Ken Borland

Selection – barring two unfortunate injuries to World Cup winners – was clean and simple for Sharks coach Sean Everitt this week as he rewarded the effort of the players who saw off the Pumas in a comprehensive 42-19 win last weekend by choosing an otherwise unchanged side for Friday night’s Super Rugby Unlocked clash with the Free State Cheetahs in Durban.

Regular skipper Lukhanyo Am has a broken right hand and will be out of action for a month, while wing Sbu Nkosi has a hamstring strain but he should be over it soon. Jeremy Ward will now play outside centre and Yaw Penje starts on the wing, with flank Henco Venter taking over the captaincy.

“We worked really hard last week and showed a huge improvement against the Pumas. Because of that effort I’ve decided to stick to the same team because the players need to be rewarded. It’s not ideal losing two Springboks from the backline ahead of the Cheetahs game, but we have good replacements in Jeremy and Yaw, and I’m excited about giving them the opportunity to start.

“Yaw is a special talent, quick and exciting and he was impressive off the bench against the Pumas. Jeremy has been in our system for quite a while and filled the outside centre role when we rested Lukhanyo in Super Rugby and played very well. Lukhanyo was always due to rest at some stage and Jeremy and Marius Louw are very close friends and a settled combination at centre,” Everitt said on Wednesday.

The relatively lightweight but extremely nimble Sharks loose trio may be slightly at odds with the big hitters that are mod in South African rugby at the moment, but Everitt gave a flowing assessment of their performance against the Pumas, and he has added another ball-playing, agile loosie to a 6-2 bench in the form of returning Springbok  Sikhumbuzo Notshe. Dull rugby is clearly not going to be the order of the day against the always entertaining Cheetahs.

“We’ve got quality coming off the bench and the way Phepsi Buthelezi played last weekend warranted another start for him. Sikhumbuzo is a Springbok who has been in great form this year and now that he’s recovered from injury, he will strengthen that bench. It’s going to be a high-tempo game and we need to have an impact off the bench and those guys will certainly have that and they have the opportunity to change the game.

“We had dominance in the majority of the set-pieces last week and although the Pumas turned over four balls, we got six turnovers and Phepsi and Dylan Richardson were very good at the breakdown. I believe in a specialist openside flank and Dylan played there for the SA U20s so it was an easy decision to move him from hooker when James Venter got injured,” Everitt explained.

Sharks team: Manie Libbok, Yaw Penxe, Jeremy Ward, Marius Louw, Madosh Tambwe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Phendulani Buthelezi, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, JJ van der Mescht, John-Hubert Meyer, Dan Jooste, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, Ruben van Heerden, Thembelani Bholi, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Werner Kok.

Sarel Erwee and Keegan Petersen shared an unbeaten second-wicket stand of 181 and Ottniel Baartman wrapped up the Imperial Lions first innings quick-sticks on the second morning as the Dolphins took control of their 4-Day Domestic Series match at Kingsmead on Tuesday.

The Lions began the second day on a solid 152 for three with captain Temba Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton well set at the crease.

But Baartman had Bavuma caught behind for 43 and then dismissed Nicky van den Bergh in the same fashion for a single, sparking a collapse that saw the Lions dismissed for 258. They got that far thanks to Rickelton’s determined 60.

Baartman finished with an excellent four for 41 in 23 overs, 10 of which were maidens.

The Dolphins lost an early wicket when Grant Roelofsen was bowled by Beuran Hendricks for a duck, but Erwee then took control and ended the day on a classy 123 not out off just 146 balls.

He had stout support from Petersen, who went to stumps on 59 not out, with the Dolphins on 189 for one and just 69 runs behind.

In Bloemfontein, the Knights already had their sights on victory as they declared on 430 for six after Farhaan Behardien fell for 75, and then bowled the Warriors out within 75 overs for a paltry 158.

Matthew Breetzke scored 43 and Rudi Second 35 not out, but there was little other fight from a Warriors side that has been rocked by the Covid-19 virus.

Seven of the 10 wickets fell to spinners, with Jacques Snyman, who scored a blazing, record-breaking century on the first morning, taking three for 29 and leg-spinner Shaun von Berg, the man whose record for fastest four-day hundred he broke, causing much strife with four for 54.

The Knights were then 26 without loss in their second innings at stumps, already leading by 298 runs with two days to play.

In Cape Town, a top-class bowling display by George Linde held sway over a phenomenal century by Dean Elgar.

The Proteas opener scored a tremendous 101, but the Titans cold only manage a pitiful 150 all out, giving Elgar a new South African record for the lowest total to include a century, and only seven runs off the world record set by the great Clive Rice for Nottinghamshire in 1981.

