Ken Borland

In terms of experience, Bulls tighthead prop Mornay Smith may seem ill-equipped to take on the might of Stormers and Springbok loosehead Steven Kitshoff this weekend in their Rainbow Cup match in Cape Town, but the 23-year-old has been on a roll lately and he says he is “not having sleepless nights” about the prospect.

Smith has marked himself out as a top-class talent for the Bulls, having come on as a replacement for Springbok Trevor Nyakane in some crunch games and shown that he can bear the heavy responsibility of being the cornerstone of the scrum on his shoulders.

He started last weekend against the Lions and did well, but is likely to be back on the bench on Saturday with Nyakane expected to play. But with the marvellous Kitshoff generally playing deep into the second half, Smith could well get his first chance to scrum against one of the world’s best.

“It’s the first time I’m playing against the Stormers because last time we played them I was out injured, and I have never scrummed against Kitshoff before. It’s going to be a very big challenge, but it’s lekker to play against the No.1 loosehead, to measure yourself against him. It all depends on what he gives me on the day, but I’m not having sleepless nights about it.

“Every prop has his own way of doing things and you have to read what your opponent is giving you, you must counter whatever picture he is showing you. Now that I’ve had a few games off the bench, I’m just trying to get as much experience as possible. It’s a long season so I don’t feel that much pressure on me and it’s nice that the props around me have much more experience,” Smith said on Wednesday.

Thanks to his parents being big Bulls supporters, Loftus Versfeld was always the destination of choice for Smith as he attended Hoerskool Eldoraigne and played age-group rugby for the Bulls, from U12s to U21s.

“My parents were always big Bulls supporters so I always wanted to play for the Bulls, it was a big dream of mine. So they are very proud and going forward now we will just see what happens. I’m still fine-tuning my scrumming to get it right, there are a couple of small things that need more attention. But I’m taking it step by step,” Smith said.

The Indian Premier League did all the arrangements for the South African players to get to the tournament a month ago and now that the IPL has been suspended due to Covid-19, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as hosts will again look after the logistics of getting the 10 South Africans back home.

The IPL was suspended on Tuesday amid the surge of Covid-19 cases in India, which has now seen three of the franchises having players and/or staff testing positive for the virus.

Under the current Level I restrictions, South Africa’s border with India is still open, but all travellers are required to have proof of a negative test within 72 hours of travelling. A Cricket South Africa statement released on Tuesday said the returning players would have to “undergo home quarantine in line with the current World Health Organisation recommendations”.

CSA said they and the players’ association, SACA, did have contact with the players “and are assured of their safety and comfort in their respective locations”.

A handful of Australian cricketers had already pulled out of the IPL before Tuesday’s suspension, but with their government now instituting a travel ban, threatening a five-year prison sentence for anyone entering the country who has been to India recently, their remaining players have been agitating for a chartered flight to be organised to fly them home.

But Cricket Australia and their players’ association issued a statement on Tuesday saying they would support their government’s closed-border policy, which means the Australians are likely to head off to the Maldives or Dubai to wait until May 15 when their country’s borders might reopen to people who have been in India.

Fortunately for them, South Africa’s players don’t have that problem.

The Lions went at the breakdown like a pack of dogs in their opening-round Rainbow Cup fixture against the Bulls, so their opponents this weekend, the Sharks, know that the rucks are going to be a key area of their game at Kings Park on Saturday.

The Sharks were dogged by turnovers last weekend against a Stormers side whose efforts in that department were led by the excellent Nama Xaba, so eighthman Sikhumbuzo Notshe admitted on Tuesday that the breakdowns were a major area of focus for them this week.

“There are always work-ons after the first round of a competition, but the breakdown is a focus this week because of how poor we were in Cape Town. We let the stealers get their hands on the ball, our reaction-time was poor. When someone carries the ball, you have to look after them.

”We haven’t shown consistency in that area and in some games we’ve just lost concentration. Sometimes we just don’t look after our team-mate when they go into contact, but we’ve addressed that and we are working hard on that,” Notshe said on Tuesday.

While the Sharks were not happy with how they played against the Stormers, Notshe said their defensive commitment and discipline were two big positives from the 33-30 win.

“It was a 100% effort. We were 20-3 down at one stage but the energy and intensity levels stayed good, and we must never lose that feeling for each other. At the end it would have been easy to give up a penalty, but we forced them to kick a 50/50 grubber instead. Our defence was good and so was our discipline, those were the positives and the areas where we have shown growth.

“We also adapted well to the new laws. We have to make sure we start and finish well against the Lions, they are a very physical team and we also respect them because they showed in our Super Rugby Unlocked match what they can do in the second 40. Their general [Elton Jantjies] is away on loan, so that probably gives us an edge, but we respect Fred Zeilinga, he didn’t do badly against the Bulls, he controlled the game well,” Notshe said.

Europe seems to be the new proving ground where several South African rugby players go to be transformed from boys to men and the squad lists for the four teams that will contest the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals later this month shows Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has plenty of overseas-based options to consider ahead of the British and Irish Lions tour.

The Champions Cup final at Twickenham on May 22 will be an all-French affair after Toulouse beat Bourdeaux-Begles 21-9 and La Rochelle overcame Leinster 32-23 in the semi-finals at the weekend. The Challenge Cup final will be like a curtain-raiser as it will also be played at Twickenham, on May 21, with Leicester, who beat Ulster 33-24, taking on Montpellier, who were 19-10 victors over Bath.

Amongst the players to have shown their readiness to make the step up are Jasper Wiese, the former Free State player, who has put in numerous storming displays from eighthman for Leicester and the 25-year-old is strongly tipped to be part of the Springbok squad.

There are two other loose forwards who have featured prominently in Europe this season in the shape of Hanro Liebenberg, the former Bulls captain who has also starred for Leicester, and his older brother Wiaan, who has been an effective ball-carrier for La Rochelle.

Nico Janse van Rensburg usually plays lock for Montpellier, but he turned out in the No.6 jersey in their semi-final and is making the most of his chances with the French club.

But it is the players who are already Springboks who will be most keenly watched come finals weekend.

Top of that list will be flyhalf Handre Pollard, who played for the first time in eight months when he came off the bench in the final quarter for Montpellier, and kicked a penalty to ensure victory.

Hooker Bismarck du Plessis, who won a couple of trademark turnovers, and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach also came off the bench for the French club, while Johan Goosen, who is heading for the Bulls at the end of the season, started at outside centre.

Cheslin Kolbe, whose hot-stepping feet dazzled once again in the semi-final, and utility forward Rynhardt Elstadt are the Springboks who have helped Toulouse to the final, while Dillyn Leyds and Raymond Rhule are two almost forgotten Springboks who have been key players in the La Rochelle backline.

South Africans in the European finalists’ squads

Leicester – Jasper Wiese, Cyle Brink, Luan de Bruin, Hanro Liebenberg, Jaco Taute, Kobus van Wyk.

Montpellier – Bismarck du Plessis, Johan Goosen, Henry Immelman, Nico Janse van Rensburg, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Jan Serfontein.

Toulouse – Cheslin Kolbe, Rynhardt Elstadt.

La Rochelle – Dllyn Leyds, Raymond Rhule, Wiaan Liebenberg.