Ken Borland

One of the things that makes the Springboks such a tight-knit unit is the acknowledgement that they have all been on their own individual journeys to get there, and Retshegofaditswe ‘Ox’ Nche has found his way back into the camp, saying he only had “hope and hard work” to rely on in the last couple of years.

Loosehead prop Nche made his Springbok debut back in June 2018 as Rassie Erasmus, in his first Test as coach, bravely sent a new-look team to the United States to play Wales. South Africa succumbed to a late try in losing 22-20, but the process of sifting the players and building depth that bore fruit in the 2019 World Cup had begun.

Except that for Nche, who had started that Test ahead of Steven Kitshoff, he did not play again for the Springboks. But the 25-year-old will get the chance to put on the Green and Gold again on Friday against Georgia in Pretoria as he once again takes the No.1 jersey, with Kitshoff wearing No.17, thanks to Tendai Mtawarira moving on and Bulls star Lizo Gqoboka not being favoured by the Springbok management.

“It’s the dream of every rugby player to represent their country and be the best player you can be, and playing in 2018 was a real honour. And since then I’ve been doing everything I can just to get back there. In terms of staying patient, I only really had hope and hard work to rely on.

“But I’ve learnt whether playing Craven Week, SA Schools, Varsity Cup, Currie Cup or Super Rugby, that the great challenge is every week you have a different team posing a different challenge. You just have to be willing to give it your all, whether it’s Georgia or the British and Irish Lions. I can’t wait to show what I’m capable of at the highest level,” Nche said.

He follows in the footsteps of some marvellous loosehead props like the miraculous Os du Randt, ‘Beast’ and Kitshoff, but while he takes inspiration from them, he is not worried about emulating their stirring deeds just yet.

“It’s a privilege to have this opportinity and I don’t compare myself to Os or Beast because I am still at the beginning of my journey. I try not to think about emulating them because those guys are legends and I don’t want to put extra pressure on myself. I’m just going to focus on how I can contribute to the team as much as I can.

“I’m excited for the Georgia challenge, they are a very good physical team and taking them on up front will be the major challenge. They scrum low, but I am 1.75m tall so I can go down there too. It’s going to be an exciting battle up front, but we are aiming for the same intensity and standards as at the World Cup in 2019, that’s what we thrive on,” Nche said.

Mike Bechet is the sort of coach who makes administrators squirm but is adored by his players, for the same reason – the great producer of schoolboy talent is renowned for being straightforward and honest, and as passionate about the game as anyone.

Bechet’s fame was made at Maritzburg College, where 21 future senior internationals and 74 SA U18 caps have passed through his hands since 1982. Since 2015 he has been at Jeppe High School in Johannesburg and his impact is clear. He may be coaching the U16A team, but it is no coincidence that Jeppe have become a dominant force in South African schoolboy hockey, being the top-ranked team in both 2018 and 2019. And there have been a couple more SA Schools caps coming through his pipeline.

Among the more recent internationals Bechet coached at school are Tevin Kok, Tyson Dlungwana, Tommy Hammond, Siya Nolutshungu, Taine Paton, Peabo Lembethe and Matt Guise-Brown. Before the recent era, Proteas such as Steve and Iain Evans, Grant von Mayer, Ryan Shrives, Darren Gallagher, Charl van der Merwe and Gareth Carr all graduated under Bechet’s coaching.

And this is not to mention the impact Bechet has had on cricket in this country, as coach of the Maritzburg College 1^st XI for 572 games, he had a major hand in the development of Jonty Rhodes and David Miller, as well as one Kevin Pietersen, who played for England. He was an SA Schools and SA U19 selector from 2008 to 2020.

Bechet’s coaching approach could be described as “tough love” and the former parabat has always been more interested in the character of his charges than in their skills.

“I like to pick guys who absorb information and who have good character, I value that above skill. You can teach someone skill but you can’t teach character. Things like mental attitude and a culture of no excuses play a huge role. I look for guys with big hearts, the capacity to train hard and who live a good lifestyle. I always advise my players to surround themselves with winners from whatever field.

“Basically I want to develop good people, that’s what really counts for me, and you want them to continue playing. Unbeaten seasons don’t fill me with much pride, I get more pride out of developing international and provincial players. That’s the bigger picture that I’m after. And it’s incredibly humbling to stay in touch with a lot of my former players who have made it big.

“They all come back to me and that’s the rewarding bit, to have an influence on people’s lives. I accept that I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you can handle discipline and train hard then you will flourish under me,” Bechet says.

One only has to spend five minutes on the side of a sports field with Bechet to know that it is obvious he hates losing, but he is more than willing to embrace the tough lessons that defeat can impart.

“One does actually learn a lot more from losing, especially kids,” Bechet says. “And knowledge is power and I do read a lot. Sports books like the autobiographies of people like Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Rod McQueen, Eddie Jones, they were all hard guys. My approach is certainly that you must be all-in or not at all.”

A product of Durban High School, Bechet studied at both Rhodes University and UCT. He has a BA Honours in Physical Education and an HDE and has twice been the recipient of the South African Hockey Association’s President’s Award for services to hockey, in both 2005 and 2010.

Bechet has seen all sides of the hockey realm – as a player he represented Eastern Province, Western Province and the champion Natal side, as well as being capped for the SA U21s in 1976. He has coached Natal Schools (1989) and the senior Natal side (1991-92) to interprovincial titles and was the convenor of the South African selection panel for both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Bechet has even excelled in the world of umpiring, having an SA III grading and having blown the 1987 and 1988 SA U18 IPT finals.

