Ken Borland

Ruan Dreyer (Gold)

World Cup-winning tighthead prop Frans Malherbe still has his haters despite being the country’s best scrummager, with some people saying he ate all the pies. Malherbe is now injured, which has opened the way for former Springbok Ruan Dreyer to start in the No.3 jersey for the Gold team. The dangerous Steven Kitshoff is at loosehead and it will be interesting to see whether Dreyer performs like the tighthead who was given such a hard time by Kitshoff on SuperFan Saturday or like the Lions strongman who played for the Springboks in 2016.

Wandisile Simelane (Green)

The career of the former SA U20 star has not been meeting expectations at the Lions largely due to the lack of faith shown in him by his own union. Now, with the backing of Springbok backline coach Mzwandile Stick, Simelane has a big stage to show his talents as he comes face-to-face with World Cup hero Lukhanyo Am, the captain of the Gold team and one of the world’s best outside centres.

JD Schickerling (Green)

Schickerling is uncapped at Springbok level but is highly-rated in the Cape and for good reason. The 25-year-old lock is starting to become a standout player in the powerful Stormers squad – not only is he a persistent threat in the lineouts, but he is also always in the reckoning whenever there’s some grunt work to be done in the tight. There is an injury crisis in the second row at Springbok level at the moment and Schickerling is poised to make his move.

Rikus Pretorius (Gold)

Another man with a growing reputation in the Cape, and deservedly so. Pretorius is 21 years old now and is starting to bulk up and become a real physical presence at inside centre. But he also boasts an ever-expanding suite of skills and his deft touches could form a thrilling partnership with arguably the most skilful centre in the country in Lukhanyo Am.

Marco van Staden (Gold)

Van Staden is the classic fetcher who has a great nose for turnover ball and hits hard in the tackle. It’s going to be interesting to see how far he gets under new Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber if the Bulls man can stay fit for an extended period. The Springboks did not play with a typical openside flank when Rassie Erasmus was coach, but it’s a position that is still very important in this age of high-tempo rugby.

Gianni Lombard (Green)

Lombard was a dazzling star for one of the most larney rugby schools in the country – Paarl Boys High – and is undoubtedly a player of great skill and playmaking ability. But he has been played here, there and everywhere in the backline and so has battled to make his mark after three years of senior rugby with the Lions, injuries not helping either. On Saturday he gets a chance at fullback on the grand stage of Newlands. Will he show he belongs in more esteemed company?

There were so many birdies, a couple of eagles and very nearly an albatross for the red-hot Danie van Tonder on Wednesday that one half-expected the Rise Up Series order of merit leader to shoot something new and extraordinary like a gosling in the first round of the Vodacom Championship Reloaded at Huddle Park Golf Club.

Van Tonder instead settled for a wonderful nine-under-par 63 in a superb round of golf that meant the baby Egyptian Geese in danger were the ones way down the fairway and certainly not those around the water hazards. The 29-year-old collected six birdies and two eagles as he basically overwhelmed the course from the tees. He very nearly scored an albatross two at the 438-metre par-five 14^th hole, when his approach lipped out of the hole.

“I’m very happy, the Driver gave me lots of chances with wedges to get really close to the pins. On 14, I hit a five-wood off the tee and then had 110 to the pin, I took my lob-wedge and said to my caddy that I must go for some spin, and I spun it back almost into the hole for a two. But almost all the holes are birdie holes, you can attack the pins and there are lots of chances on every hole.

“I’m quite happy about everything in my game, it’s great to see my hard work paying off and I’m just going to keep on practising and trying to get better. It’s a new day tomorrow and I will try and make a 10-under 62, you never know. I’ll go home now and wait for the rain to come – the greens are already very receptive and rolling nicely,” Van Tonder said after starting his hunt for a third Rise Up Series title in perfect fashion.

Four-time Sunshine Tour winner Christiaan Basson has had a disappointing Rise Up Series, only making the cut at the African Bank Championship at Glendower, but on Wednesday he played like he had a personal grudge against Huddle Park as he fired an eight-under-par 64.

He was joined on that score soon afterwards when Louis de Jager, playing in the same three-ball as Van Tonder, finished with three 3s to also sign for a brilliant 64.

It was also a good day for the experienced and consistent Jacques Blaauw, who also had two eagles on his way to a 65, and Musiwalo Nethunzwi, who also finished on seven-under alongside rookie Malcolm Mitchell.

Young Jayden Schaper produced one of the more exciting rounds of the day as he eagled the first three par-fives on his way to a 66 that gave him seventh place all by himself.

On a day when one golfer was heard to enquire “where is the rest of the par-five?”, it was a very disappointing first round for Darren Fichardt, Van Tonder’s only rival for the Rise Up Series order of merit title, as he let himself down by coming home in 38 shots (the back nine was tougher on Wednesday) to finish with a 72. With 64 golfers shooting under-par on the first day, Fichardt’s battle is now to make the cut.

Saturday’s Springbok Showdown will feature several young prospects who are just old enough to avoid needing legal guardians, but the respective coaches of the Green and Gold teams – Mzwandile Stick and Deon Davids – have ensured that those rookies are surrounded by experience as they come under the spotlight at Newlands.

Stick’s Green XV features raw but exciting backline players in fullback Gianni Lombard, wings Yaw Penje and Malcolm Jaer, and outside centre Wandisile Simelane. Scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba has already proven himself at senior level, but it is worth remembering he is still only 21 years old.

But steering the Green XV backline are two players of immense experience and matchwinning pedigree in inside centre Francois Steyn and flyhalf Elton Jantjies.

