Ken Borland

There is an old saying in sport that “the closer you get, the harder it is”, so we probably shouldn’t be surprised that the Springboks have had a serious wobble shortly before the World Cup and that coach Heyneke Meyer seems to be feeling the pressure more than ever.

So we might be going into the World Cup on the back of five successive losses for the first time since 2006, or the Springboks might win today in Buenos Aires and end that streak; either way it won’t really matter much come the World Cup because the concerns will still be there.

There have been encouraging performances against Australia and New Zealand, but we still haven’t won, and then last weekend was one of the lowest points in Springbok history, so we actually don’t know whether Meyer has the team on the right track or not.

Which brings me to one of the topics making big news this week, the allegation that Meyer has already signed a renewal to his contract. My understanding is that the report is false; the South African Rugby Union have been in talks with the coach about a possible extension of his term, nothing more. It would beggar belief if they have actually given Meyer the job for the next four years already, given that we have no idea how the Springboks are going to perform in the World Cup; a quarterfinal exit now suddenly looks possible based on the ugly showing in Durban last weekend.

Continuity is an attractive prospect and many people point to how Graham Henry was kept in the role of All Blacks coach despite failing at the 2007 World Cup, and of course ended up winning the title in 2011.

But Henry had won the Tri-Nations for three years in a row prior to the 2007 World Cup, so he was clearly on the right track but just lost a single game in the knockout stage. While Henry had plenty of silverware to show for his CV, sadly Meyer does not.

While I firmly believe Meyer has achieved a lot, keeping us in touch with the All Blacks as they raised their dominance of world rugby to new levels and inculcating a more high-tempo, fluid style of play in the Springboks, he has to be judged on the end goal, which is the World Cup, simply because it is his last chance to actually win something. Even the rankings aren’t on his side, with our drop from second to fifth duplicating what Peter de Villiers (how unsavoury his bitter comments have been) managed to do.

I’m also a firm believer in coaches having a shelf-life with a particular team and South African rugby has always been set up around the four-year cycle of World Cups, no coach has been in the job longer than that.

I think it’s unfair on a lot of players if there is one Springbok coach for eight years, unless he’s won the World Cup, because that’s basically the career-span of the average player these days and a really good talent could be wasted by never getting a chance at international rugby simply because he’s not the type of player the coach wants. There are several stars in the Western Cape who fit that bill and Jaco Kriel of the Lions is also a prime example.

At the moment, it looks as if the old guard of Fourie du Preez, Willem Alberts, Duane Vermeulen, Victor Matfield and Jean de Villiers are going to have to rescue the Springboks’ World Cup campaign and Meyer’s hopes of continuing in the job, but we have no idea whether their superman capes still fit them.

The two teams who have lost just one game in the Sunfoil Series this season – the bizhub Highveld Lions and the Sunfoil Dolphins – clash in a crunch match at the Wanderers from today, but one of the most important games of the tournament will also be played in Port Elizabeth, where the Chevrolet Warriors and the Unlimited Titans meet.

While the log-leading Lions will be desperate to reverse the trend of the other two domestic competitions in which they led at the halfway mark before fainting before the finish line to not even make the finals, the Titans and the Warriors, second and third, are probably the two most in-form teams in the country at the moment.

While the Titans won the Momentum One-Day Cup from a position they had no right to win from, the Warriors have won six of their last seven matches in both the 50-over and four-day competitions.

There will be no Albie Morkel for the Titans at St George’s Park, however, as the hero of the Momentum One-Day Cup final recovers from a side-strain, while Jacques Rudolph, contracted for the one-day competition, will play no further part in the domestic season.

It’s no major issue for the Titans because they will still field a powerful top-order of Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn and Theunis de Bruyn.

Mangaliso Mosehle will continue to don the wicketkeeper’s gloves despite his messy showing in the final and his poor form with the bat.

“We back Mangi to come good, he had a good start to the four-day competition,” coach Rob Walter told The Citizen yesterday.

The Titans also have plenty of bowling options, including David Wiese and Junior Dala, two players who did so much to ensure the Momentum One-Day Cup is now housed at SuperSport Park.

