Ken Borland

As three South African sides chase playoff spots in the last three rounds of United Rugby Championship round-robin action, one of the northern hemisphere’s star enforcers of the previous decade has said the high intensity of their play rather than a push to play expansive rugby is what will bring success for the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls.

Jim Hamilton is currently a pundit for Premier Sports but he played 63 Tests for Scotland and was a second-row star for teams like Leicester, Gloucester and Saracens. And he is a big fan of South African rugby.

“I always say for any team, if you’re struggling to get go-forward, go and get some South Africans,” Hamilton said in a URC media briefing on Monday. “South Africans are taking over as the best players in the world.

“I’ve been surprised by how much rugby the South African teams have played: they go wide from their own half, or straight from a scrum. But the European teams are still leading the charge in terms of the stats for tries scored, carries and defenders beaten. So why don’t they just play ball-in-hand against the South Africans?

“Well it’s hard to play in those conditions, they definitely have an effect, altitude hits you like a brick wall. I saw guys who were absolutely bollocked with the hands on their knees.

“But the game now is so driven by percentages and when the South African teams come over to Europe and decide not to play how they do in the Currie Cup but more like their national team, focusing more on territory and playing in the right areas, then they will become incredibly dangerous,” Hamilton said.

The former Scotland stalwart admitted to being frustrated by the poor start the South African teams made to the URC, but now that they have been back on home turf, they have been rampant

“South African players are the whole package – robust, the humility they bring, and they are hard; everything around them is just rugby. If I was a coach, I would go look there for players. It’s unquestionable that every single one of them in Europe has been a roaring success.

“But the South African teams were a bit of a disappointment at the start. We all said how positive their inclusion was, but then it was not how we thought it would be. But a lot of it had to do with the changes brought by Covid.

“They definitely struggled around the referees over here and their interpretations, it felt like they were playing for the sake of playing. I don’t think they got a fair shot then and it was always going to take a while for them to bed in to the competition.

“But now their results are speaking for themselves, now that they are fully loaded and taking the tournament seriously. Don’t just judge them on this year, but now we’ve seen the URC works,” Hamilton said.

Lungi Ngidi returned to international action for the first time since July on Sunday, and the facts are that even though he struggled initially, he still ended up taking all three wickets to fall on an opening day of toil for the Proteas against India at Centurion.

India, led by Lokesh Rahul’s determined 122 not out, scored 272/3 on the opening day of the series. But from South Africa’s perspective, Ngidi’s return of 3/45 in 17 overs was a big positive considering the worries over his fitness leading into the series.

While the 25-year-old was adamant that he is physically fine, he admitted to initially struggling with his rhythm, before a change of ends helped him considerably. Ngidi took the new ball from the Hennops River End and looked rusty, as did most of the bowlers as openers Rahul and Mayank Agarwal (60) put on 117 for the first wicket.

Ngidi then removed both Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara (0) with successive deliveries midway through the second session, both falling to deliveries that snaked back into them.

“Physically I’m good, it’s not as if I’ve been sitting around vegetating, there’s been lots of training and game simulations,” Ngidi said on Sunday. “But I got more rhythm, I was more comfortable and my action felt better from the West Lane End.

“I asked at lunch if I could switch ends because at first I struggled to find my right length and areas. I just felt more comfortable from the other end.

“They were wobble-seam balls, you can’t be sure which way they will seam, but more often than not they come into the batsman. I was trying to create a bit of doubt, attack the stumps and pads more.

“They were leaving well and we expected more swing, so when the pitch is not doing as much as you expected, then you have to change plans,” Ngidi explained.

Ngidi also picked up the huge scalp of Virat Kohli, having him caught at first slip for 35, just when he was starting to show all his class. Again, the Proteas and their fans can raise a glass to Ngidi’s willingness to try something different. Kohli and Rahul were in command, having added 82 for the third wicket, when Ngidi surprised the Indian captain with a full and wide away-swinger.

“That ball gives you a chance, sometimes you have to take a gamble. In 2018 at the Wanderers I got him out with a similar delivery.

“He’s really good off his legs and through the covers, but I gave him something he maybe didn’t expect. It would have looked like a free ball to hit, but there was a bit of nibble.

“It was a roll of the dice and it went my way,” Ngidi beamed.

Poor weather meant only one match was possible on the final day of Pool B action in the CSA Provincial T20 Cup in Bloemfontein on Thursday and it was the game that decided whether it would be the Northerns Titans or the KZN Inland Tuskers who joined the Free State Knights in going through to the quarterfinals.

The Titans were again indebted to Donovan Ferreira for turning an iffy total into something matchwinning as the 23-year-old lashed 43 not out off 24 balls to lift them to 157-7.

The 21-year-old Jandre Pretorius, standing in for injured captain Dean Elgar, opened the batting and scored 40 off 39 balls to allow a solid start.

KZN Inland were then restricted to 133 for seven, with Okuhle Cele (4-0-24-2) and Aaron Phangiso (4-0-19-1) again the stars with the ball after their heroics at the death kept the Titans in the competition on the second day as they defended 70 in seven overs against Mpumalanga.

Corbin Bosch (4-0-25-0) was also very tidy.

The Titans’ composure in the closing overs of both their games against KZN Inland and the Mpumalanga Rhinos made all the difference for them.

Mpumalanga had their game against the unbeaten Free State Knights on Thursday afternoon washed out without a ball being bowled, leaving the Knights and Titans to advance from Pool B.

The Bulls like to market themselves as being one of the most physical outfits around and, having been thoroughly outplayed by a pacy, skilful Leinster team on the opening weekend of United Rugby Championship action, flank Arno Botha expects them to be able to throw their weight around a bit more against Connacht on Friday night.
Playing in perfect conditions for running rugby, Leinster barely allowed physicality to come into it with their high-paced game and efficiency at the breakdown, but a change in the Irish weather this weekend might also slow the game down for the Bulls.
“There were perfect conditions against Leinster, sunny with no wind, but it’s going to be totally different against Connacht, which they say is like Kimberley.

“But I think it’s going to rain, so it will be cold and wet. They bring a physical battle and they never stop, their whole mindset is just to go and go.
“They beat Munster there and it’s definitely going to be a physical and interesting battle for us. We need to be more clinical, it’s not so much physicality that let us down.

“It’s just about getting more comfortable in a different environment, there are things we need to adapt to, and sometimes just one or two mistakes mean you lose the game,” Botha, who played for Munster before returning to the Bulls, said on Monday.
Botha said that, as the tourists, they need to find a way to take Connacht out of their comfort zone.
“It’s obviously more pressurised rugby and we have to go back to grinding it out again so we can take them from their comfort zone to an uncomfortable place.

“Leinster were quick and they caught us a bit because we went in not being too sure what to expect. But it’s not a trainsmash, it’s still a learning curve for us and we will make the step up.
“I don’t think there’s a big gap between us and the Irish, sometimes things just happen in a game. We made two mistakes and we were behind our poles. There was no panic though, but there were little defining moments that we got wrong and we must learn from,” Botha said.