Similarly, the Gold XV is captained by the seasoned World Cup winner Lukhanyo Am and also boasts Courtnall Skosan, who has played 77 Super Rugby games and 12 Tests for South Africa, on the wing.

“We wanted to make sure that some promising youngsters are given a fair opportunity, guys who have come all through our junior structures. But then we have also put guys around them from the World Cup squad, so that will be a real boost for them. The guys coming through our junior system – that’s our future – but the main thing is to select youngsters with experience alongside them.

“They are our future and you don’t want to throw them into the deep end, so Simelane has Steyn next to him, Nohamba and Elton Jantjies are our halfbacks. The other team has Lukhanyo Am playing in midfield with Rikus Pretorius. We tried to select a good balance, make sure we also select experienced guys like Siya Kolisi and Duane Vermeulen, so we give those youngsters the best possible opportunity for them to impress,” Stick said on Wednesday at the team announcement for the Springbok Showdown.

“All over, spread from numbers one to 15, there are special talents. Each player brings his own special x-factor and there should be some really good battles. At eighthman Sikhumbuzo Notshe against Duane Vermeulen, who is a very experienced campaigner, is going to be a great match-up and the battle between the nines and 10s should be very interesting. Plus Simelane is up against one of the best outside centres in the world in Am, so I’m looking forward to that battle,” Davids added.

Davids was also delighted to have the services of two of the brightest young talents at flyhalf, naming Stormers prospect Damian Willemse as his starting 10 and Sharks star Curwin Bosch on the Gold bench.

“Curwin has come back from injury really well and he was certainly in contention to start. We are privileged to have such talent in our flyhalves and I’m happy to have both, we can use them differently for different situations. Both have a huge future and I’m excited to see how they respond on Saturday.

“We look at the Green team and our strengths, but also their weaknesses, and try and build on that, that will be significant in terms of our approach. But I just want the players to express themselves, apply good fundamentals and, against very tough opposition, just play to the best of their ability. We are in a very special environment, with coaches who are very good at what they do,” Davids said.

Teams

Springbok Green: Gianni Lombard, Yaw Penxe, Wandisile Simelane, Francois Steyn, Malcolm Jaer, Elton Jantjies,  Sanele Nohamba, Duane Vermeulen, Arno Botha, Siya Kolisi (captain), Hyron Andrews, JD Schickerling, Luan de Bruin, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements – Schalk Erasmus, Kwenzo Blose, Thomas du Toit, JJ van der Mescht, Juarno Augustus, Junior Pokomela, Embrose Papier, Manie Libbok, Jeremy Ward, Kade Wolhuter.

Springbok Gold: Warrick Gelant, Rosko Specman, Lukhanyo Am (captain), Rikus Pretorius, Courtnall Skosan,  Damian Willemse, Herschel Jantjies, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Nizaam Carr, Marco van Staden, Marvin Orie, Salmaan Moerat, Ruan Dreyer, Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements – 16 – Dylan Richardson,  Dylan Smith, Carlü Sadie, Jason Jenkins,  James Venter, Vincent Tshituka, Ivan van Zyl, Curwin Bosch, Werner Kok, Manuel Rass.

Danie van Tonder has shown his willingness to dare to be different and his commitment to an aggressive approach, and he is not going to change any of that when he tees it up early on Wednesday morning at Huddle Park Golf Club in the first round of the Vodacom Championship Reloaded, the final event of the Rise Up Series he is currently leading.

Van Tonder, given the incredible consistency he has shown in finishing in the top-10 in his last 13 events, dating back a year, will be the favourite in a two-horse race to win the order of merit for the Sunshine Tour’s return-to-play series, with Darren Fichardt trailing the 29-year-old from Copperleaf by more than R37 000.

George Coetzee is third, but is away in Europe, and Ulrich van den Berg is fourth, but nearly R112 000 behind Van Tonder, with the winner of the Vodacom Championship Reloaded taking home R95 100.

“Nothing will change, I’m just carrying on with practising and working hard. I’ve played practice rounds at Huddle Park both yesterday [Monday] and today [Tuesday] and the greens are nice and soft and rolling nicely, so that will suit my aggressive style. I’m going to go flag-hunting, I can hit the ball right at the pin and not worry about it bouncing off the green.

“I don’t mind what anyone else is doing, it’s the same for everyone and I will still just go out there and go for fairways and greens and make as many birdies as I can. There are four par-fives and nine par-fours, so if I can shoot six or seven-under then that will be a good round. It’s quite a nice course because I can hit Driver everywhere,” Van Tonder told The Citizen on Tuesday.

There are many in the local game who see similarities between Van Tonder and Bryson de Chambeau, the U.S. Open champion who is threatening to change the entire sport in ferociously single-minded fashion. The South African, who jokingly points out that he is a couple of years older than De Chambeau so he must have copied him, shares the same stiff-armed swing and unflinchingly aggressive approach with the American.

“I’ve always been happy to do my own thing. My swing is not textbook, so I had a lot of people advising me against pro golf when I started out. As I got better the critics started saying things like, ‘How do you plan on making a living out of golf with a swing like that?’ But luckily I didn’t listen too much. Fortunately I have a little bit of the water-off-a-duck’s-back attitude.”

Given how savagely dominant he has been in the Rise Up Series, there is no need for Van Tonder to change anything. It may be cruel the way he is depriving all the other struggling pros a share of the big prizemoney at the moment, but they can hopefully lift their own games to provide fierce competition in this final event.