Ken Borland

The Highveld Lions have always said all they needed to challenge for the four-day domestic title was a more penetrative bowling attack and new coach Geoffrey Toyana is confident that his team now have the weaponry to win the Sunfoil Series this season.

“In the past our strength has been our batting and our problem was the bowling. But that’s now been solved because we’ve signed Hardus Viljoen and Imran Tahir, and there’s Chris Morris coming through as well,” Toyana said at the Wanderers on Monday.

“Hopefully they will all bowl well for us, plus there’s Garnett Kruger back with us as well. But the biggest thing is for us to play good, consistent cricket in all formats. In the past, we’ve been good in one format but poor in the others.”

Alviro Petersen, the Lions captain, shared his coach’s enthusiasm, saying the Gauteng/North-West franchise would go into the competition with a new-look attack.

“The whole format of our attack has changed, we now have three strike bowlers and one holding bowler, plus Zander de Bruyn can do a holding job for us as well. The bowling was our problem area, you have to take wickets to win four-day matches. We’ve done well with our batting, but now the bowling has to improve,” Petersen said.

The Lions team is likely to be a blend of experienced senior players such as De Bruyn, Neil McKenzie, Petersen and Thami Tsolekile and exciting new prospects like Chris Morris, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock and Pumelela Matshikwe. The mix excites Toyana.

“It’s a good thing to have that mix and I’ve appointed Neil to work with Temba Bavuma this season, while Alviro will mentor Quinton de Kock. Plus there’s Stephen Cook around too so there’s experience and youth, and it’s a good mix,” Toyana said.

The Lions begin their Sunfoil Series campaign against the Cobras in Potchefstroom on Thursday, before playing the Dolphins in Johannesburg from September 27. But then, in a quirk of scheduling, they will change to T20 action with the Champions League taking precedence.

“I can live with it, there are no issues, it’s easier to go from four-day cricket to T20 than the other way round,” Toyana said.

Petersen reckoned that the two four-day games would be a good build-up for the Lions as they look to celebrate a lucrative payday in the Champions League.

“It will be good for us, those two four-day games will give us a good base. Hopefully we’ll spend a lot of time batting and bowling and we’ll be at 100% going into the Champions League,” Petersen said.

“The last couple of years, we’ve been building a team to win the four-day competition and now we’ve got the squad, there’s a good vibe around the team.

“Geoff’s style is different, as with every coach. He’s more relaxed. The Lions have matured as a side, Dave Nosworthy did a great job steadying the ship, and now Geoff allows the guys just to express themselves. He also communicates well with both the young and senior players,” the national team opener said.

“The players must relax, I want them to start enjoying playing cricket again, that has been missing. But we want to hit the season running. We tend to only wake up after two or three games, so I’ve emphasised that we need a good start,” Toyana said.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-four-day/news/120917/Toyana_confident_Lions_have_the_weaponry

The MTN Golden Lions regained first place on the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division log as they put away the Toyota Free State Cheetahs 38-23 (half-time 20-16) in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The Cheetahs weathered an early storm from the Lions to actually lead 16-13 after half-an-hour, but the Lions scored two tries in three minutes either side of half time to give the Gautengers a 27-16 lead and thereafter there was nothing that could rescue the Free Staters from a fourth defeat in six matches.

Flyhalf Elton Jantjies instituted some early control for the Lions as his short kick-off caught the Cheetahs napping, was claimed by flank Willie Britz and led to a penalty which Jantjies kicked, followed by another penalty in the sixth minute.

The one area where the Lions did struggle was at the breakdown and referee Sindile Mayende set the tone with an early call against fetcher Cobus Grobbelaar, allowing Cheetahs wing Nico Scheepers to kick a penalty (3-6).

The Cheetahs had a much bigger problem, however, and that was their insistence on trying to run their surfeit of possession in their own territory and the mistakes that came as they tried to run under pressure was what eventually brought them to their knees.

It was the cause of the Lions’ first try as flyhalf Tewis de Bruyn swung the ball from inside his own 22, but his intentions were beautifully read by Lions lock Franco van der Merwe, who put himself between the pivot and the midfield receivers and claimed an easy intercept try.

De Bruyn will probably claim he did not see Van der Merwe lurking because both teams were playing in predominantly white jerseys, with the Cheetahs changing to orange four minutes later, but the pass should never have been given in the first place.

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/article.aspx?id=1583351

The Border Bulldogs were rolled over easily as the Ford Pumas thumped them 41-10 (half-time 24-3) in their Absa Currie Cup First Division match at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday.

The scoreline certainly did not lie in terms of the Pumas’ dominance as their powerful pack took firm control in damp conditions and their backline had more pace and precision than their Bulldogs counterparts.

The bonus-point win maintained the Pumas’ challenge for top spot, although the EP Kings are still in prime positon with an eight-point lead over the Mpumalanga side with two rounds of league play remaining.

The Pumas took a little while to settle in front of 14 305 people at Mbombela Stadium, but they opened the scoring in the 15th minute as star fullback Coenie van Wyk crossed for a thrilling try.

