Ken Borland

It was a tough day at the office last weekend for Bulls tighthead prop Marcel van der Merwe in their Currie Cup match against the Free State Cheetahs, with the 30-year-old Springbok being replaced after 34 minutes by World Cup winner Trevor Nyakane.

That brought stability to the scrums, but that set-piece is going to be a key area of Saturday’s massive clash with the Sharks in Durban.

Here are 3 Talking Points over the Sharks versus Bulls scrum battle:

• The Bulls should have first-choice props Trevor Nyakane and Jacques van Rooyen back in the starting line-up – The Bulls stand to gain massive rewards if they can beat the Sharks in Durban, giving them a 12-point lead over the KwaZulu-Natalians and allowing them to be much more flexible in their approach to their festive season games. So coach Jake White is unlikely to pass up the opportunity to reunite the impressive pairing of Nyakane and Van Rooyen, who has served his one-match ban for his red card in Cape Town. They make for a formidable pairing in the scrums.
• What of Marcel van der Merwe? – Van der Merwe is likely to still be on the bench and, with his confidence low, will be targeted as soon as he gets on the field. But White has backed the former Toulon man to come good.

“Marcel is a Springbok and has done well in France, which is the toughest scrumming league in the world, so I am sure he will get it right. Jaco Peyper blew the match very well, but there were still some scrum penalties that came down to interpretation. Marcel has just been out of rugby for a long time with his ankle injury and there’s no doubt that if Trevor Nyakane goes down we will have to find a solution. But it’s no different to if Frans Malherbe had to go down for Western Province. That’s why it’s so important for me to try different combinations,” White said.

• How are the Sharks placed at scrum time? – The Sharks have been boosted by the return of their tighthead, Thomas du Toit, from injury and the World Cup winner played 40 minutes in the impressive win over the Pumas two weeks ago. He will team up with fellow Springbok Ox Nche and both props will be full of confidence and loving their rugby in Durban having signed new two-year contracts that were announced this week.

“The scrums are going to be a very vital part of Saturday’s match because the Bulls have a very good front row and a dominant pack. We’re going to have to outwork them, outscrum and outmaul them. We’ll be under pressure to get that performance right because the Bulls are a quality side with killer instinct. And it has to be an 80-minute performance at 100%,” Du Toit said on Tuesday.

South Africa’s ODI series against world champions England was officially called off on Monday afternoon, a victim of a sudden rash of Covid-19 cases at the supposedly bio-secure hotel the two teams have been staying at – The Vineyard in Cape Town.

The cancellation of the three-match series will result in a shortfall of around $2 million [R30.3 million] in broadcast revenue for a cash-strapped Cricket South Africa. The series is a part of the ICC Super League, a new qualification system for the 2023 World Cup, so both boards termed Monday’s decisions a “postponement” rather than a total cancellation.

But with England much in demand – they are due to tour Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia and the West Indies next year, on top of the T20 World Cup in India – it is difficult to see where the series can be fitted into the schedule.

And a dearth of top-class cricket action could possibly get worse. Sri Lanka, who have had relatively few Covid cases on their island, are due to play the Boxing Day and New Years Tests in South Africa. They are due to be accommodated in a bio-bubble in Gauteng, but the failure of the same system in Cape Town will certainly give them a pause for thought.

Pakistan and Australia are scheduled to tour early next year, and they will also be casting a worried eye towards the southern tip of Africa.

The Western Cape has seen a recent spike in Covid-19 cases and areas of the province have been declared hotspots.

While the three-match T20 series between South Africa and England went off smoothly, the problems started on the morning of the first ODI last Friday when a Proteas player tested positive for Covid, despite having been in the bio-secure bubble.

After the rest of the South African squad were re-tested and were all negative for the virus, the match was rescheduled for Sunday morning.

But on Saturday night two members of The Vineyard staff tested positive, causing great alarm in the England squad. The tourists were all tested again on Saturday night and then Sunday’s game was called off less than an hour before the start when two members of the England squad returned positive tests.

Allegations from Newlands management that England had broken protocol by using the practice nets next to the construction site at the ground were countered on Monday by an England Cricket statement that the practice facilities provided on the main field were sub-standard and unacceptable, forcing them to use the other nets. But not before they had advised CSA of the problem and had set up a security cordon to ensure the safety of their players and coaching staff.

