Ken Borland

Springbok great Victor Matfield knows better than most that Jake White is a coach who demands a lot from his players, but South Africa’s most-capped player says the fruits of his approach can be seen in the Bulls’ triumph in lifting the Super Rugby Unlocked trophy at the weekend.

Matfield ended with a record 127 Test caps to his name, but it was during White’s tenure as coach from 2004 to 2007 that the Polokwane-born player became a kingpin for the Springboks and the best lineout forward in the world, culminating in him being the player of the final in the 2007 World Cup win.

“Jake White has never been happy with average and you can see that he is demanding a lot from the Bulls players, but it’s getting the best from them, the standards are lifting at Loftus. A lot of us former players thought that the Bulls needed change and then Jake came in and brought quite a bit of change. It’s a pity that there was no real Super Rugby this year because that’s the real test, but they did very well,” Matfield told The Citizen.

While brute physical strength once again seems hip in South African rugby and the Bulls’ pack was certainly the most physical in the competition, Matfield said the team’s success went well beyond simple forward-based rugby. When the ball did get to the backs, it pinged around in impressively incisive fashion.

“When the Bulls were physically up for it, like in the games against the Sharks and Stormers, then they were just ruthless. They had a very strong tight five and their loose forwards were great at the breakdown – in fact nobody in South Africa could compete with them at the breakdown. And then they had a No.9 [Ivan van Zyl] and No.10 [Morne Steyn] who controlled the game very well.

“I must admit before the season I was worried about their centre combination and I was very surprised by Cornal Hendricks at inside centre, he was outstanding, especially against the Stormers. David Kriel also did really well at fullback and the wings played well too,” Matfield said.

The Bulls may have their first piece of senior silverware in a decade in their trophy cabinet, but there will be no resting on their laurels, with forwards coach Russell Winter saying on Monday that winning the Currie Cup is now a massive goal for the team.

The Bulls clinched the Super Rugby Unlocked title at the weekend but, with points carrying over from that probable one-off competition into the historic Currie Cup, it certainly feels like a job only half-done at Loftus Versfeld. But at least they carry a four-point lead into South Africa’s biggest domestic tournament.

“The Currie Cup is massively important for us and it’s still early days this season because the Currie Cup only really starts this weekend. So we want to make sure we continue working and sharpening our blades. It’s about the detail and everybody is trying to be on the same page in terms of that, but it’s also about how we execute so we don’t want to over-complicate things.

“But there’s a really good working culture here and the players want to do well not just for themselves, but for their families, the supporters, the union and the sponsors. Jake White has created an environment where the players have to work really hard to make the team. But we also want to give everyone a chance, while doing what is best for the team going forward,” Winter said on Monday.

Where the Bulls seemed to have a discrete advantage over their rivals in Super Rugby Unlocked was in the sheer physicality and excellence of their pack, but Winter said their success was not just a matter of acquiring the biggest and most powerful players, but more about attention to detail.

“The players have been willing to work really hard and it’s not just about brute force. There is so much synergy required in things like making sure the lineout works smoothly. And the players have really absorbed and been open to what I have had to offer. It’s about the detail because all the packs in the competition are so well conditioned.

“The lineouts have been good so far and Ruan Nortje has been phenomenal, people don’t realise how young he is [22] and he’s taken on a massive responsibility in calling and organising the lineout. His work ethic is second to none, as well as those around him. But our scrums have been inconsistent and we’re not where we want to be with those,” Winter said.

And the former Stormers forwards coach knows that that is an area where Western Province will try and cause some cracks in the pack when they meet at Newlands on Saturday night.

“Western Province are probably the leaders in that department, they have such a good front row,” Winter added.

A marvellous unbeaten century by Aiden Markram lifted the Titans from some otherwise mediocre batting on the first day of their 4-Day Domestic Series match against the Warriors in Centurion, taking the home side to 272 for six at stumps.

On a day that was shortened by a wet outfield in the morning and then bad light in the afternoon, Markram batted through to a classy 149 not out, a boundary-laden innings with 27 fours and a six off just 189 deliveries.

The Titans had been sent in to bat and struggled initially against the Warriors seamers, slipping to 66 for three before a focused Markram added 82 for the fourth wicket with Sibonelo Makhanya (26). Playing with much good judgement, the Proteas hopeful was watchful but ruthless in putting the bad ball away, his driving being especially easy on the eye, and he and Rivaldo Moonsamy (35) then put on 92 for the sixth wicket for the Titans to claim the first-day honours.

