Ken Borland

The Sharks have had their share of difficult times in the forward battle and it will be a tough day at the office for them if they don’t match Western Province up front in their Currie Cup semi-final at Newlands on Saturday, but skipper Lukhanyo Am says they are confident they will have put in the work required for at least parity come the weekend.

The Sharks pack showed their ability when they enjoyed the upper hand up front when ending the Bulls’ unbeaten run in mid-December, but they have also been beaten at forward by the Lions and the Free State Cheetahs. Importantly, that was when tighthead prop Thomas du Toit was not in action, and the World Cup winner is shaping to be a key player on Saturday as he takes on South Africa’s No.1 loosehead prop in Steven Kitshoff.

“We know what Western Province’s strengths are, their set-piece has been dominant and they’ve proven it right through the competition. But we are working on us mainly, to strengthen the parts of our game where we feel we are lacking. But if we can get our own set-piece and challenge them on their’s, then it’s going to be an exciting game to watch,” Am said on Tuesday.

Lock Ruben van Heerden was also painting a picture of how determined the Sharks are to match Western Province, and their all-Springbok front row, up front.

“Western Province have a very strong lineout, scrum and maul, we know what they will bring, but we are very well prepared and up to the challenge. At this level, everyone is strong and shows up on the day really wanting to play, so it comes down to technique to nullify what gives them their strength – momentum in the lineout, scrums and mauls. But we are very confident we can nullify that,” Van Heerden said.

And if the Sharks pack can gain parity up front, then they have the backline to take advantage and a general at flyhalf in Curwin Bosch who can move them around the park most efficiently. While the 23-year-old Springbok is indisputably KwaZulu-Natal’s No.1 flyhalf, Western Province have shuffled from Damian Willemse to Tim Swiel as their pivot this season.

“Curwin is incredibly influential for us, he’s our playmaker and crucial to the way we want to play. As a forward, it makes your job so much easier when you have a flyhalf who can put you on the front foot and put the ball in the right areas. I’m not sure about Western Province’s situation at flyhalf, but that’s not our problem,” Van Heerden said.

Captain Am also knows he can rely on his flyhalf.

“Curwin is a key player, our golden boot and he really puts us in the right areas. We back his kicking abilities whether in-hand or off the tee and he really gives us confidence. Our approach probably won’t be as flashy in the semi-final as it is in other games, we’ll definitely be trying to put the ball in the right areas, and knowing he can slot whatever penalties we get means we are in a good place,” Am said.

Veteran flyhalf Morne Steyn says the circle is now complete as he contemplates leading the Bulls into another Currie Cup final as they prepare to take on the Lions in the semi-finals at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The 36-year-old returned to the Bulls last year, having appeared in four previous Currie Cup finals for them and winning in 2006 and 2009, before joining Stade Francais in 2013.

“I never really thought that I would finish my career at the Bulls, but I guess the circle is now closed nicely and I’m looking forward to the semi-final. It feels like my younger days, but a lot of the guys haven’t played in a semi-final before or even in the Currie Cup, so it’s going to be a big day. The big goal is to win on Saturday and all that’s happened before or what comes after, we will sit aside.

“For me it’s just another game and I will take it as that and enjoy every moment. Everyone is ready and it would be stupid for us to change a lot of stuff, we’ve got to do what we did to get into the semi-final, you don’t want to be trying to do what you’re not used to. Otherwise I’ll be trying to keep the other guys calm and will just tell them to enjoy every moment and embrace the pressure of a semi-final,” Steyn said.

As far as the Lions are concerned, Steyn said they are strong up front and have flair in the backs, and can play both a free-flowing game and a more strategic one. And he is particularly looking forward to the flyhalf battle with Elton Jantjies, which could have an influence on Springbok selection later this year.

“The Lions have a good pack, exciting backs and a good No.10 who controls the game. We are ready for them to play a running game or a kicking game. Elton controls the game well, he has a good tactical game at flyhalf and I’m looking forward to a lekker challenge against him. If you don’t want to be the best then you should rather stop playing rugby, and obviously I want to be better than my opponent.

“If you’re playing in South Africa then you always dream of playing for the Springboks and every game is a chance to show what I can do. You always want to add to your Tests. But my game-plan is not to try and bring magic, there are guys around me who can do that. Discipline is going to be a big focus for both teams, but we have showed our character – until the final whistle, the game is not over for us,” Steyn, who has played 66 Tests for the Springboks, said.

Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen has spoken previously of fellow loose forward Elrigh Louw being a “sponge” whose ear is constantly turned towards the wisdom of his skipper, and on Monday the young flank revealed how playing under the Springbok great has been an incredible experience in his first season of senior provincial rugby.

The 21-year-old Louw has been one of the finds of the season as the Bulls won Super Rugby Unlocked and have topped the log after the round-robin stage of the Currie Cup. And now come the knockout stages and the Bulls, and especially Louw, will be leaning heavily on the experience, class and composure of eighthman Vermeulen when they take on the Lions in their semi-final at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

“Duane is amazing, very calm and he has the type of aura you can draw energy from. When he speaks, everyone listens, and it’s awesome to play under him as captain, there’s no better guy to learn from. Growing up, there wasn’t really one guy I based my play on, but Duane was one of my role-models along with Richie McCaw and Schalk Burger.

“I just wanted to be good defensively and a good strong runner, and good on the ground too. I love contact, physical rugby is my favourite, but I also like a nice open game. I’ll play wherever my team needs me – flank, eighthman, lock, it doesn’t really matter, my play stays the same. But on Saturday, if we don’t get quick, clean ball, our whole game-plan falls flat so the focus will be on the breakdown,” Louw said on Monday.

The Pretoria-born Louw said that the excitement levels are really rising within the Bulls team as they near a potential Currie Cup final.

“I don’t really know how to describe the team spirit at the moment, we are all together as a team and playing for the guy next to you because you don’t want to let him down, you want to make your team-mates proud. As a child I used to watch the Currie Cup at Loftus and my Dad would lift me up in the air out of excitement. So it means a lot to me.

“To be 21 years old and playing in a Currie Cup semi-final, I don’t think a lot of guys have accomplished that, and to make the final would be a dream come true. For a lot of us youngsters it’s our first semi-final and I am very motivated and ready to go. You never know what to expect from the Lions, but they are definitely a very good side and they have an outstanding loose trio as well,” Louw, who hails from Hoerskool Transvalia in Vanderbijlpark and was signed for junior provincial rugby by Free State, said.

Speculation has been little short of rampant in recent weeks over the fate of the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa later this year, but there were no mixed messages from Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus on Monday when he said the Springboks “will do anything” to ensure they play the famous tourists.

There have been intense discussions in the last week over whether the Lions can tour South Africa in July/August, will Covid force the games to be played in empty stadiums or should the series be held in the UK and Ireland? Postponing the tour to 2022 is also an option.

“We are desperate to play the British and Irish Lions and will do anything to make that happen. It only happens once every 12 years for us, so we don’t want to miss out. If Option A of having the series in South Africa doesn’t work out then we will go to the next option and the next one after that, we will go all the way to Option Z. We will play next year if needs be, we will play over there if we have to.

“That’s speaking from the coach’s side and obviously there are commercial factors involved too. But apart from commercial reasons, we feel we deserve to play them. Some guys have extended their careers to play the Lions, others have stayed in South Africa to make the Springbok side for that series. We don’t care how we play them and we’ll go to Option Z if necessary,” Erasmus told a media briefing on Monday.

The entrance of South Africa’s four leading franchises – the Bulls, Stormers, Sharks and Lions – into European competition in the form of the Rainbow Cup against the Pro14 teams of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy in April, will play a key role in preparing the Springboks for the British and Irish Lions tour, and Erasmus confirmed on Monday that the local teams will use a ‘Franchise Cup’ mini-tournament to prepare for the Rainbow Cup.

“Our players will have a three-week off-season after the Currie Cup final, and then the Pro16, which will be the Rainbow Cup, will be an interim competition until the proper Pro16 for the 2021/22 season is played from September/October. The Rainbow Cup will be a shortened version of that and the guys need to get ready for the Pro16 and the Lions tour.

“The ‘Franchise Cup’ is just what I called it but the franchises have to play against each other to be competitive in the Rainbow Cup, where there will be different referees and conditions. So it will be refereed like they will blow in Pro16, plus myself and Jacques Nienaber [Springbok coach] will share a lot of our experiences of coaching in Europe,” Erasmus said.