Ken Borland

The Vodacom Blue Bulls go into the final round-robin match of the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division, against the GWK Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, without having to worry about all the permutations that so often confuse the issue at this stage of the season.

Thanks to collecting nine points in the last two weeks, against their main rivals for fourth place on the log – the Free State Cheetahs and the Pumas, the Bulls now just need to beat Griquas to assure themselves of a place in the semi-finals.

The clarity of the situation has also allowed coach Frans Ludeke to make six changes to the team, most of them rotational as they eye out the semi-finals.

Handre Pollard, the newest Springbok flyhalf sensation, will start off the bench on Saturday, a wise move giving the youngster the chance to catch his breath after a dizzying last week and reintegrate himself with the Bulls ahead of the knockout games. Ludeke said there is still a 5% chance that a niggling ankle problem will keep Pollard out, in which case Tian Schoeman will be the reserve flyhalf.

The scrum is one area where the Bulls have really shone in the latter stages of the Currie Cup, but Ludeke will nevertheless field an entirely new front row, with Springbok Marcel van der Merwe starting at tighthead, Bongi Mbonambi at hooker and Morne Mellet in the number one jersey. Callie Visagie and Springbok Werner Kruger will be on the bench.

The rotation continues at scrumhalf with Piet van Zyl starting ahead of Rudy Paige, but as the Bulls surely transit towards the semi-finals, there is one backline position where Ludeke is perhaps still unsure of who the first-choice should be.

Springbok Bjorn Basson starts on the left wing on Saturday in what will probably be his last chance to supplant Sampie Mastriet, who has made great strides in his game this season.

William Small-Smith will return in the number 13 jersey instead of JJ Engelbrecht, who has been stood down as a contracted Springbok – a ridiculous decision by SA Rugby that will not benefit anyone.

Engelbrecht has missed large swathes of the season due to injury and desperately needs to string some games together to rediscover his old form. Instead, he will be forced to sit on the sidelines until next year and will not be able to push for a place on the end-of-year tour.

“The presence of Marcel and Handre will give the team a big boost, they are quality players who produced a high standard in the Rugby Championship. The players working for each other will make us a dangerous team and you can see the team-work, the players complementing each other, and we’re getting momentum, playing off the front foot and scoring tries. But that will only happen if there’s work off the ball,” Ludeke said at Loftus Versfeld yesterday.

The coach will be hoping for a repeat of the display against the Pumas last weekend in Nelspruit, when the Bulls romped to a 37-6 victory.

“Last week against the Pumas was our most clinical performance and I feel like we will be peaking at the right time, which is vital. We need to be quick to spot the big moments because they swing momentum your way,” Ludeke said.

Bulls team – 15-Ulrich Beyers, 14-Akona Ndungane, 13-William Small-Smith, 12-Burger Odendaal, 11-Bjorn Basson, 10-Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9-Piet van Zyl, 8-Jono Ross, 7-Jacques du Plessis, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Grant Hattingh, 4-Paul Willemse, 3-Marcel van der Merwe, 2-Bongi Mbonambi, 1-Morne Mellet. Reserves: 16-Callie Visagie, 17-Werner Kruger, 18-Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19-Wiaan Liebenberg, 20-Rudy Paige, 21-Handre Pollard, 22-Jesse Kriel.

The Stormers have the chance to re-establish themselves as strong SuperRugby contenders on Saturday when they take on the mighty Crusaders at Newlands.

The Stormers made a poor start to the competition when they lost to the Bulls and the Sharks on successive weekends, leaving them with plenty of ground to catch up in the all-important South African Conference.
And they did that by beating last year’s champions, the Chiefs, and this year’s pace-setters, the Brumbies.

They now come up against the most successful side in SuperRugby history, the seven-time champion Crusaders and they will want to build on the momentum gained by their superb showing against the Brumbies by beating one of the New Zealand kingpins and really laying down a marker for the rest of the competition.