The final selection is going to be a tough choice for Walter, with wrist-spinners Shaun von Berg and Tabraiz Shamsi, left-arm seamer Rowan Richards, Dala and Ethy Mbhalati all competing for three spots.

Walter said the triumph in the Newlands final had now been put aside and the Titans are hungry for a second trophy.

“We’re certainly not resting on our laurels, although we’ll use that momentum from the One-Day Cup, and we’re very driven to shoot for that second trophy,” the coach said.

The injured trio of pacemen Aya Gqamane and Rusty Theron, as well as senior batsman Davy Jacobs, are not available for the Warriors, but the recent form of Colin Ingram and Michael Price with the bat bodes well for the home side, while Andrew Birch and Simon Harmer will be the key performers with the ball.

The other match sees the Chevrolet Knights hosting the Nashua Cape Cobras, the defending champions, at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley in a match-up between the two bottom sides on the log.

The Cobras are still trying to get over the manner in which they lost the Momentum One-Day Cup final to the Titans, and the four-prong Knights pace attack of Quinton Friend, Corne Dry, Malusi Siboto and Dillon du Preez is sure to increase the pressure on them.

Jean Deysel’s wife Cindy must feel like a bit of a rugby widow because no sooner has the powerhouse loose forward wrapped up a season with Japanese club Toyota Verblitz than he signed a fresh contract to join the Cell C Sharks for SuperRugby.

Deysel of course made his name for the Sharks with his strong ball-carrying abilities and sheer physicality, earning four Springbok caps between 2009 and 2011, but the Natalians’ new coach, Gary Gold, secured his signature afresh once his availability became known.

“I’m very happy to be back; when Gary spoke to me about three weeks ago it was an easy decision to make. It’s always good coming back to Durban, to see the players again and it’s a great union to play for. So it was an easy decision once Gary offered me the opportunity,” Deysel said this week at King’s Park.

“When I initially signed the contract with Toyota Verblitz, I didn’t think I’d be coming back, it was a late decision for me. It wasn’t on the cards not that long ago, so it feels great to be here now.”

While Deysel’s participation in last weekend’s SuperRugby opener against the Cheetahs was limited to a second-half appearance off the bench, his body certainly felt the difference between the less-physical Japanese leagues and the toughest competition in world rugby.

“I played just 30 minutes on Saturday, and I battled to get out of the car on Sunday, whereas when I played in Japan, Sundays were good. SuperRugby is a lot more physical, you do miss that and the heavy competitiveness of it. And it actually feels good to get up on a Sunday and really feel like it was a tough game the day before,” one of the Sharks’ ultimate hard men said.

Deysel said Gold’s new ball-in-hand approach for the Sharks suits his style of play as he just loves carrying the “pill” as often as he can.

“Gary has been great; the way he speaks and thinks about the game is phenomenal. He puts so much preparation into the game you almost feel like you have to do your part just to catch up. He has been very influential not just for me, but for the whole team.”

“The way Gary structures the game, it’s about sharing the ball-carrying load, but for me, being involved on Saturday, it was just good to be back and I just wanted to have the ball in my hands. But you still have to stay in the structures that have been set out, but it’s about sharing the work-load,” Deysel said.

Even though Deysel is no rookie, having earned 67 SuperRugby caps previously for the Sharks as well as playing 92 Currie Cup matches for the Lions and the Natalians, his return to action in the southern hemisphere was quite a moment for the 29-year-old.

“I can’t remember when I’ve been that nervous before a game. Maybe eight years ago when I played my first match, but I think I was even more nervous this time around. I must take my hat off to the guys and the coaching staff, they made it so much easier to fit in and get into the game-plan. Everyone had a massive impact during the week, so it was much easier for me to fit back in because everyone helped so much,” Deysel said.

And after their upset loss to the Cheetahs, there is no way the Sharks are going to underestimate the Lions this weekend.

“The Lions have a very good loose-trio and they’ve been playing together for a while now. They link together well and do the job that the coaches want them to do. So we will need to match them, not just physically but skills-wise as well. We’ll prepare well and hopefully get one over them this Saturday,” Deysel said.