Left-arm spinner Linde was consistently brilliant as he took five for 65 in 18 overs, with Tshepo Moreki taking three for 24 in a late burst that included the wicket of Elgar as the last one to fall, caught by Linde at cover-point.

The Cobras began their second innings with a lead of 114 and they extended that to 235 by stumps as they reached 121 for five thanks to a valuable 50 not out from Kyle Verreynne.

The one-year anniversary of South Africa’s Rugby World Cup win has been a time of celebration for the Springboks as well and central to that has been a sense of how the game was taken to the people, which is why captain Siya Kolisi was so delighted on Tuesday to be part of the launch of the new Carling Black Label Currie Cup.

The country’s biggest-selling beer and a shebeen staple was announced on Tuesday as the title sponsors for the next three seasons as the world’s oldest provincial competition enters a new era. This season’s Currie Cup will be a continuation of the Super Rugby Unlocked competition and will culminate in the final on January 23. Which will allow all the Springboks to be available before South African rugby makes the bold leap into European rugby, with the four major franchises being involved in the Pro16 from February.

Carling Black Label’s brand director, Arné Rust, indicated that, as with their other involvement in sport, there are bold plans to bring the Currie Cup closer to the fans. “The Currie Cup is what they love, we want to give them more of a voice, make the Currie Cup feel more important and re-explode the viewership because this competition is what the players and fans remember. We want to take it into the taverns and the mind boggles at the possibilities,” Rust said.

Western Province and Stormers star Kolisi, fresh from the joy of his virtual celebration with the rest of his Springbok team on Monday night, gave away his excitement for the new-look Currie Cup when, during the video presentation showing the Cheetahs hoisting the trophy last year, he looked across at Free State flank Junior Pokomela and, smilingly, gave him a hand signal to indicate “We’re coming for you”.

“It’s been a difficult year from a rugby point of view, it’s been tough for the Springboks to not be playing, especially coming from such a high, to be stuck at home and not see our team-mates. You want to keep that momentum, but to see the people celebrating our win again this week has been a great feeling and I hope it continues.

“As coach Rassie said, the Rugby World Cup was not about pressure for us, we were in a place of privilege to be able to do what we love doing and impact on peoples’ lives. The Currie Cup can do that as well, we set standards in the World Cup and hopefully we can drive those same standards in the Currie Cup. And it’s killing me that I haven’t been able to win the trophy in the special blue-and-white hoops of Western Province.

“My career started in the Currie Cup because that’s where you have to prove yourself against everyone else who is fighting to be a Springbok. I remember my first game was against Griquas at Newlands and I am forever grateful for that chance. I look forward to a lot of fan involvement in the Currie Cup because rugby is for everyone; we have to make sure we make it accessible for everyone from the townships to the suburbs. I think this Currie Cup will draw a lot of people back,” Kolisi said.

Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies was also excited about the impact the Curie Cup could have outside of the cities and all over the country.

“The Currie Cup is going to be something new with such a big sponsor, it will have a new image and we’ll be able to get different communities involved. It’s a competition I really cherish and it’s for both the younger and older players. I really feel that we have to invest in the Currie Cup for the good of rugby in South Africa, it’s a very tough competition and very personal,” Jantjies, who fondly remembered his debut as seven minutes off the bench as a 19-year-old against the North-West Leopards in Potchefstroom, said.

Both Central Gauteng Lions Cricket and their title sponsors Imperial have stated that the advancement of women’s cricket is one of their main priorities and on Tuesday they put their money where their mouths are as the franchise’s women’s team became one of the first to get proper contracts.

Not only does the groundbreaking move see all senior women’s team players get a contract but Imperial are also sponsoring the two women’s premier club leagues.

Lions captain Yolani Fourie has been one of the stalwarts of women’s cricket who has soldiered on trying to balance work demands with playing high-performance sport and she said the move will be a game-changer for the team.

“It’s brilliant to now get some reward for playing and it’s a definite step in the right direction. I started playing provincial cricket in 2008 and I’ve been with the Lions for the last seven years and it is so motivating to think that I’m going to get my first actual contract. The national team gives out 14 contracts and they are professional, but the next step is to do that at provincial level.

“We just want to be able to focus on our cricket and this shows that there is hope for the youngsters, a lot more of them will stick to playing cricket because they can see a future career in it for themselves,” Fourie told The Citizen at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

CGL chief executive Jono Leaf-Wright said he was confident the partnership with Imperial would result in more Lions players making the step up to international level, joining current Central Gauteng Proteas Ayabonga Khaka, who is playing at the IPL, and Raisibe Ntozakhe.

“We want to place women’s sport on the platform they deserve and create a high-performance space for them as well, because we know we have a championship side. Imperial really see the value in our women and also want to take women’s sport to the next level. We are very thankful for their investment, which means for the first time in our history, we can give our women’s team contracts, which means the world to us,” Leaf-Wright said.