, talent, leadership and positive attitude. To such an extent that he was named their Currie Cup captain for this season, although he is currently out of action with a minor concussion. it is hoped he will be back to lead his troops against the British and Irish Lions on July 7.

Buthelezi is just one of those guys who impresses everywhere he goes, knocking over hurdles and making it look easy. But coming from a town that probably has more game reserves than rugby fields in the immediate vicinity, he has had challenges to overcome in order to progress through the rugby pipeline from one of the backwaters.

“It was obviously tough coming from Hluhluwe and where rugby comes short in Zululand is that we don’t play enough there, compared to the Eastern Cape primary schools, which play so much more games and therefore there is a lot more opportunity. There’s a lot of talent in Zululand, I reckon the kids there are just as talented, but they are raw. We know the Eastern Cape is crazy about rugby, but it’s quite big in Zululand too,” Buthelezi told Saturday Citizen.

But a talent such as Buthelezi normally just needs a couple of lucky breaks and he will soar. The eighthman with the slick hands made his breakthrough when he came to Durban.

“I was a loose forward and lock playing in the Zululand U12 trials and my older brother, Blessing, was at Durban High School and he did very well there. So DHS saw me and gave me a scholarship. I played lock there from the U14s through to the U15s, and in fact in the KZN U16 team I played lock alongside JJ van der Mescht [a current Sharks second-rower].

“And then I became Head of School at DHS and beating Glenwood in our big derby in 2017 gives me goosebumps still. We hadn’t beaten them since 2006 and it was one of the best days of my life. It was a big occasion, their Old Boys’ Day at Glenwood, but we just wanted it so much. It’s still one of my favourite games ever,” Buthelezi said.

DHS came from 3-12 down to win 20-17 and Buthelezi scored their final try.

He made the SA Schools side later that year and in 2018 he captained the SA U20s.

It was certainly his – and the Sharks’  – good fortune that he then landed up at Kings Park.

“Being at the Sharks has made the transition from the Junior Boks to senior rugby so much smoother because of the type of coaches we have. Like Sean Everitt, who is a transformational coach that believes in growing and developing players. I am so blessed at the Sharks, it’s not just about what you can do for them now, but about where you can be in five years time. We are all driving towards the future,” Buthelezi said.

Never mind breaking a glass ceiling, the way Buthelezi is going, he’s gong to reach the ozone layer.

But it is typical of the humble young man that he is thankful for the help of family and friends along the way.

“A lot of people have had a positive influence in my career, starting with my family, especially my mother. Through it all, the good days and the bad, she has always been there encouraging me through it all and it was not always pretty.

“At the Sharks, guys like Tera Mtembu and Keegan Daniel helped me a lot. I actually stayed with Tera for the first couple of months at the Sharks and he was so welcoming. You can feel threatened by someone who plays in the same position as you and maybe not give of yourself too much, but he was always helpful, giving me tips and encouragement, and Keegan too.

“The Du Preez brothers were also great and Siya Kolisi and Sikhumbuzo Notshe are the players I learn from now, I’m just absorbing knowledge. It’s great to see the type of person Siya is, yes he’s a wonderful rugby player who has done amazing things, but what stands out is what sort of person he is, he never treats anyone differently and is such a good example to us younger guys. He’s just a good human being.”

For the man whose real name is Phendulani, but who was called Phepsi because his teachers at the predominantly Hluhluwe Primary School struggled, it’s now all about the Currie Cup, which the Sharks came agonisingly close to winning last season, only losing in extra time to the Bulls.

“As a squad we are really targeting the Currie Cup, we feel ready now to actually win some trophies, although we understand it’s going to be tough.

“As a captain I value people, I never go in thinking I have to be in charge. Leadership is influence and I try to get to know the players on and off the field so I can get the best reaction out of them, and of course I try to lead by example.

“As a player I don’t think I’m a typical South African eighthman, which I see as an advantage because it makes me different. I never want to play like someone else and hopefully one day I can play eighthman for the Springboks that way,” Buthelezi, a classic-style No.8 whose linking, ball-playing game suits the Sharks’ perfectly, said.