Just who messed up the bio-secure bubble for the Proteas and England teams at The Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town has become the subject of some dispute between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The ODI series between South Africa and England is in grave danger of not being played at all after two English players tested positive for Covid-19 at the weekend, following positive tests for two Vineyard staff members. The touring squad were all re-tested after the first ODI, due to be played on Friday, had to be postponed due to a positive test in the Proteas camp.

It was rescheduled for Sunday, but that match, as well as a game at Newlands on Monday, was also called off after England’s positive tests. Those results are now being scrutinised by independent medical experts, and if the positive outcome is confirmed, then the series will almost certainly be cancelled. The results are expected to be known on Monday evening.

This would cost cash-strapped CSA millions of Rands, but several England players have lucrative Big Bash contracts in Australia to fulfil and the others just want to get home for Christmas, so having to spend time in isolation is something they are desperately trying to avoid.

And the ECB on Monday countered an allegation made by Newlands stadium manager Clifford Dodgen that they had broken protocol at the ground on Thursday.

In an e-mail sent to representatives of the ECB, CSA, the Claremont South African Police Services station commander and the visible policing commander, and seen by The Citizen, Dodgen reveals a breach by the England team.

“Please be advised that the England cricket team has not adhered to the arrangements as agreed by all in the ESSPC [Event Safety and Security Planning Committee] meetings. The practice nets next to the construction site is not allowed to be used on practice days. Three cages of nets was set up on the square on the field.

“This serves to inform you that the England cricket team has accessed and used the nets today (3 December) at their own risk. Western Province Cricket Association and the ESSPC will not be held liable or responsible for the safety and health of the England cricket team,” Dodgen wrote.

But an England Cricket spokesperson told The Citizen on Monday: “On arrival at Newlands on 3 December, we advised the venue that the three nets provided on the main pitch were not of a standard for conducive practice, as per the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the respective boards. Batsmen were unable to face seam bowlers on the nets on the main pitch as the surfaces were rendered and unacceptable.

“We requested with CSA that we would like to use the practice nets and that we would create a security cordon to ensure the players and coaches could enter the facility safely, as done previously on 28 November. This was confirmed by England’s Security Team, the Team Operations Manager and the Team Doctor. We were satisfied with this outcome and we were able to practice in the net facility safely.

“As far as the England touring party are concerned, the safety and health of our players and coaches was not compromised.”

The nets in question are the ones usually used by teams playing at Newlands, but the area now sees foot traffic from workers on the construction site.

Members of both teams have also been exposed to people outside of the bubble by being allowed to play golf at Boschenmeer in Paarl.

According to coach Jake White, the Bulls team expected a “bollocking” from him at halftime in their Currie Cup match against the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend, but a return to the basics saw them romp to a 40-13 victory in the second half.

The Bulls started the match well, racing into a 13-3 lead in the first quarter, but they then allowed the Cheetahs to dictate affairs and the visitors had pulled level at 13-13 at the break.

“Just before the game I think I gave them a bit of a scare when I told them a thunderstorm could stop the match so we needed to be in front at halftime. We were up 13-3 but then we started defending and waiting for halftime. I think the guys were a bit scared of the weather, they were a bit naïve and psychologically it’s part of the learning process.

“I think they expected a bollocking at halftime but I just said that we had had no ball but when we did have possession we created pressure in their half. I just told them to go back to what they had practised, to believe in it. And in the second half everything worked, we definitely got it right. It was very pleasing, very good rugby and the bench impact was very good too,” White said after the win.

White said his team continues to learn how to come out on top in different match situations.

“Last week we had to show massive character to win with 14 men against Western Province and this week we had to work really hard in the second half and go hard to the end to get the bonus point. Overcoming these sort of challenges are all building blocks, it goes in the memory bank and it’s another box ticked. There’s that understanding how to get it done and the direction.

“Trevor Nyakane is a World Cup winner, he comes on and all of a sudden we get a scrum penalty and that changes the whole game because the scrums are very important. Duane Vermeulen played well and spoke well to the team, he brings massive composure. Nizaam Carr also brought composure and Morne Steyn was good too, it’s very good to have him back in the system,” White said.