It was out on the park where Bechet, who considers himself a schoolmaster first and foremost, first began honing his coaching skills.

“Hockey was always my passion and being coached by people like Darryl Bestall, Alan Paton, Tony Godding and Brian Edwards, I was exposed to so much coaching wisdom. I used to pick their brains while I was playing, I was taking in information all the time I was out on the field. In July 1981 I began employment at Maritzburg College and I have always said I’m a schoolmaster not a teacher, because I teach phys ed and I coach sport,” the 65-year-old says.

Von Mayer, who has followed in Bechet’s footsteps as a schoolmaster coaching hockey, albeit further in the heart of the KZN Midlands at Michaelhouse, says it was only when he was a student that he realised the key to Bechet’s success.

“Bech really gets the best out of people because he gets you to play for something other than yourself. Often you end up playing for him.

“That’s because he brings a system and an organisation to the game, that comes from the fact he was a fine player himself. He demanded that you do things to improve your skills. When I talk to other coaches now in the different fora, they’re all like him now. So Bech has spawned a whole lot of new coaches who continue his approach”.

Mike Bechet has already had a massive impact on South African hockey, and the good news is that influence will continue through his legacy – the young men he coached now becoming mentors themselves.

Ace South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi does not believe the Proteas bowling attack are forgoing skill in T20 cricket and the improvement they have shown in their fixtures in the West Indies, winning the last two games for a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, certainly bears him out.

Shamsi, the No.1 ranked bowler in international T20 cricket, has spearheaded South Africa’s comeback after a mauling in the first match, and has taken four for 56 in his 12 overs in the series. He was man of the match in Tuesday night’s encounter as he took two for 13 in four phenomenal overs, as the Proteas just managed to defend 168 in Grenada.

Left-arm orthodox spinner George Linde was man of the match in the second T20 and South Africa’s pacemen have steadily improved as they have found a fuller length, with Anrich Nortje particularly impressive and Kagiso Rabada holding his nerve in the last game as he defended 15 in the final over.

“We’re still learning as a team because we don’t have much experience together as a unit. But the skills are not missing, I firmly believe our bowling unit is up there with the best. The same with our batting, they just need to get into their rhythm. I think the batting has been quite good in the last two games.

“The way we’ve bounced back with the ball though against the West Indies batsmen is very pleasing, they’re hitting sixes but we’ve seen a big improvement in how we are nailing the execution from our analysis. In that first game, I think the rain kept juicing the pitch up which allowed the ball to skid on nicely for the batsmen,” Shamsi said.

While Shamsi sticks to the Proteas’ hymn sheet with his chorale of “just trying to land the ball in the right areas”, there is no doubt the 31-year-old is reaping the benefits of detailed analysis of the individual West Indies batsmen and his feistiness that suggests he is a fast bowler trapped in a spinner’s body.

“I like to do a lot of homework, I’ve always spent a lot of time on analysis. I go back to the videos to see how they play me and I ask myself ‘did I bowl well then?’ I always just try to stay a step ahead with my game. But T20 cricket is a different beast, the West Indies are very strong team, they basically play T20 for a living, and I might go for 60 in the next game.

“We can’t take them lightly given the amount of experience they have, their four most capped players probably have more runs and wickets together than the whole of our team. But it’s all about preparation for us,” Shamsi said.

Springbok scrumhalf Cobus Reinach says his move to playing in the French Top 14 has made him more alive to opportunities that present themselves on the field, which means his partnership with incisive flyhalf Handre Pollard against Georgia on Friday could be an exciting one.

Reinach left the Sharks in 2017 and played three seasons with Northampton before joining Montpellier last year. Pollard’s serious knee injury means they have not played together much as a halfback combination, but they have been training together.

“Playing overseas opens your eyes a bit, it takes you completely out of your comfort zone, which makes you grow as a player. The Top 14 is a bit different to the English Premiership, which is more structured, you’re playing to shapes and maps.

“But in the Top 14 you need to be more instinctive and therefore you are more alert, so you are able to deal with what happens in front of you. Cheslin Kolbe is such a good example of that with Toulouse. He can do anything, he’s able to create magic out of nothing,” Reinach said on Tuesday.

Since the now 31-year-old Reinach graduated from Grey College, he has been dealt an interesting deck of cards in his rugby career. After one year in Free State’s youth structures, he joined the Sharks Academy in 2009 and made his debut in the Vodacom Cup in 2011. He was in the Currie Cup squad before the end of that year, helping the Sharks win that trophy in 2013. From 2014 to 2017 he was pretty much the Sharks’ first-choice scrumhalf.

Injuries to Fourie du Preez and Ruan Pienaar saw Reinach make his Springbok debut in September 2014. He was involved in the build-up to the 2015 World Cup but then was a surprise omission from the final squad, the uncapped Rudy Paige being preferred.

From then until the 2019 World Cup, Reinach was in the international wilderness. But then he enjoyed the elation of not only winning the biggest cup of them all in Japan, but he also broke a World Cup record with a hat-trick in 11 minutes against Canada.

And now he is in line to play against the British and Irish Lions.

“It’s an unbelievable story that I can tell my kids for the rest of my life, but it’s not time now to think about that, there’s rugby to be played and I’m just trying to improve as a player. It’s great that so many of us from the World Cup squad are still together so it’s not hard to make sure we’re all on the same page. Now we just have to go out and show what we’ve learnt,” Reinach said.