Mthiwekhaya Nabe was the best of the Warriors bowlers, taking three for 77, including the prized wicket of Dean Elgar (20) caught behind off an awkward lifting delivery.

At the Wanderers, Sisanda Magala took five wickets on his Imperial Lions debut to have the Knights in terrible trouble before the visitors rallied to reach 291 for nine at stumps.

Sent in to bat, the Knights were a parlous 121 for five before Grant Mokoena showed great determination for his team as he dug in to score a five-and-a-half hour 50 to turn the tide along with Farhaan Behardien (35) and skipper Shaun von Berg (27).

Fast bowler Migael Pretorius then punished his former team to the tune of 73 not out off just 91 balls, stroking 11 boundaries, as he and Gerald Coetzee (27) added 54 in 12 overs against some wayward Lions bowling.

Magala showed he will fit in very well at the bouncy, pace-friendly Wanderers as he took five for 57 in 14.2 overs.

At Kingsmead, the obduracy of opener Senuran Muthusamy and the flashing blade of Dolphins captain Marques Ackerman dominated the day, before the Cape Cobras were unable to capture the key wicket of Khaya Zondo.

Muthusamy, promoted to open after wicketkeeper Grant Roelofsen scored just 3 runs in his four innings at the top of the order, defied the Cobras attack for nearly five-and-a-half hours, doing a fine job after the Dolphins were sent in to bat.

Muthusamy scored 79 off 245 deliveries, adding 99 for the third wicket with Ackerman, who cruised to 66 off 86 balls before once again falling to a loss of concentration when well set, top-edging a pull off medium-pacer Aviwe Mgijima to mid-off.

But Zondo dominated the late afternoon, stroking an entertaining 60 not out to take the Dolphins to 277 for five and he will obviously be the key man on Tuesday with the Dolphins having all-rounder Ruan de Swardt at the wicket with him and the stubborn Prenelan Subrayen to come.

Kagiso Rabada showed once again at the IPL that he remains in the top class of international fast bowlers, but his eagerness to repeat those heroics for the Proteas against England from this weekend is based more on a desire to compete against the batsmen of the 50-over world champions rather than compare himself with other pacemen.

Rabada was a standout performer as he spearheaded the Delhi Capitals’ surge to the IPL final, taking 30 wickets (the 2^nd most ever) and winning the Purple Cap for leading wicket-taker. But England have brought some fearsome fast bowlers of their own to South Africa in Jofra Archer, named MVP of the recent IPL, and Mark Wood, as well as skilful white-ball practitioners like Sam Curran and Chris Jordan.

But Rabada’s attention is more on a personal battle with batting kingpins Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jason Roy, while Joe Root will be coming over for the ODIs that follow the three T20s.

“The IPL was great, but in cricket, especially at the international stage, you have to repeat constantly. It is not an easy place, you’re never in your comfort zone. But you have to keep coming back and doing the same thing. Sometimes you hit a purple patch, but most of the other times you’re just scrapping and it’s never easy against England.

“I’m not looking at how they bowl and trying to do better, although Jofra and Mark are world-class fast bowlers and you have to appreciate the skill they bring. But when I’m running in to bowl, that or the crowd are the last things I’m thinking about. It’s a contest between me and the batsman and there’s a lot at stake. And it’s not as if you can just land the ball in a certain spot every delivery,” Rabada said on Monday.

The 25-year-old Rabada agreed that a long break from cricket – he was rested from the closing stages of the Proteas’ 2019/20 summer and then Lockdown happened – helped give him a new lease on life.

“Obviously the break helped to refresh my body and I was able to take my mind off a lot of things. But I don’t know how many long breaks we’ll be able to have in future, the cricket just gets more and more and you’ve just got to find a way to take it in your stride. But I think quite a bit of my IPL performance was down to the long break and I have to be smarter about how much I play.

“When I first started with the Proteas I just wanted to play every game, and although I’ve definitely still got the ambition, there’s a lot of volume of cricket. It’s about how to stay fresh and therefore close to my best, and I definitely have a say in that. Mark Boucher has said he wants to rotate a bit and we trust the coach’s philosophy and buy into it,” Rabada said.