The Crusaders will also want to build on recent momentum as they too lost their two opening games before returning to form over the last fortnight with crunching wins over the Bulls and Southern Kings.
There is no doubt the Stormers are going to have to be on top of their game again this weekend.

The suspension of Steven Kitshoff for a dangerous tackle and the injury to hooker Tiaan Liebenberg means Pat Cilliers and Deon Fourie will have to team up with the impressive Frans Malherbe in matching a formidable Crusaders scrum.

The Crusaders will look to their mighty pack to provide the front-foot ball that allows such impressive athletes as Israel Dagg, Robbie Fruean, Zac Guildford, Tom Marshall and Ryan Crotty to run wild.

But the New Zealand powerhouses are also under pressure to find capable cover for injured loose forward stars Richie McCaw and Kieran Read, while ace flyhalf Dan Carter is also not on tour, having stayed in Christchurch for the birth of his first child.

For the Stormers, it’s bad enough that they’ve lost two-thirds of their front row, but it could have been even worse, with Gio Aplon, arguably their greatest attacking force, doubtful for the game after the terrible blow to the head he received in trying to tackle Brumbies man-mountain Fotu Auelua.

Aplon has been named in the starting line-up, a credit to the Hawston dynamo’s toughness, but it remains to be seen whether he will actually run out on to the field on Saturday.

The Stormers were up to the physical challenge last weekend, but the Crusaders are likely to ask different defensive questions and Allister Coetzee’s men will be looking to raise their game by another notch.

The vanquished Brumbies will have to pick themselves up from their Newlands let-down, as well as cope with the long-haul flight back to Australia, as they come up against the Bulls in Canberra on Saturday.

The Bulls, after successive losses to the Crusaders and Reds, have made a significant change in midfield with last year’s IRB Junior Player of the Year, Jan Serfontein, getting his first start having proven his ability to make the step up with two impressive cameos off the bench.

The selection of Francois Venter, who had just flown over from South Africa, ahead of Serfontein for last weekend’s match against the Reds raised eyebrows and Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has made more changes to a backline that is obviously misfiring.

Morné Steyn returns at flyhalf after the one-match experiment of playing young Louis Fouché there, while Jurgen Visser replaces Bjorn Basson on the left wing.

The selection of Lionel Mapoe on the right wing and JJ Engelbrecht at outside centre, and not the other way around, is also baffling the minds of many Bulls supporters.

Even more extraordinary is the selection of flank Deon Stegmann after team doctor Org Strauss stated earlier in the week that the openside flank would be out for between five to 10 days with a sprained ankle.
Coming after the messy Francois Hougaard situation – the scrumhalf being chosen on the bench with an injury and being unable to play – it all points to the Bulls being in a state of some disrepair.

The Southern Kings are the other South African team playing abroad this weekend and information from Wellington suggests they will face a Hurricanes side strengthened by the return of fullback André Taylor, flank Ardie Savea, hooker Dane Coles and prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen.

The Hurricanes are certainly not the Crusaders, however, and the Kings’ second tour match could be billed as one they might target for their first away victory.

But to do that, the Kings will have to be much more intense in defence. They gave the Crusaders way too much space and too much latitude at the breakdowns, and the Hurricanes backline is one of the most dangerous in the competition.

The Hurricanes’ halfback pairing of TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett is among the most highly-rated in the competition, while there is the tremendous danger of Julian Savea lurking on the wing and the steady, skilful hand of Conrad Smith in midfield.

The high-flying Cheetahs have completed the overseas portion of their campaign and the mood will be buoyant in Bloemfontein as they take on the Rebels on the back of an unprecedented three successive wins on tour.

Coach Naka Drotske is hoping his team will show the same composure and tenacity at home as they did in Invercargill, Sydney and Perth.

There certainly seems to be a new maturity in the side because this season their response to being under pressure has been to tighten up in defence and not give the game away, unlike in previous years when they became the most prolific gatherers of losing bonus points the competition has ever seen.

