Ken Borland

The vast majority of the Proteas will be at their work station and ready to perform come Boxing Day and the first Test against Sri Lanka after testing before they enter their bubble in Centurion revealed that only two members of the 19-man squad are Covid-positive.

South Africa’s Test squad was expanded on Friday with the addition of three players in fit-again all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius, prolific Knights batsman Raynard van Tonder and promising fast bowler Lutho Sipamla, following a Covid scare in domestic cricket that has seen four Dolphins players and one from the Imperial Lions contract the virus.

The squad will enter their bio-bubble at the Irene Country Club on Saturday and the series with Sri Lanka is very much still on, with the tourists arriving on Friday evening, despite rather alarmist reports suggesting 10 of the Proteas squad were exposed to Covid and the Tests were in doubt.

While it is believed the two Proteas who are positive for Covid picked it up in the last round of domestic four-day matches, the chances of their opponents being infected with the virus are very small. With all the protocols in place for domestic cricket, the two teams have very little contact with each other and the internationals playing for the Titans and the Knights (the opponents of the Dolphins and Lions respectively) should not have been exposed to the pathogen.

A CSA statement released on Friday afternoon confirmed the two positives and said that no other players were deemed close contacts after contact tracing procedures were conducted.

Given the late additions to the squad, it is possible that a batsman and an all-rounder or pace bowler from the Dolphins and/or Lions have come down with Covid. But that still leaves the South African team with 17 players to choose from for the two Tests against Sri Lanka over the festive season.

CSA have, however, postponed the sixth round of four-day matches that were due to start on Sunday, with chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra saying this had less to do with the Proteas than with the wellbeing of the franchise players.
“The Proteas were not the primary consideration behind this decision. Although there is very little contact between the teams, we have had one game called off and a close shave in another and so far from a safety and precautionary standpoint we decided to postpone. This second wave could be worse in terms of numbers because there is no Lockdown,” Manjra told The Citizen on Friday.

Full Proteas squad – Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Raynard van Tonder, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Kyle Verreynne, Dwaine Pretorius, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Keshav Maharaj, Migael Pretorius, Lutho Sipamla, Wiaan Mulder, Beuran Hendricks, Keegan Petersen, Sarel Erwee.

The two yellow cards in the Sharks versus Bulls Currie Cup match last weekend in Durban have caused much comment but, in my opinion, if rugby is going to continue to be officiated in that fashion then the sport itself is going to be fundamentally altered, alienating both fans and players.

Both Sharks centre Marius Louw and Bulls prop Jacques van Rooyen were yellow-carded for tackles which made contact to the head of their opponent. The head is now an extremely touchy subject in the sport given WorldRugby’s efforts to avoid future mega-millions law suits as we have seen in gridiron, but they were the sort of incidents that are going to happen numerous times in any game of rugby.

Rugby is a collision sport, it’s all about the gain-line now, there are going to be clashes of heads and it’s a bit like expecting a boxer not to be hit on the head. With some sports, there are just inherent risks that come with the game and are accepted by the participants: boxers are going to get hit in the face, formula one drivers are going to crash and rugby players are going to clash heads.

If rugby’s rule-makers are going to continue with their clampdown then the game will be changed and not necessarily for the good of the spectators, who are the people who pay the money that keeps the professional game afloat and pays the salaries of those administrators constantly tinkering with the laws.

As tacklers are forced to go lower and lower, rugby will become a sport dominated by attack, more like Sevens. Players will be able to offload at will, making for a much faster, less physical game. Which will then lead to coaches choosing quicker, more endurance-type athletes rather than those with power. It will be the end of the big strong guys in the tight five and rugby will have lost its unique selling point as a game for all shapes and sizes. As Duane Vermeulen said, we might as well just go and play ‘touchies’ – touch rugby, where no tackling is allowed.

Of course concussion and related head injuries are an issue in rugby and we are not going to encourage parents to let their children play the game unless it is going to be safe, or as safe as it can reasonably be made. It is all about risk management.

