Ken Borland

There has been probably more activity in the offices of Loftus Versfeld than out on the field recently as director of rugby and head coach Jake White decides who gets one of the 45 Bulls contracts he is limited to and he admitted that some of the players in the squad named on Monday to play the Pumas in Mbombela on Tuesday have already been told they are going to be released.

So while the Prep Series warm-up match will not give some players the opportunity to sway White’s mind, he did say he still wanted to be fair to them by giving them game time that could get them noticed by other franchises. The former Springbok coach is intent on creating a super-squad at Loftus, full of internationals, to challenge the powerhouses of the North.

“There are some players that I want to see if I should re-sign them or not as we are planning for the Rainbow Cup and there are some juniors I have not seen as much as I’d like. Combinations are on trial too and of course some of these players could start in the Rainbow Cup, where I have to make sure our squad is good enough and our combinations are tried and tested.

“But I’d like to be fair to every player so I don’t wait right to the end before they know they need to make other plans. I’m trying to create a really talented group, a squad that can beat teams in Europe that have Test players on the bench. They don’t have average players filling in places in the squad. So my mind may be made up about someone, but I still want to give them game time so they can prick up the ears of other franchises,” White said on Monday.

One of those unfortunate players who is in the squad to play the Pumas but will be released is utility back Clinton Swart, who White signed in July 2020 and clearly rated very highly after coaching him in Japan. But the inspirational fashion in which Cornal Hendricks has fitted in at inside centre and the promise shown by Chris Smith as the back-up flyhalf have meant Swart’s opportunities have been limited. And with Springboks Johan Goosen and Damian Willemse probably arriving in Pretoria later this year, White said he could see no space for the 27-year-old.

“I know Clinton very well and I have a bit of a soft spot for him because he’s a great, tough guy who trained hard. He added value, but has been unfortunate that other players have developed so much in a short space of time. Cornal was named the best back in the Currie Cup and with Chris going so well, it was impossible to play Clinton and we’re struggling to commit to him long-term.

“So my mind is made up, I’m glad we helped him and I hope he can find something else. It’s no secret we’re looking at Damian and Johan could be coming, so we will have several permutations for an explosive backline. If a player has to leave a champion franchise like the Bulls, I like to think their market value will be much higher because they’re playing in a province where the best are playing,” White said.

Bulls: David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Marnus Potgieter, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Stravino Jacobs, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier, WJ Steenkamp, Tim Agaba, Nizaam Carr (C), Janko Swanepoel, Jan Uys, Mornay Smith, Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench – Janco Uys, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Nolan Pienaar, Reinhardt Ludwig, Werner Gouws, Bernard van der Linde, Clinton Swart, Richard Kriel, Henco Beukes, Willie Potgieter, Dawid Kellerman.

It’s confirmed! South Africa’s lack of Test cricket following the cancellation of the Australian tour will be alleviated somewhat by the confirmation that the Proteas will play two Tests against the West Indies in the Caribbean in June.

The tour will also include five T20 internationals, it being a World Cup year in that format.

The tour was originally scheduled for last July but became a casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic. South Africa have played just seven Tests since the start of 2020 and Australia’s decision to pull out of their tour, in which three Tests were meant to be played, at the 11^th hour was a huge blow both to the rebuilding efforts of the Proteas and the coffers of Cricket South Africa.

Cricket West Indies announced the tour on Thursday night as part of their statement confirming SuperSport as their new broadcast partners for sub-Saharan Africa, and CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith confirmed the news on Friday morning.

“We’re much pretty much there in terms of confirming the details, we still need to sort out the venues, but there will be two Tests and five T20s. We still need to sort out the Covid details as well and we have all that coming up next week once we are through our T20 Challenge,” Smith told Saturday Citizen on Friday.

Sri Lanka have arrived in the West Indies for three T20s, three ODIs and two Tests ending on April 2, and have taken up tenancy in Antigua, where all the games will be played. They were meant to play in St Lucia as well but arrived late due to positive Covid cases, including one for their South African-born coach Mickey Arthur.

The Proteas will be hoping for a couple of biosecure bubbles and a change in (beautiful) scenery during their tour, but they will be grateful just to be playing again. Their only other confirmed international cricket this year is the white-ball series they are hosting against Pakistan in April.

The Bulls may be the dominant force in South African rugby at the moment, but they will be fielding an exciting group of juniors in their opening preparation match against Eastern Province in Pretoria on Sunday, with coach Jake White entrusting them with starting new traditions at Loftus Versfeld.