The Rebels have to bounce back from an awful mauling at the hands of the Sharks in Durban and coach Damian Hill’s decision to send both Kurtley Beale and Cooper Vuna home after their fist-fight on the team bus.

Hill also has to find a way to fix the problems in his team that caused 19 turnovers and 31 missed tackles in the 64-7 hammering at Kings Park.

Drotske will be looking to a resurgent Heinrich Brüssow to keep the pressure on the Rebels at the breakdowns, while the other rangy loose forwards, Phillip van der Walt and Lappies Labuschagne, and backline stars Willie le Roux, Raymond Rhule and Sarel Pretorius will be looking to stretch the Rebels defence in the same fashion as the Sharks did.

The three weekend fixtures not involving South African teams see the embattled Highlanders hosting the Reds, the Blues looking to regain their form as they visit the high-flying Chiefs and an Australian derby between the Waratahs and the Force.

Teams

Bulls (v Brumbies, 10:40): Zane Kirchner, Lionel Mapoe, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Jurgen Visser, Morné Steyn, Jano Vermaak, Pierre Spies, Dewald Potgieter, Deon Stegmann, Juandré Kruger, Paul Willemse, Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Morné Mellett. Replacements: Willie Wepener, Frik Kirsten, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Arno Botha, Ruan Snyman, Louis Fouché, Francois Venter.

Cheetahs (v Rebels, 17:05): Hennie Daniller, Willie le Roux, Johann Sadie, Robert Ebersohn, Raymond Rhule, Riaan Smit, Sarel Pretorius, Phillip van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagne, Heinrich Brüssow, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Lourens Adriaanse, Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane. Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Coenie Oosthuisen, Rynhard Landman, Boom Prinsloo, Piet van Zyl, Burton Francis, Ryno Benjamin.

Stormers (v Crusaders, 19:10): Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers, Gerhard van den Heever, Elton Jantjies, Dewaldt Duvenage, Duane Vermeulen, Rynhardt Elstadt, Siya Kolisi, Andries Bekker, De Kock Steenkamp, Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie, Pat Cilliers. Replacements: Martin Bezuidenhout, Brok Harris, Don Armand, Nizaam Carr, Nic Groom, Damian de Allende, Jaco Taute.
* The Southern Kings team to play the Hurricanes at 5:35 was not available by deadline.

*Congratulations to Cyprus, who beat Bulgaria 79-10 to notch their 18th successive win and thus break the world record. Rennos Ioannides scored four tries as the Moufflons went past the previous mark of 17 wins set by New Zealand (1965-69), South Africa (1997-98) and Lithuania (2006-10). Lithuania recently had two other wins removed because they were in friendly matches.

Cyprus is also rumoured to be engaging the services of former Ireland and US Eagles coach Eddie O’Sullivan as a consultant.

 http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-03-28-superrugby-preview-crunch-time-for-resurgent-stormers/#.VGCmD_mUde8

At 3pm on June 28 in the Madagascan capital of Antananarivo, Namibia looked set to cry tears of sadness as a shock 29-22 defeat at the hands of Kenya left their hopes of qualifying for the 2015 World Cup hanging by the slimmest of threads.

By 5pm on July 6, at the same Mahamasina Stadium, the Namibian rugby team were crying tears of joy as an extraordinary 89-10 victory over the hosts had booked their spot in England 2015 on points difference over Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Following that opening-day loss, just their second against the East Africans since 2006, results had fallen Namibia’s way to keep their hopes alive. The Welwitschias beat Zimbabwe 24-20 to stay in contention, while their fellow Southern Africans did them a favour by overcoming Kenya 28-10 on the final day.

Crucially, neither Zimbabwe nor Kenya managed to get a bonus point in that match, which left Namibia needing to beat Madagascar by 53 points to qualify for the finals of the global showpiece.

“We were down in the dumps up to the last day, but we just believed until the very end. We had the will to keep on fighting until our last breath, until all 15 of us had to be carried off the field if necessary,” flank Tinus du Plessis said after the triumph.