From that perspective, rules to clamp down on any foul or reckless act that leads to the head being targeted are most welcome. Things like shoulder-to-head or boot-to-head should absolutely be – pardon the expression – stamped out. But if every single incident of contact to the head is to be penalised with a card then we’re not going to have many players left on the field and games are going to be ruined.

In a World Cup final, are the tackles of Louw and Van Rooyen really going to be dealt with in the same way? I am inclined to think referee Marius van der Westhuizen only picked up on the incidents because Morne Steyn went down after Louw’s tackle and Van Rooyen left the field due to bleeding after his head clash with Venter. Van der Westhuizen’s comment to the TMO (who he later overruled anyway) that they should start at the high end of punishment and then work their way lower was also absurd.

The actions of the ball-carrier also have a great influence on the tackle as a whole. If they duck down and go in head first, much like Venter did, then the likelihood of being hit on the head is so much higher; it’s almost unfair on the defender to expect them, at the last second, to somehow get underneath the attacker to stop them.

Acts of foul play or recklessness must absolutely be dealt with harshly if it leads to a head injury, but the current interpretation our referees are using is going to lead to a major final being decided by the softest of moments when a player has unintentionally erred in tackling the way he was taught all those years ago when he started playing the game.

Alexandra Fuller knows that her station in life is not going to be a comfortable existence for as long as she follows her dream of being a professional squash player. But the sheer tenacity and passion for the sport that South Africa’s No.1 squash player exhibits is ensuring that she is rising up the world rankings and making a great success of her career.

Fuller is currently ranked No.37 in the world; rankings that are dominated by Egyptians, Englishwomen and Europeans – the countries where the top players get more support to pursue their choice of professional career. Having fought her way to the top of the pile in South Africa, the 27-year-old Fuller is now showing the same determination as her international career inches forward.

“All squash players have a hard time and sponsors are vital. But the way the sport is treated in South Africa – it is not considered a major sport – means I don’t get any funding from government or Squash South Africa. I’m on my own and trying to make myself as professional as possible, but it’s hard to afford coaches, physios, the right nutrition and all the travel costs, the things that are looked after in other countries,” Fuller told Saturday Citizen.

So, in order to access the funds to fulfil her dream, Fuller now bases herself overseas for much of the year. As with so many aspirant sports stars, Covid-19 has added an extra stress to her career.

“I’ve been a professional for seven years but last year I based myself in Ireland and hopefully I will go back again next year, but obviously that depends on Lockdown. I joined a Premier Squash League team – Newcastle – and played league for them but this year’s competition was cancelled.

“It’s cheaper to be based over there and I have a good sponsor over there which really helps. Otherwise you feel like a rat in a treadmill trying to get money for rent, money for tournaments. Eventually you just feel exhausted and then you have a massive dip in performance.

“I tried to play in everything I could while I was over there and once that pressure was alleviated I was able to jump up the world rankings. In South Africa you maybe travel to play tournament squash once a month, but being based in Ireland, it’s a two-hour flight to anywhere in Europe, five hours to New York,” Fuller said.

The Cape Town-born Fuller won her first title on the Professional Squash Association World Tour in 2016 and 2018 was her breakthrough year as she won five times on the Challenger Tour and catapulted herself into the top-50 in the world rankings. Since then she has made steady gains, but being stuck in South Africa due to Covid restrictions now threatens to erode those advances.

“I was able to enter five $5000 tournaments back-to-back and I won all five which got me into the bigger tournaments, it meant I didn’t have to go through qualifying anymore. And it’s really worthwhile going to the bigger tournaments because that’s where you really can accumulate world ranking points.

“I made the top-40 last year and then was top-35 this year. But I’ve worked so hard to get there and once you’re in the top-50 you just make little jumps. My aim is to get into the top-32 because then you’re in the main draw for tournaments. But now I’ve missed three tournaments because I couldn’t get an Egyptian visa in time and it means all the girls around me in the rankings are playing and I’m not,” Fuller said.

