Ken Borland

With the 2022 Rugby Championship now two weeks away, we take a look at the form of the four teams involved, with today’s focus on Australia.

What they did in July

Following an incredible win (30-28) in the opening Test of their series against England, with 14 men and key injury disruptions, Australia then lost the second (17-25) and third Tests (17-21) to allow the tourists to keep the Ella-Mobbs [formerly Cook] Cup they have had since 2012.

In the first Test, in Perth, Australia lost lock Darcy Swain to a red card in the 34^th minute and had already lost flyhalf Quade Cooper just before kickoff with a calf strain. Prop Allan Alaalatoa went off in the first half with concussion and fullback Tom Banks broke his arm. But a remarkable second half saw the Wallabies score three tries in the last 17 minutes to take control of the game, England scoring two consolation tries in and after the final minute.

Having beaten England for the first time since 2015, Australia went to Brisbane confident of wrapping up the series, but, beaten in the collisions and the territory battle, had to fight back from19-0 down to pile on the pressure at 17-22 against 14 men. But a key lineout miss saw England survive and then seal victory with a penalty.

The third Test again saw the Wallabies’ mount a rearguard action as they came back from 10-21 down in the final quarter, but still fell short.

What they did in the Champs in 2021

Coach Dave Rennie breathed new life into Australia’s challenge in the southern hemisphere competition as he steered them to second place and four successive wins in the tournament for the first time.

The Rugby Championship did not start well for the Wallabies, though, as they set a new low for most points conceded against the All Blacks, going down 57-22 at Eden Park to also allow their neighbours a 19^th-straight year of holding the Bledisloe Cup.

Another sparkling All Blacks display in Perth saw Australia lose 38-21, although the contest was closer with New Zealand scoring two intercept tries.

But with Quade Cooper restored at flyhalf and playing his first Test in four years, the Wallabies’ fortunes turned with successive wins against the Springboks.

Cooper snatched a 28-26 win on the Gold Coast with a long-range, angled penalty after the final hooter, and then backline stars Len Ikitau and Marika Koroibete both scored twice as Australia ran South Africa ragged in a 30-17 bonus point win in Brisbane.

A 27-8 victory over Argentina in Townsville and then a 32-17 triumph over the Pumas, wing Andrew Kellaway scoring a hat-trick, saw the Wallabies break new ground in the Rugby Championship.

Fixtures

August 6: Mendoza, v Argentina

August 13: San Juan, v Argentina

August 27: Adelaide, v South Africa

September 3: Sydney, v South Africa

September 15: Melbourne, v New Zealand

September 24: Auckland, v New Zealand

The independent arbitration panel that cleared Graeme Smith of racism allegations found that Thami Tsolekile was not selected to replace Mark Boucher in 2012 for cricketing reasons, saying the wicketkeeper/batsman himself accepted that AB de Villiers being chosen ahead of him was better for the team.

Tsolekile testified at the arbitration in support of Cricket South Africa’s claim that Smith had used his influence as captain to persuade the selectors not to include Tsolekile based on his race, after Boucher suffered the eye injury that ended his career.

But while finding that Smith, the Proteas longest-serving and most successful Test captain, did have an influence on selection, the arbitrators, advocates Ngwako Maenetje SC and Michael Bishop, ruled that he did not actively seek to exclude Tsolekile because of his race. Instead they found “it is more likely that Smith just wanted his team to win”.

Andrew Hudson, the convenor of selectors at the time and current CSA Board member, and Linda Zondi, who was also a selector before succeeding Hudson as the convenor, gave evidence that De Villiers had been selected for the tour to England in 2012 as the reserve wicketkeeper and both the selectors and coach Gary Kirsten agreed that De Villiers replacing Boucher behind the stumps would allow them to play an extra specialist batsman in JP Duminy, himself Black.

Smith was consulted about the decision and agreed with the strategy.

In Paragraph 90 of their findings, the arbitrators state: “Tsolekile … agreed with the proposition that this was ‘a strategy that will make complete sense and was something which played very strongly in favour of the Proteas cricket team’. He accepted that there were ‘very good cricketing reasons to prefer AB de Villiers to yourself for the position in the Test starting XI’.”

CSA then tried to change their argument and alleged Smith was guilty of discrimination by omission because he had an obligation to speak out on behalf of Tsolekile because the wicketkeeper/batsman was previously disadvantaged.

But the arbitrators found this change of tack was prejudicial to Smith, describing it as “a trap sprung on him” and they also criticised CSA for making submissions that were inconsistent with the facts.

The arbitrators did have sympathy for Tsolekile, describing his non-selection as “unfair” and his subsequent involvement in a matchfixing scandal as only “exacerbating the tragedy” of his story of adversity.

A South African may not have won a Major title since Ernie Els triumphed at the Open in 2012, but any suggestion our golf is going to the dogs has been refuted by the superb displays of our golfers around the world over the weekend.

Between them, South Africa’s four top performing golfers over the weekend – Louis Oosthuizen, Garrick Higgo, Ashleigh Buhai and Els himself – took home nearly R23 million in prizemoney. And that excludes the cash raked in by the top-five finishes of both George Coetzee and Retief Goosen.

The Major event of the weekend was the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club outside New York and the powerful Bryson de Chambeau unleashed his dogs of war in the final round, in which he was the only golfer to shoot under-par, to win by a massive six strokes.

