Ken Borland

Jake White has taken the mickey before when it comes to playing mind games against the opposition and the veteran coach was at it again on Thursday as he named his Bulls team for their big derby match against the Stormers in Pretoria on Saturday.

While White made just one change to his starting XV with Springbok tighthead Trevor Nyakane returning to the No.3 jersey to set up a crunch clash with Steven Kitshoff, he took a swipe at the Stormers and suggestions that they would be fielding a team with six forwards on the bench and just two backs.

“It will make a massive difference that the Stormers are missing two really good players in Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit. But the fact that they are coming to Loftus with like 14 locks suggests they’re going to go with six forwards and two backs on the bench, which I haven’t seen before from any Western Province team.

“When did the Stormers ever need six forwards against the Bulls before? The Stormers used to be known for running the ball but now they’re going to play six forwards off the bench and people are asking the Bulls if we’re going to kick on them?! But rugby hasn’t changed, it’s the forwards who always win the game for you and this will be one of those games where the forward battle is really important,” White said on Thursday.

The 56-year-old White certainly subscribes to the theory that a great tighthead prop is the starting point for any successful team and Nyakane is the sort of sturdy oak who can give them set-piece stability, especially when the Stormers boast a loosehead that is as wonderful a scrummager as Kitshoff. Not to mention South Africa’s first-choice tighthead Frans Malherbe and strong-scrummaging hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

“Trevor can’t play every minute of every game and he added a lot of value off the bench last weekend. But if he can have a good game against the best player in the Stormers squad and we can play with exactly the same intensity then hopefully we can build on the win against the Sharks. We know we have to match them in the scrums because the Stormers use that to get out of their half.

“According to John Dobson, Siya and Pieter-Steph are not the best players he has ever coached – that’s Kitshoff, so I felt it was only fair that we play Trevor against him. The Stormers pride themselves on their scrum and maul, but they haven’t played against this group of players and it will be good to see how they cope with us,” White said with typical bravado.

Bulls team:  David Kriel, Travis Ismaiel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Jason Jenkins, Trevor Nyakane, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements – Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marcel van der Merwe, Sintu Manjezi, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt on Thursday brought five new starters into the conversation – and two more on the bench – for their SuperRugby Unlocked match against the Pumas in Nelspruit.

Three of the changes were forced by injury, with openside flank James Venter (ankle), tighthead prop Thomas du Toit (calf) and eighthman Sikhumbuzo Notshe (slight hamstring strain) all not available this weekend.

The new faces

Dan Jooste – Everitt has been talking all season about hooker Dylan Richardson adapting to his new position in the front row, but now the 21-year-old former junior international gets the chance to show how interchangeable he is with openside flank as he replaces James Venter in the No.6 jersey.

Jooste is a Paarl Boys’ High product and former Stormers representative who is of similar physical dimensions to Richardson and, according to Everitt, “needs game time after coming off the bench on SuperFan day and against the Lions following a considerable length of time out with a shoulder injury”.

John-Hubert Meyer – The absence of World Cup winner Du Toit will leave the Sharks a bit bereft of leadership and grunt up front, but the Sharks have managed to locate an experienced replacement in Meyer, also born and educated in the Western Cape. The 27-year-old is a seasoned scrummager and knows his way around the gainline.

JJ van der Mescht – The Sharks second row has not been particularly good at either dominating the lineouts or making their presence felt in the collisions, and Everitt has made a change to try and generate more momentum from the tight five. Van der Mescht replaces Ruben van Heerden in the starting line-up, and while both Pretoria products are two metres tall, the 21-year-old Van der Mescht weighs 130kg (14kg more) and is a big force with ball in hand.

Henco Venter – Everitt has been at pains to point out how well his loose trio have actually been playing, but in private he must be concerned over how they have been bullied twice by the Bulls. Former Free Stater Henco Venter, at 1.93 metres and 107kg, will add a harder edge in the loose.

Madosh Tambwe – The exciting speed merchant has been nursing a hamstring strain since the start of the season, but Tambwe is now ready to go and Everitt is eager to give him game time despite the energy brought to the back three by Werner Kok.

Michael Kumbirai – According to Everitt, tighthead prop Kumbirai has worked really hard since his arrival from Western Province and there is excitement at Kings Park over getting him in the mix. “Michael is so keen to get on the field and add value, he’s got the ability to shine and hopefully he takes this opportunity. He’s a physical specimen, well-built and athletic,” Everitt said.

Thembelani Bholi – Bholi has recently moved to Durban from the Bulls, having first made his name with the Southern Kings. A loose forward with a hard edge, Bholi is well-versed at making a physical statement at the gain-line, having spent much of his career at Loftus Versfeld. He is also growing his skills and is able to turn out at eighthman as well.