But instead of railing against the inequalities in the world of squash, Fuller, like all champions, is focused on what she can control.

“I was semi-pro for three years so I know all about living every year just as it comes. So I just do whatever I can. The plan is to get back to Ireland but we’ll just have to wait and see because the UK is now back in Lockdown. Fortunately there are no tournaments I’m missing between January and March, but the off/on nature of things at the moment makes it difficult to commit to anything. It’s a crazy time and it’s hard to plan,” she said.

Meanwhile, Fuller has been continuing her dominance of local squash as she won her third SA Nationals title in October, without dropping a game, her fast, attacking style sweeping away all opposition. The event was played in the Brooklyn Mall shopping centre in Pretoria, with an all-glass court erected, allowing for it to be live-streamed and for many more spectators to enjoy the showpiece tournament. The 5’4 Fuller believes this is the way to go for South African squash.

“Playing in a glass court is very different and in Pretoria it was extremely fast. It took a while to adapt to how the ball comes off the front wall and how to control it, which is why we all had practice sessions on the court every morning. But it’s the best thing ever for exposure, the squash can be broadcast and it’s so nice to have other people watching, spectators other than just the other squash club people.

“The Wanderers Club is the only one in the country with a permanent glass court but overseas all the big tournaments are played on glass from the quarterfinal stages onwards. When we go to World Championships team events, it definitely stands out that we are not used to glass, while the Europeans practise on it every day,” Fuller said.

The log-leading Bulls may have had the disappointment of having their Currie Cup game this weekend cancelled due to Covid-19, but the Sharks are having to take on the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday with four of their tight five missing.

Hooker Dan Jooste and lock Ruben van Heerden have both tested positive for Covid-19, while tighthead prop Thomas du Toit has a rib injury and lock Hyron Andrews is missing for personal reasons. Michael Kumbirai will hopefully pick up from where he left off as Du Toit’s replacement last weekend, while hooker Kerron van Vuuren and lock JJ van der Mescht have both featured in the starting line-up already this season so their promotions are no big deal.

Aston Fortuin meanwhile, is a former Bulls lock and will make his debut for the Sharks in the No.5 jersey, replacing Andrews, who is unavailable due to a family bereavement.

“These sort of changes are always disruptive and Ruben, Hyron and Thomas have all been playing really good rugby, while Dan was outstanding last weekend. But JJ has had game time, it’s going to be exciting for Aston coming in next to him, Michael is back from his heroics last weekend and Kerron obviously comes in as well. It’s a nice opportunity for the guys, but they have had game time before.

“Travelling while there is so much Covid around is a concern and this weekend is a challenge because we don’t know who will be with us on the aeroplane to Johannesburg or who will be with us in the hotel. To play the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein next week we will be chartering our own flight, which means you spend a lot less time at the airport, but this weekend we just have to make sure the guys adhere to the protocols,” Sharks coach Sean Everitt said on Thursday.

Despite losing four tight forwards, Everitt has once again gone with a 6-2 split on the bench due to the expected heavy conditions at altitude.

“We know there could be showers at some stage, so it’s going to be a heavy field and it’s difficult playing on the highveld anyway, that’s why we’ve gone with a 6-2 bench. It is a 7pm kickoff though so fortunately we won’t be in the highveld sun. But we enjoy playing ball-in-hand and some of our best rugby has been played away from home. So hopefully it will be a dry ball.

“I wanted to reward the performance over the Bulls as well and ensure some continuity, but apart from needing speed around the field against the Lions at Ellis Park, we’re going to need fresh legs for the last 30 minutes because that is when the Lions score most of their tries,” Everitt said.

Sharks – Manie Libbok, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (capt), Marius Louw, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Aston Fortuin, JJ van der Mescht, Michael Kumbirai, Kerron van Vuuren, Ox Nche. Bench: Fez Mbatha, Mzamo Majola, John-Hubert Meyer, Thembelani Bholi, James Venter, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jaden Hendrikse, Jeremy Ward.