Ken Borland

Springbok captain Jean de Villiers praised his team for standing up in the last 10 minutes and beating Australia in their Rugby Championship Test in Cape Town, putting aside the disappointment of two narrow defeats overseas.

South Africa lost 23-24 in Perth against Australia and 10-14 to New Zealand in Wellington, and looked on their way to another close loss when they trailed 8-10 going into the last 10 minutes at Newlands.

But a scintillating finish saw the Springboks score three tries to complete a 28-10 victory that was flattering if one considered how they struggled in the first hour to make headway against a brave Australian team.

“You will have disappointments along the way, as in life, but the important thing is the way you respond to it. We didn’t play badly abroad, a couple of things went against us and we lost. But part of the process is working on our mistakes; the goal is the World Cup next year, but we want to see if we can improve every week.

“The way we stuck together in the last 10 minutes, we showed intent and that’s how we want to play. All 23 players put their hands up and it was probably in the top 10 of best games I’ve played in, it was a special performance,” De Villiers, who scored two of the three late tries, said.

That the Springboks were able to up the tempo at the end of the match, with the Wallabies visibly tiring, was down to the massive impact made by their bench and the squad’s improved conditioning.

“The bench were brilliant, they were able to up the tempo. Sometimes I get criticised for choosing older guys, but I think it was the right decision to go for more experience on the bench. Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Bismarck du Plessis, Pat Lambie and JP Pietersen were all very good and they made an unbelievably big difference,” coach Heyneke Meyer said.

“I always put an unbelievable emphasis on fitness because you just don’t have the time with the Springboks, but we’re almost there. This result was great for the fitness because there was no way we could have come back at the end without it. The Wallabies had flown to Cape Town and we threw the ball around in the last 10 minutes and it worked.”

Outstanding eighthman Duane Vermeulen, who was the Springboks’ best player before injuring his ribs, and veteran wing Bryan Habana (blow to the head) are the two injury concerns for the Test against the All Blacks in Johannesburg this weekend.

“if we play like we did tonight – exactly how we planned, sticking to our structures in the first 60/70 minutes and then breaking them down in the last 10 – then we’ll have a good shot next week. We were close against the All Blacks in Wellington and we just didn’t get there, but we just need to make sure we prepare well and put the hard work in this week,” De Villiers said.

Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke on Sunday praised his team’s mental strength and belief after they rose from the canvas like a champion boxer and beat the Toyota Free State Cheetahs 31-22 in their crucial Absa Currie Cup match in Bloemfontein at the weekend.

The game was effectively a knockout fixture for the Bulls because defeat would have ended their chances of making the semi-finals, and their worst fears seem to have been realised when Free State flyhalf Willie du Plessis landed a drop goal in the 73^rd minute to give the home side a 22-21 lead.

But the Bulls then kept the ball for multiple phases, showing excellent ball-retention, and the relentless driving of their forwards and some good incursions by outside backs Sampie Mastriet and Ulrich Beyers set up a penalty for Jacques-Louis Potgieter.

The Bulls then had to defend their 24-22 lead with all their might as the Cheetahs battered away on attack, before replacement flank Wian Liebenberg charged down another attempted drop goal by Du Plessis, the ball rebounding for Mastriet to streak away for a try, Potgieter’s angled conversion denying the home side what could be a crucial bonus point.

“It’s the first time since 2008 that we’ve won in a Currie Cup match in Bloemfontein and that shows what a special effort that was. So I’m very happy, mentally to be able to come back after they had taken the lead was great. Normally when a home side does that at the end of a game, they hang on to win. But we had the belief and we worked the ball around well at the end and it was a huge defensive effort,” Ludeke told The Citizen on Sunday.

Ludeke singled out the finishing of wing Mastriet, who is certainly giving the Bulls plenty of spark on attack, for praise.

“Sampie was the difference between the two sides with his finishing. But there were a lot of other positives, we had control for a long time and our scrum was another highlight,” Ludeke said.

The Cheetahs were getting such a hiding in that set-piece that barely a scrum was completed without referee Marius van der Westhuizen penalising them.

When Mastriet scored his first try in the 23^rd minute, the Bulls had opened up a solid 11-3 lead, but their discipline then went awry, allowing Du Plessis to kick two penalties. Potgieter was yellow-carded just before half-time and lock Paul Willemse followed him on the hour mark, getting the Cheetahs strongly back into the game.

“Ja, discipline was a factor, they were able to maul from penalties and that got the Cheetahs back into the game. But discipline we can easily fix, sometimes the guys were just too keen to get turnovers. We just need to make better decisions, at the mauls too in terms of when to contest because if you miss in the air then you’re in a position of weakness to defend,” Ludeke said.