Border flyhalf Reinhardt Gerber pulled three points back for the Bulldogs with a 22nd-minute penalty, but the rest of the half was a cruise for the Pumas as they comfortably adapted to the wet conditions, thanks to their gritty forwards.

Scrumhalf Shaun Venter, who sparked numerous attacks, went over for the Pumas’ second try two minutes later and centre and captain JW Jonker showed his experience as he glided over three minutes later.

The reliable boot of flyhalf Naas Olivier accounted for all three conversions and the well-travelled 30-year-old also kicked a penalty in the 34th minute to ensure the Pumas reached the break in firm control.

Olivier also began the second-half scoring with a penalty, stretching the lead to 27-3 and, just two minutes later, the Pumas quickly spread the ball wide and wing Wilhelm Loock, who gave a typically passionate display, crossed for the try.

Despite looking all at sea for the last half-hour, the Bulldogs did manage to score a try of their own through centre Neill Jacobs, with Gerber turning it into a seven-pointer with the conversion.

But the Pumas rounded-off an action-packed display as Venter punched his way through for his second try and Mpumalanga’s fifth overall.

The Punas will go into their last two round-robin games needing to make up ground on the Kings to qualify for a home final.

The crunch game is next Friday against the Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, with the Pumas then finishing the league section against the Griffons back at the Mbombela Stadium.

SCORERS

FORD PUMAS – Tries: Coenie van Wyk, Shaun Venter (2), JW Jonker, Wilhelm Loock. Conversions: Naas Olivier (4), Carl Bezuidenhout. Penalties: Olivier (2).

BORDER BULLDOGS – Try: Neill Jacobs. Conversion: Reinhardt Gerber. Penalty: Gerber.

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup-first-division/news/120915/Pumas_thump_Bulldogs_in_Nelspruit

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has a degree in psychology and he will surely need to have sessions with Morne Steyn on the couch – and bring Dean Greyling along for good measure – after South Africa’s infuriating 21-11 loss to the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday.

Meyer has persevered with Steyn at flyhalf for all seven Tests this year, but surely a man of his intellectual capacity and people skills must now realise that the hero of 2009 and 2010 is mentally shattered and devoid of all confidence.

The Springboks wasted 20 points with kicks at goal, with Steyn missing three penalties along with a conversion, while Francois Steyn (2) and Johan Goosen also missed three long-range penalties between them.

It is hard to remember a substitute having a more disastrous impact than Greyling did. The front-ranker clearly needs his head read after conceding some of the stupidest penalties possible on a rugby field, including a shocking assault on the face of Richie McCaw that is bound to have some more serious consequences than the yellow card he was issued with.

The inexperienced Springbok pack was magnificent in a come-of-age performance that saw them match if not edge the All Blacks up front, laying a platform that was ultimately wasted by Morne Steyn and some laborious backline play.

There were some promising signs from the backline, but great try-scoring opportunities were butchered in the fifth minute, on the half-hour and on the hour mark.

With three minutes remaining and the All Blacks 18-11 up, the Springboks were then gifted another golden opportunity when Keven Mealamu threw a lineout ball five metres from his own line straight to Greyling, who promptly dropped the ball.

The Blue Bulls prop should have had the good grace to want to be swallowed whole by the Forsyth Barr Stadium turf, but instead he then cost South Africa even a bonus point for their efforts when he stupidly handled the ball in a ruck, allowing All Blacks flyhalf Aaron Cruden to kick a penalty after the final hooter.

Greyling’s first act after coming on to the field in the 50^th minute was also a blatant hands in the ruck, Cruden’s penalty allowing New Zealand to draw level just two minutes after Bryan Habana’s brilliant individual try.

There were times in the first half when the All Blacks were floundering against the Springboks’ suffocating defence, physicality in the collisions and pressure game. But the goalkicking woes drowned out all conversation about those major positives.

Fullback Israel Dagg’s wonderful attacking instincts saw him feature prominently in the move he finished for the All Blacks’ opening try in the 20^th minute and the hosts led 5-3 at half-time. At that stage, South Africa had already missed 15 points via missed kicks at goal.

But the Springboks regained the lead in the 50^th minute through Habana’s brilliant try. Flip van der Merwe won the lineout throw and, even though Francois Louw stumbled in receiving the pop off the top, he found Habana roaring through on the angle. South Africa’s all-time leading try-scorer burst through the first line of defence before he chipped over the fullback and regathered the ball to score in the right corner.

The next half-hour was dominated by Greyling, although Morne Steyn also kicked away some good attacking ball with aimless kicks. If it were the navy, they would be consigned to port immediately by the good ship South Africa, because their heads are clearly not in the right place.

But there are huge positives to be drawn from the game for the Springboks, even if the result was a major disappointment.

The ferocious performance of the pack, led by flank Willem Alberts and lock Juandre Kruger, is at the head of the list, while the defence was also much improved as the Springboks warded off several dangerous attacking forays by the New Zealand backs.

Springbok rugby may well have moved out of the ICU ward on Saturday and, if Meyer can correctly diagnose where the mental deficiencies are, he may well be able to produce pleasing results in Pretoria and Soweto in coming weeks.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-15-crushed-by-the-all-blacks-south-africas-national-facepalm-moment