Ken Borland

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.

Proteas captain Quinton de Kock said on Monday that all his team’s security concerns about being in Pakistan have been allayed, but given their location on the sub-continent, they are still anxious about whether they will be playing on pitches that will massively favour spin.

The South African team had their first practice session in Karachi on Monday and De Kock said they are happy with the logistical arrangements on the Proteas’ first visit to Pakistan since 2007. Due to security concerns following terrorist attacks, South Africa played two series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates after that tour.

“Security was a big part of our concerns, but when we saw the extent and amount of security, we got a lot more comfortable. It looks like every corner is checked, all the bases are covered and we feel really safe. With security being less of a worry, we are able to focus more and more on the cricket. It’s something to be seen – the security measures they have taken and we’re not worried at all about that any more.

“It also helps that we didn’t need to do two weeks’ quarantine, but we play so much cricket these days that that is almost out of the picture. It’s been a big help that the Pakistan Cricket Board have let us come out and prepare early, our hotel is across the road from where we practise. Otherwise we’re only allowed in our rooms and the team room,” De Kock said from Karachi on Monday.

The pre-tour talk about conditions in Pakistan was that they would be good batting surfaces and more pace-friendly than in the rest of the sub-continent, given the home side’s strong fast bowling resources. But the omission of pacemen Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah, and inclusion of six spinners, in Pakistan’s squad has the Proteas wondering.

“We don’t really know the conditions because no-one has played here before, barring one or two of our coaches. But we understand we are on the sub-continent and spin and reverse-swing will play a big part, so we’ll cover those bases in our preparation. The biggest thing is that we are dealing with the unknown, we don’t know what will happen.

“I’m sure the spinners will be a threat, that’s why they’ve chosen a couple of extra ones, which says a lot about where they want to go and how they’re going to prepare the pitches. Obviously it’s going to be a challenge. We’ve played on Asian pitches in the past and they’ve targeted us by preparing dustbowls and making it an uneven contest. But we have scored runs when conditions are decent,” De Kock said.

Pakistan are coming off a 2-0 series loss in New Zealand, their selectors punishing the players for not making the grade by overhauling the squad in dramatic fashion. But De Kock said Pakistan will be a totally different proposition at home.

“That result won’t count for anything, it’s difficult to bat in New Zealand and they will probably put up a much better fight in their own conditions. Babar Azam is back, and he’s one of their main players that didn’t play at all over there. It’s going to be a good challenge for us, very different because Pakistan are a very competitive team in their own conditions,“ De Kock said.