And what did the man who grew up in the Free State gold mining town of Virginia miss the most while he was in Japan?

“There were no braais! I missed that the most to be honest. Being in Japan was a great experience and a real learning curve. Toyota is a great club and they are so eager to learn and develop their rugby, not just in general but as a culture. For me to go there and see that was awesome, but this is home and it’s where all my friends and family are. There were a lot of things I missed and it’s really good to be back,” Deysel said.

http://citizen.co.za/329218/im-happy-back-gary-gold/

Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske said this week that his team will attack the Hurricanes through the scrum and rolling maul, but it is the home side’s defence that will be the critical factor when the two teams meet in their Vodacom SuperRugby match in Bloemfontein on Friday night.

The Cheetahs – who at the start of the season were considered to be the only other real candidates alongside the Southern Kings for the promotion/relegation match – have a real chance of winning the South African Conference with four home games, visits to Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and a bye remaining in their regular season.

And it is because their defence has been so much better this year that they still have a say in the title race, conceding just 19 tries in 10 matches, which is second-best among the South African teams, equal with the Sharks.

Dominating the scrums and pushing the Hurricanes back with rolling mauls, even winning the territorial kicking battle, won’t win the Cheetahs the match. It is their defence and how well they frustrate the visitors, how many mistakes they can force them into, which will decide the outcome.

Although Drotske also said this week that the Hurricanes won’t try and run the ball from their own 22 like they did last weekend with disastrous consequences against the Bulls, they are a team that loves to attack with ball in hand and, if the only opportunities they get come from ball deep inside their own half, then they are bound to try it again.

That’s how the Bulls came away with the loot last weekend: forcing the Hurricanes into playing their game from bad positions and ensuring their offensive defence exposed them to turnover tries and penalties.

The Bulls have a bye this weekend and it is important for the Cheetahs to win and keep in touch with the Conference leaders.

For the Stormers, on the other hand, victory in Sydney against the Waratahs is imperative because they are already eight points behind the Bulls, who get four more points from the Sanzar wise men for doing nothing this weekend.

The Stormers have been under pressure the whole season and the cracks are showing. The Sanzar disciplinary council is investigating alleged abuse of officials by their sideline management during their win over the Hurricanes in Wellington on 26 April and last weekend they dominated almost all facets against the Blues, but still ended up on the losing side.

The Waratahs, with their pack of eight Wallabies and lethal attackers out wide in Israel Folau, Peter Betham and Adam Ashley-Cooper, have the resources to punish the Stormers for any mistakes.

A lot of those mistakes – poor tactical kicking, a lack of vision on attack and bad discipline at the rucks were all in evidence in Auckland last weekend – are caused by pressure.

The Stormers will have to be at their best, 100% focused and efficient in their execution, if they are to beat the Waratahs.

Jean de Villiers’s team can also do with the New South Welshmen suffering from some travel fatigue after flying back from South Africa this week.

The same pressure is on the Sharks, with the additional burden of a terrible injury list, as they face the Reds in Brisbane, and those same mistakes have been evident as an unfocused team has sunk to four straight defeats.

The Sharks have only won eight out of 29 matches in Australia, but those stats don’t reveal that they beat the Reds in Brisbane in last year’s playoffs, against great odds, and hammered them 59-16 there in 2007.

In tough times, rugby teams tend to look inward and play for each other, and Sharks coach John Plumtree is hoping that’s exactly what will happen as last year’s finalists battle to stay alive in the competition.

“We want to take the pressure off, play for each other, play for the jersey, that’s important. We’re in a different set of circumstances with the team because of the fact that we have so many guys out, we just have to put our heads together. We’ve sent four-to-five guys home and we are only halfway through the tour. We’ve had to change personnel, we’ve had to play players out of position and that is not great,” Plumtree said.

Springbok wing JP Pietersen is one of those players out of position as he shifts into midfield to replace Francois Steyn, who is out for the rest of the campaign, while Jean Deysel is back in the loose trio. Former Lions captain JC Janse van Rensburg makes his first start in the front row.