Oosthuizen, who was four off the pace at the start of the round, was soon out of real contention for the title as De Chambeau began dismembering the course on his way to a 67, and his challenge ran out of steam with a three-over 73 on the final day. Nevertheless it was good enough for the 2010 Open champion to finish alone in third, two behind second-placed Matthew Wolff.

Oosthuizen took home more than R14.2 million for his efforts and he now has six top-three finishes in the Majors, including being runner-up at least once in all of them.

The PGA Tour Champions is a lucrative way for professional golfers who have turned 50 and qualified for the seniors tour to bulk up their medical aid and Els took home more than R2.6 million at the weekend when he finished third in the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.

Unfortunately Els, who was the leader going into the final round, suffered another of his putting breakdowns as he missed a two-foot putt for par on the last that would have secured him a place in the playoff with eventual winner Jim Furyk and Jerry Kelly.

Goosen finished in fourth place, two shots adrift of Els.

Buhai (nee’ Simon) did get into a playoff in her event on the LPGA Tour, shooting a brilliant seven-under-par 65 in the final round to join Major winner Georgia Hall in the showdown for the Cambria Portland Classic title at Columbia Edgewater.

Unfortunately, Buhai’s putter, which had come to her aid numerous times earlier in the day, let her down on the second extra hole as she missed a par putt to deny her her maiden LPGA title.

The good news though for the three-time SA Open winner is that she has earned herself a place in the U.S. Open in December and she won nearly R2.7 million.

There was at least one South African winner at the weekend though and that was young rising star Garrick Higgo, who claimed his maiden European Tour title by winning the Portugal Open at Royal Obidos. In just his seventh start on the tour, a marvellous seven-under-par 65 drove the 21-year-old left-hander to the victory, Higgo beating Spaniard Pep Angles by one stroke.

Higgo was superb with the Driver all weekend, and he did not make a bogey in his last 26 holes, dropping just three shots all tournament.

While Higgo took home a little more than R3 million for his life-changing win, Coetzee continued to capitalise on his fine form by finishing in a tie for third, four shots back.

Retief Goosen decided in 2012 that he didn’t care if he never played golf again.

It was a decision based not on any hatred for the game, but on the debilitating back injury that left him in constant pain due to a disintegrating disc in his lower back.

One of South Africa’s finest golfers and a two-time U.S. Open champion, Goosen went under the knife in August 2012, unsure if his stellar career was over.

This week Goosen was holding his own against the best golfers on the European Tour, flirting with the top-20, in the prestigious Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, the penultimate event for the Race to Dubai order of merit. It is the first time he has played Africa’s Major since 2010, having won the event in 2004, and it is thanks to a sponsor’s invitation.

“Obviously it’s a great feeling to be back here, especially as a past champion, Sun City is one of my favourite golf courses in the world and they’ve taken this tournament to a different level.

“It’s an added bonus just to be here because I’m nowhere in the rankings, and when I got the call it was a big ‘Yes!’. Hopefully I can find some form, you never know, when you come back to somewhere you like, you tend to find some form.

“My health is very good though, the back is as good as it’s ever been. I wish I’d had the surgery much earlier. Having no pain is a major plus and everything about the back is better since the operation. I’m able to sleep again without any pain. At one stage I didn’t care if I never played golf again as long as I could get rid of the pain, I would have done anything to stop the constant pain,” Goosen said this week.

”It was impossible to go through 18 holes without getting spasms in the back and struggling to hit some shots on certain lies. At that stage, I pretty much felt like my career was over.”

Even though the titanium disc inserted in his back – he was the first professional golfer to undergo the procedure – has made him feel 10 years younger, Goosen says golf is now more of a pastime than a career for him.

“I’ve made my living so now I’m going to try and live life. Spend more time with Tracy and the kids (Leo and Ella), enjoy the things that I had to pass on before. Golf is definitely not the number one priority in my life anymore. My 48^th birthday is coming up in February and, although it was initially not easy cutting back, I’m now enjoying the few tournaments I do play, I’m not fighting myself so much.

“I’ve cut back my schedule, I’m definitely not playing 30 events a year. This year I’ll only play 16-18 tournaments and something similar next year. In a couple of years I’ll qualify for the Senior Tour and then who knows?” Goosen said.

The Polokwane product also owns a wine farm and a course-design business, as well as running a charitable foundation.

His wine estate, Ganzekraal, is the only wine farm in the Upper Langkloof district, located high in the Outeniqua mountain range, and is currently regarded as the coldest wine farm in the country. It is close to the coast and the cold sea breezes blow over the mountains and through the vineyards. The cold climate gives the grapes and his range of Goose wines unique characteristics.

The laconic Goosen is famous for his unflappable demeanour and, during his prime as one of the best golfers in the world in the early 2000s, he was much admired for the way he treated those twin imposters of success and failure with the same equanimity.

He has not won on the European Tour since 2007 and is winless in America since 2009, his world ranking having dropped to 189.

But Goosen remains a much-respected and admired golfer and his place in the record books as one of South Africa’s greatest is secure. He remains a drawcard and golf would be the poorer without him.

http://citizen.co.za/sport/sport-golf/1343430/goose-spreading-his-wings/