“We had a massive points difference to work on, so we just planned to take it 10 minutes at a time. It’s amazing to think that we’ll now be playing our first match against the All Blacks!” the London Wasps player said after Namibia had earned a berth in Pool C of the World Cup with New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga and Georgia.

The CAR Division 1A doubled up as the Africa Cup and Namibia’s three games there more than doubled the number of Tests they had played since November 2013. One of the biggest problems facing developing African rugby nations is the lack of internationals they play and coach Danie Vermeulen used matches against the Blue Bulls and Western Province in Windhoek to prepare for Namibia’s most important games in four years.

An after-the-hooter penalty by Theuns Kotze – one of six he kicked to go with a conversion – gave Namibia a 30-28 victory over a youthful Western Province side, who had outscored the Welwitschias by three tries to two.

The following week, Namibia were beaten 34-13 by a powerful Bulls outfit. It was a highly physical encounter, in which the Bulls only pulled away in the second half, and Namibia Rugby Union CEO Sybrand de Beer believes his team were perhaps still affected by it when they played Kenya in Madagascar seven days later.

“We didn’t play the way we should of against Kenya and I think the Blue Bulls game took a lot out of the team. They were just not in the moment and we beat ourselves really. It meant World Cup qualification was no longer in our own control, which makes it difficult, we had to rely on other results,” De Beer said.

Two tries in the first 10 minutes by wing Heinrich Smit gave Namibia a great start, and they led 22-19 going into the final quarter, but in trying to keep the strong-finishing Kenyans out, they conceded a raft of penalties and a fourth try and crucial bonus point to start their campaign on a poor note.

Zimbabwe were trying to qualify for their first World Cup since 1991, as well as ending a six-game losing streak against the Welwitschias, who were forced to overturn a 10-17 half-time deficit.

The Sables, boosted by the presence of former Natal Sharks and Gauteng Lions SuperRugby flyhalf Guy Cronje, used their dangerous backs to score the opening try, but Namibia relied on their dominant forwards to rumble their way to a penalty try.

But Zimbabwe’s backs conjured another try just before half-time and a second Cronje penalty stretched their lead to 20-10, forcing Namibia to make a determined comeback in the second half.

Flank Renaldo Bothma, after a great break by replacement hooker Dian Wiese, and fellow loose forward Rohan Kitshoff, from a rolling maul, scored tries converted by Kotze to keep their World Cup hopes alive.

Namibia had to defend stoutly for the last 10 minutes as PJ van Lill was sent to the sin-bin, but they did so to give them a faint chance of progressing.

Against Madagascar, it was the chance for Namibia’s attacking play to shine and, although their forwards dominated from the outset, it took the Welwitschias 12 minutes to stamp their mark on proceedings with centre Johan Deysel’s opening try.

Two more tries, superb long-range efforts by wing David Philander and Exeter Chiefs bound fullback Chrysander Botha, were scored before the end of the first quarter and an outstanding first half saw Namibia go into the break 63-0 up and firmly back in World Cup contention.

Experienced props Johnny Redelinghuys and Jaco Engels both scored tries, while the explosive Bothma scored twice, Philander completed his brace and there was a penalty try as well.

Further tries by Kotze, left wing Johan Tromp, a third by Bothma and another penalty try were the knockout blow for Zimbabwe and Kenya.

It was a moment of great joy for Namibia and a sign that they are past the dissent which plagued rugby in their country around the time of the previous World Cup.

“Rugby in Namibia was quite badly hit in 2011 when the exco resigned and technically we were insolvent. But the latest financial statements have been declared clean and passed without any qualifications and there is good governance and the basic foundation in place. We are now back to concentrating on rugby,” De Beer said.

Namibia’s U20s finished sixth in the Junior World Trophy in Hong Kong, beating 2013 finalists Canada and suffering narrow defeats to eventual winners Japan and Uruguay.

For a country with a small playing base, development is crucial and the IRB’s Get Into Rugby program is reaching tens of thousands of schoolchildren all over the vast south-west African country.