On paper, the Sharks certainly have enough power in their pack – with the added boost of Willem Alberts coming off the bench – and enough skill all round to beat the Reds, who will be without their indisposed captain and lock, the inspirational James Horwill. But what really matters is what frame of mind the Sharks are in after all their travails.

The Southern Kings are playing host to overseas visitors again on Saturday and will hopefully not be as gracious as they were last weekend to the Waratahs. The Australians had just come from Tshwane with their tails between their legs after a 30-19 loss to the Bulls, but the Kings opened their defensive lines and allowed them to help themselves to 11 tries in a morale-boosting 72-10 win.

The Highlanders visit this weekend and they have already been boosted by their victory over the Sharks in Dunedin last weekend, their first of the season. And they boast way more quality in their side than their recent record suggests.

Saturday’s match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is the Kings’ last before the bye and, having looked in a state of near-exhaustion last weekend, they will need one final big push to ensure they don’t get humiliated again.

One of the men who has really given them steel and purpose this season, loose forward Jacques Engelbrecht, is out injured and lightning-fast wing Sergeal Petersen is away with the SA U20 team preparing for the Junior World Championship.

Luke Watson returns as starting flank and captain, and a tired team, after 10 straight matches, could really do with some inspiration from him.

The Highlanders are now just one point behind the Kings on the log and Saturday’s encounter could decide the wooden spoon, which the Eastern Cape team have done heck of a well to avoid up till now.

But if they err in defence like they did last weekend, then the Highlanders have the players to cut them to shreds in Aaron and Ben Smith, Hosea Gear, Tamati Ellison and Colin Slade.

It will be the likes of All Blacks Mose Tuiali’i, Brad Thorn, Andrew Hore and Tony Woodcock who will lay the platform up front for the visitors.

Teams

The Sharks (v Reds, Friday 11:40): Riaan Viljoen, Piet Lindeque, JP Pietersen, Meyer Bosman, Lwazi Mvovo, Pat Lambie, Charl McLeod, Keegan Daniel, Jean Deysel, Marcell Coetzee, Franco van der Merwe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Wiehahn Herbst, Kyle Cooper, JC Janse van Rensburg. Replacements: Monde Hadebe, Jannie du Plessis, Anton Bresler, Derick Minnie, Willem Alberts, Tian Meyer, Odwa Ndungane.

Cheetahs (v Hurricanes, Friday 19:10): Hennie Daniller, Willie le Roux, Johann Sadie, Robert Ebersohn, Raymond Rhule, Burton Francis, Piet van Zyl, Phillip van der Walt, Frans Viljoen, Heinrich Brüssow, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Lourens Adriaanse, Adriaan Strauss, Coenie Oosthuizen. Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Trevor Nyakane, Ligtoring Landman, Boom Prinsloo, Sarel Pretorius, Elgar Watts, Ryno Benjamin.

Stormers (v Waratahs, Saturday, 11:40): Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Gary van Aswegen, Dewaldt Duvenage, Duane Vermeulen, Rynhardt Elstadt, Siya Kolisi, Andries Bekker, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: Scarra Ntubeni, Pat Cilliers, Don Armand, Nizaam Carr, Louis Schreuder, Elton Jantjies, Gerhard van den Heever.

Southern Kings (v Highlanders, Saturday 17:05): George Whitehead, Marcello Sampson, Ronnie Cooke, Andries Strauss, Siyanda Grey, Demetri Catrakilis, Shaun Venter, Cornell du Preez, Luke Watson, Wimpie van der Walt, David Bulbring, Steven Sykes, Kevin Buys, Bandise Maku, Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: Virgile Lacombe, Grant Kemp, Daniel Adongo, Devin Oosthuizen, Nicolas Vergallo, Shane Gates, SP Marais.

Other fixtures: Chiefs v Force (Friday 9:35); Blues v Rebels (Saturday, 11:40).

Byes: Bulls, Crusaders, Brumbies.

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-05-09-superrugby-preview-defence-and-patience-key-for-the-cheetahs/#.VdsFKPmqqko