Sharks team: Manie Libbok, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (c), 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, Grant Williams, Jeremy Ward, Yaw Penxe.

The Imperial Lions made some impressive acquisitions ahead of this season but, for at least the opening couple of weekends, like an unsuccessful Christmas gift that needs to be returned to the shops on December 27, all four of their marquee signings could well sit out the opening 4-Day Domestic series match against the Dolphins in Durban, given the riches in personnel that the defending champions possess.

Lutho Sipamla is a Protea and a rising star in the South African fast bowling ranks, but with Eldred Hawken named as the Lions player of the season for 2019/20 and Malusi Siboto always such a reliable performer, whether Sipamla gets a game could depend on whether Beuran Hendricks, who took five wickets the last time he bowled in a Test, is fully fit.

If Sipamla can’t get a game on Monday, what chance Sisanda Magala, who is close to making his Proteas debut, and Tladi Bokako?

And it is not just in the bowling department where the Lions have tremendous depth. Judging by last season, there are five batsmen who are pretty sure of their places in Reeza and Dominic Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, captain Temba Bavuma and wicketkeeper Nicky van den Bergh.

That means new signing Wesley Marshall could well be on the bench, along with bright talents such as Josh Richards, Kagiso Rapulana and Ryan Rickelton. Only one of them can probably play, while the presence of Dwaine Pretorius, the incumbent Proteas Test all-rounder, probably means there will be no space for exciting all-rounders like Wiaan Mulder and Delano Potgieter.

“We are fortunate to have a lot of experienced players and internationals to choose from, guys who don’t need much coaching. But it’s going to be all about managing the players and ensuring the environment is conducive to us playing our best cricket. The first two rounds of the competition are going to be massive with all the Proteas taking part.

“That’s the standard that we as players look forward to, strength versus strength so we can really test ourselves as we try to win back the confidence of the supporters and their trust in the game. We have a culture of excellence at the Lions and the many quality players we produce is indicative of our world-class facilities and coaches,” Bavuma said.

The Lions have set a target of winning their third successive four-day title, which is unprecedented since unity and was last achieved by the Transvaal Mean Machine between 1982/3 and 1984/85. Bavuma said any trophies won this season would be the products of sticking to their brand of cricket.

“Our goal is to retain the title again, because three-in-a-row has never been done. There are only seven games, so we need momentum early on, so our first priority is to get going against strong opposition in the Dolphins at home. We want to see everything done in preparation come to fruition, but not a lot needs to change, we just want to keep on playing aggressive and positive cricket.

“Our batting is quite stable and with our bowling, the challenge is going to be to get the combinations going because we have a couple of new faces. But our strategy will remain the same,” Bavuma said.

Former acting CEO Jacques Faul did his best during his nine months with the organisation to put out the raging inferno that is Cricket South Africa, but on Wednesday he said anybody who served in a leadership position in the federation, including himself, needs to take responsibility for the mess.

Faul was appointed acting CEO last December when Thabang Moroe was suspended with CSA in freefall as their relationships with the players, sponsors and the media were utterly broken. Having restored those relationships and also steered CSA through the Covid-19 pandemic, Faul spent the last three months of his tenure fighting against the internal divisions that wrack the organisation, eventually falling foul of the Board and having his powers removed, which led to him quitting with immediate effect, a month before the end of his contract.

“The calibre of people in management relates directly to the stability of an organisation and the performance of the team, and something is horribly wrong when the administrators are the focus and not the people playing in the game. We have to say that anybody who served in a leadership position, including me, got it badly wrong and we now need to fix it.

“I think we will and there are some very positive things happening and I hope the interim board will bring stability. There are enough good people in cricket to make it work and we have lots of talented cricketers – we should always be top-three in my mind. But it’s not just about academic qualifications or business experience on a CV, it’s about the heart and the leaders have got to love the game,” Faul said at the Titans season launch on Wednesday at SuperSport Park, where he is reinstalled as CEO.

Faul said the health of CSA could only be restored by a cleanout and finding new leadership who are passionate about cricket and also understand the workings of the sport.

“If any of us have been in a leadership position for a while, then we have to collectively take responsibility for the space cricket is in. It’s never just one person and we should all take responsibility for letting the players, sponsors and fans down. CSA needs a clean up, my personal opinion is that is time to move on and get new people in who will do things for the right reasons.

“It’s all good and well having a very good professional CV, but the leaders coming in have got to love the game and understand sport and cricket, maybe that’s what we’ve learnt from this whole fiasco. Things have never been as bad as this before, we had even less direction and more infighting. I’m a bit worried that we are hearing the same people telling a different story,” Faul said.