It was generally ugly, but the Vodacom Blue Bulls got the job done and beat the Toyota Free State Cheetahs 31-22 to stay alive in the competition in their Absa Currie Cup match in Bloemfontein last night.

The amount of aimless kicking had irked the Bloemfontein crowd throughout the game and it was ironic that it was a charged-down attempted drop-kick by Cheetahs flyhalf Willie du Plessis that sealed the Bulls’ win.

Replacement flank Wian Liebenberg was up quickly in defence and the ball rebounded off his hands for wing Sampie Mastriet, who had a wonderful game, to gather and streak away for the try.

But where the Bulls really won the game was in the period of excellent ball-retention and multiple phases they put together to earn Jacques-Louis Potgieter a penalty shot in the 77^th minute. The sharpshooting flyhalf nailed the kick from 5m in from touch to cancel out a 73^rd-minute drop goal by Du Plessis that had snatched a 22-21 lead for the home side.

The Bulls had the upper hand in the first half, but they once again squandered opportunities on attack and they paid for poor discipline with both Potgieter and lock Paul Willemse being yellow-carded and Du Plessis kicking four penalties to keep Free State in touch.

The Cheetahs will be bemoaning their poor performance at the scrum, where they were penalised several times by referee Marius van der Westhuizen, but the Bulls will be pleased with the character they showed in denying the home side despite a much-improved second-half display.

Mastriet scored in the first half after props Dean Greyling and Werner Kruger went on the charge to earn a penalty, and a slick lineout move then created space for the wing, who regularly injected some much-needed pace into the Bulls’ attacks, to dot down.

But young Liebenberg will be the toast of Pretoria after ensuring that the Bulls will still have a chance of making the semi-finals when they take on the Pumas (away) and Griquas (home) in their last two games.

Scorers

Free State Cheetahs – Try: Sarel Pretorius. Conversion: Willie du Plessis. Penalties: Du Plessis (4). Drop goal: Du Plessis.

Blue Bulls – Tries: Sampie Mastriet (2), Grant Hattingh. Conversions: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (2). Penalties: Potgieter (4).

The actual ICC Cricket World Cup is busy touring South Africa at the moment and nobody should need reminding that the number of Proteas’ titles in that prestigious competition stands at zero, least of all Graeme Smith.

But the former captain is confident that South Africa have the players to finally achieve that breakthrough triumph because many of the boxes required for glory have or will be ticked once the World Cup starts in Australia and New Zealand in mid-February.

“I was very blessed to go to three World Cups, but I’m very excited for this World Cup. The team is shaping up nicely and for the first time in a long time we’ll be playing in conditions that we actually like.

“There’s a great balance to the batting unit, the top five is really outstanding and can win games, they’re dynamic and can chase or set big scores.

“The bowling is attacking and can take wickets, which is very important with the current rules. There’s a really good feeling and buzz around the team and the core is there. AB de Villiers has had some great results, he’s pretty relaxed as a captain, I hear he’s doing a super job and the confidence will be good,” Smith said after a photoshoot with the World Cup trophy.

Amongst the issues that do concern Smith are the lengthy interludes between games.

“It’s a long tournament and there’s always a period when you seem to just sit around for two weeks. It helps though that it’ll be in Australia, previously we got caught with two weeks in Bangladesh [2011] and two weeks in Guyana [2007]. It’s important to stay fresh and in it mentally, and momentum is huge, you don’t want anything to stop that. You will also need to overcome the odd tough game, that’s when you need one or two players to pull you through,” Smith said.

There is consensus that South Africa’s death bowling is another issue and Smith said bowlers needed to prepare mentally for that challenge.

“Death bowling is always key and everyone in the seam attack must be able to contribute. Each player needs to grow mentally in that space, so you want them to have been there before, they need to be exposed to powerplays and death overs.

“if there’s reverse-swing, then going into the blockhole makes sense, but at places like the Wanderers, if you miss the yorker by one centimetre, you’re gone, plus guys lap so well now. It’s about how to block the field, give the batsman one and protect your over. Bowlers need to spend as much time as possible practising those thought processes, the tactics of death bowling,” Smith said.

The two-time World Cup captain’s final words for the 15 lucky men going to Australasia is to enjoy themselves.

“They should be excited as players, it’s a great occasion and all teams aspire to play in any World Cup. Only a select few have won it, especially since Australia dominated for a large period,” Smith said.