The continuation of the Windhoek Lager Tri-Nations Series is a major benefit for the national team and in November 2013 they saw off two of their major rivals for World Cup qualification, Zimbabwe, 35-26, and Kenya, 55-35.

Looking ahead to World Cup year, the inclusion of Namibia in South Africa’s Vodacom Cup competition (the level below SuperRugby) will obviously benefit preparations, while De Beer and Vermeulen have their eyes set on the acquisition of more players, such as Free State Cheetahs captain Torsten van Jaarsveld and Sharks star Anton Bresler, the lock who has moved to Scotland but was in the peripheral vision of the Springbok selectors.

Bothma, one of the stars of the Mpumalanga Pumas’ Currie Cup Premier Division campaign, is one of the newly-qualified Namibian players and he excelled in Madagascar.

Three matches in Europe in November 2014, against Canada, French Barbarians and Portugal, should ensure the further growth of this resurgent Namibian team.

–

Joint defending champions, the Nashua Cape Cobras will be anxiously awaiting the fitness of four key players before they begin their Momentum One-Day Cup campaign against the Chevrolet Knights in Kimberley on Saturday.

Ace spinner Dane Piedt has had an operation on the shoulder he injured in the Champions League in India and will be out of action for six weeks, while Justin Kemp (broken hand), Rory Kleinveldt (knee) and regular captain Justin Ontong (back) are all in a race against time to be fit. Key pace bowler Beuran Hendricks is also a long-term absentee due to a stress fracture in his back.

Veteran Robin Peterson will be leading the side in the absence of Ontong and he says they will have to plan carefully due to the disruption.

“We’re struggling with a few injuries and therefore how to balance the side, which is going to make it tough up front in the competition. We’ll maybe have to blood a few more youngsters, it’s a bit of a changing of the guard, but we need to be mindful that the main reason we’ve been more successful than the other franchises recently is probably because we’re more experienced than the rest. When you have six or seven senior players, it makes it easier to bring in a couple of youngsters,” Peterson said.

The Knights will come into the game bursting with confidence after winning their opening two Sunfoil Series games to top the log and they will be fielding an in-form pace bowling trio in Corne Dry, Quinton Friend and the seasoned Dillon du Preez.

Captain Werner Coetsee will also be crucial, however, with his off-spinners and the 31-year-old has a fine record in limited-overs cricket, with both bat and ball.

“Wickets are what stop momentum, we will be trying to get them any way we can. Our bowlers are all in exciting form and we have plans during the fielding restrictions that we hope will give us the edge,” Coetsee said.

The Knights batting line-up, having lost Morne van Wyk, Dean Elgar, Ryan McLaren and Johan van der Wath, does not have many familiar names, but Rudi Second and Gihahn Cloete already have centuries to their name this season.

“There’s been a lot of talk about us losing our senior players, but the first two games have shown the responsibility of the batsmen. It does a lot for your self-confidence to win those matches and now we want to start well in the one-day competition and play consistent, disciplined cricket,” Coetsee said.

The Chevrolet Warriors, meanwhile, will be doing battle with the bizhub Highveld Lions in Potchefstroom on Sunday and will probably have to do so without Proteas star Wayne Parnell, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury.

With Coetsee spinning the Lions to defeat at the same venue last weekend, the Warriors are likely to attack the hosts with spin.

“Spin is massively important for us, ever since we had Robin Peterson, Johan Botha and Nicky Boje in the team, it’s something we’ve developed. Jon-Jon Smuts did a huge job for us last season and Simon Harmer proves himself every season,” Warriors captain Colin Ingram said.

With one batsman’s spot probably still open in the World Cup squad, Ingram said he would love to go to cricket’s showpiece event again, having travelled with the Proteas to India and Bangladesh in 2011.

“The World Cup is always at the back of your mind, but you have to prove yourself as a player at franchise level, so it’s really important for me to focus on the Warriors. International cricket has pressure of its own and it grew my game. I would definitely love to go again,” Ingram said.