“We will be unveiling our new jersey for the next couple of years and in many ways it goes back to our history, we want to remind the players what a privilege it is to play for the Bulls. A lot of work and design has gone into the jersey, and even the pants and socks are helluva important. I hope this team appreciates that the first time we wear this jersey we have given it to the next generation.

“These may just be friendlies, it’s not a competition, but it’s still Eastern Province versus Northern Transvaal and there’s a lot of culture that goes with that. I remember guys like Schalk Burger, George Rautenbach, Frans Erasmus and Danie Gerber playing for EP, so they have an unbelievably strong history and they want to revive that brand which is important for South African rugby,” White said on Friday.

So who are the exciting Bulls players to look out for on Sunday?

Janko Swanepoel

The two-metre SA U20 lock from 2019 hails from Durbanville and is an impressive athlete.

“Janko is an U21 Currie Cup winner and probably good enough to play four and five. He’s tall, really good in the lineouts and athletic, and I’m keen to see his combination with Jan Uys, who is a solid four,” White said.

Stravino Jacobs

Jacobs is a Paarl Gim product and an example of someone really taking their opportunities, the leading try-scorer in last year’s triumphant U21 campaign burst into the limelight in the latter stages of the Bulls senior team’s Currie Cup march.

“He’s certainly got something, he’s just turned 21 and there are exciting times ahead for him. I’m really looking forward to seeing him grow as a player, he’s gone from 108kg to 94kg since he’s been with us and has really put the effort in. Stravino is one of the guys I’m really excited about, from not being in the team he’s now the first name we put down at wing and he can become really important for the way we want to play as the Bulls,” White said.

WJ Steenkamp

The Grey College old boy began his Bulls career on the flank, but will play eighthman on Sunday.

“WJ is incredibly quick and will bring something different, I see him as an eighthman at the moment. I don’t see Tim Agaba as a No.8, I see him as a tall No.7, while Nizaam Carr has unbelievable skills and can play six, seven and eight. But I would like to see him as an openside flank, that way he could offer our first-choice team so much on the bench, it would mean he would be in every 23. Without Marco van Staden [Leicester-bound] we need some back-up,” White said.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Marnus Potgieter, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Stravino Jacobs, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier, WJ Steenkamp, Tim Agaba, Nizaam Carr (c), Janko Swanepoel, Jan Uys, Mornay Smith, Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench – Janco Uys, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard van der Merwe, Raynard Roets, Uzile Tele, Keagan Johannes, Jandre Burger, Diego Appollis, Reinhardt Ludwig, Werner Gouws, Dawid Kellerman.

Exciting prospect Raynard van Tonder was the only batsman to hit the high notes, but his wonderful 81 not out off 57 balls was in vain as his Knights team still went down by 14 runs to the Warriors in their T20 Challenge game at Kingsmead on Thursday.

The result has an important effect on the playoff situation as it means the Titans now have to beat the Dolphins on Friday to progress. If the Titans lose, then the Cape Cobras will qualify if they beat the Imperial Lions with a bonus point.

But the Warriors are in third place with a one-point lead at the moment, while the Knights have been eliminated.

The Knights were chasing 158 for victory but started their innings on a disastrous note as Patrick Kruger was run out by Jon-Jon Smuts without facing a ball.

That brought Van Tonder to the crease and the 22-year-old showed he is improving with every outing as he stroked six fours and three sixes.

But he had little support of note, dominating partnerships of 52 off 41 balls with Matthew Kleinveldt (12) and 40 off 26 deliveries with Shaun von Berg (16).

No-one else reached double figures as the Knights were bowled out for 143.

Seamer Mthiwekhaya Nabe once again shone for the Warriors with an excellent return of three for 19, while there were also fine performances with the ball by fellow pacemen Anrich Nortje (2-17) and Marco Jansen (2-30).

The Warriors were sent in to bat and freeflowing strokeplay by Smuts (33 off 21) and Gihahn Cloete (22 off 20) saw them tear to 53 without loss in the powerplay.

But leg-spinner Von Berg dismissed both of them in the seventh over and thereafter the Warriors relied on Lesiba Ngoepe, who has had a sorry tournament thus far, to take them to a matchwinning total, the left-hander belting 41 off 30 balls to take them to 157 for eight.

Left-arm quick Mbulelo Budaza was bang on target with his cutters and slower balls as he took three for 18 in his four overs and spinners Von Berg (4-0-27-2) and Kleinveldt (3-0-17-2) kept the pressure on the batsmen.