Ken Borland

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen admitted after another chastening defeat against the Sharks at the weekend that the franchise is going to have to get some reinforcements to ensure they are competitive in the United Rugby Championship that is set to start next month.

The Lions bowed out of the Currie Cup at Ellis Park with a dismal 14-56 hiding at the hands of the Sharks, which has condemned them to last place on the log. Having won just two of the nine matches they took the field for, concerns have been expressed over whether the Lions are going to be slaughtered by the even tougher European sides.

“The most logical thing will be to pull players from elsewhere and there are discussions about that going on. There is an opportunity for the company to get some additional hands in the squad. We are understaffed so we have to do it and there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes,” Van Rooyen said.

It is, however, looking likely that Van Rooyen will no longer be at the helm of the side for the URC with the Lions administration openly talking about “restructuring”. Van Rooyen’s contract, and that of his assistant coaches, ends in October and last place in the Currie Cup is not a good look for someone trying to get a renewal.

While there has been speculation that CEO Rudolf Straeuli, a former Springbok coach, will take over the coaching reins, weekend reports suggested that former Springboks Victor Matfield and Jaque Fourie, a Lions legend, are also being looked at as potential replacement coaches.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber was pleased to report after their second Rugby Championship match against Argentina that their injury problems at loose forward are easing, but he has fresh worries over the scrumhalf position, which was already in crisis before the 29-10 win at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The Springboks were in complete control of proceedings for three-quarters of the game, but things began to go awry towards the end when they were forced to play with 14 men when replacement scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse suffered an unfortunate leg injury in a tackle.

The 21-year-old Hendrikse was himself brought into the squad due to injuries to Faf de Klerk and Herschel Jantjies, and Nienaber admitted he was probably going to have to call up another scrumhalf. Sanele Nohamba, also a Sharks player, is potentially in line for a recall having been part of the squad for the British and Irish Lions series and playing for SA A.

“I spoke quickly with the doctor and he said Jaden had everything of his weight on the leg so it might not be a ligament injury, it might actually be bone. It takes us four weeks to get a player abroad – counting backwards, we would like that player to have one week of training, there’s two weeks of quarantine before that and they also have to go through the protocol of multiple tests before that at home.

“It’s why we need a minimum of four scrumhalves. The severity of Jaden’s injury will be the big thing, but I think he’s in trouble. We had four scrumhalves but only two were standing in the build-up to this game. At least Faf de Klerk is running well again. And fortunately I think three out of four of our injured flanks should be right to play our next game,” Nienaber said.

Duane Vermeulen is taking contact again in training, Jean-Luc du Preez has recovered from his medial ligament strain and Rynhardt Elstadt is almost back to full fitness, according to the coach.

As if injuries were not complicating their planning enough, the Springboks, who were meant to fly to Australia on Sunday, don’t even know who they are playing next in the Rugby Championship or where, after New Zealand’s amazingly late decision not to play in Perth this coming weekend or host their scheduled matches against South Africa after that.

Nienaber said hosting the rest of the tournament on the Highveld would be ideal for the Springboks, but they have become used to changes being sprung on them at the last moment.

“Things change rapidly with Covid so we have five plans loaded. We will be staying in Gqeberha until Tuesday/Wednesday, by then we will hopefully know if we’re staying in South Africa. If we have to travel, there are different plans for Brisbane, France, the UK or America. We have to be adaptable but I honestly don’t know where we will be going.

“We would love to host the rest of the competition, South Africa showed we can do it in the Lions series, which is the next biggest thing in the Southern Hemisphere after the World Cup. Everything is lined up and ready and I wold prefer to play in Gauteng at altitude. That would be nice for us,” Nienaber said.

The Lions’ adventure in the 2021 Currie Cup is almost certainly going to come to an end at the weekend after they were beaten 35-13 by Western Province at Newlands on Wednesday night.

The defeat leaves the Lions last in the log, four points off fourth place and with just one match remaining, against the second-placed Sharks. The teams above them on the log all have two games left to play.

Wet and blustery conditions in Cape Town made it difficult for either side to play with too much ambition, but both teams were guilty of several lapses on concentration that led to unforced errors.

Western Province led 16-13 at halftime and then played with the wind at their backs in the second half, but as befits a side struggling to make the semi-finals, they were never able to stamp control on the game, due to soft mistakes, especially when it came to receiving the restarts.

Wide-ranging eighthman Evan Roos scored two tries in the second half to settle the outcome in favour of Western Province.

Nelspruit was the place to be for adventurous rugby on Wednesday as the Bulls saw off the Pumas 33-26 in a thrilling game.

It was transparent in the first quarter that the Pumas were going to put up stiff resistance against the defending champons as they played with attacking ambition and tore into the breakdowns, leading 10-0 after the first quarter.

The Bulls fought back to 14-16 at halftime, but it almost seemed like it was not going to be their day as they started the second half hard on attack, only for wing Stravino Jacobs to let the ball slip through his hands with a one-on-one seven metres from the Pumas line, allowing opposite number Sebastian de Klerk to sprint away for a 90-metre try. The 14-point swing saw the Pumas leading 23-14.

The Pumas were strong on passion, efficiency and positivity, but they were as thin as chiffon in the set-pieces and that is what ultimately cost them the game. Outstanding Bulls tighthead Mornay Smith earned penalties at the scrum that relieved the pressure for the Bulls and led to a penalty try in the 66^th minute to level the scores at 26-26. He also won the turnover that led to substitute hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ rolling maul try six minutes earlier, and Smith then scored the matchwinning try with eight minutes remaining.

The Bulls also won some crucial lineouts against the throw, mostly through Janko Swanepoel.

*In Bloemfontein, the Free State Cheetahs ensured they are still hanging on tenaciously to some hope of making the semifinals as they came from 32-19 down heading into the final quarter to beat Griquas 33-32 with a crucial bonus point.

Prop Conraad van Vuuren, toeing ahead a loose ball and diving on it, and flank Junior Pokomela scored the crucial last two tries for the Cheetahs, with Ruan Pienaar, who shifted to flyhalf, kicking two clutch conversions for the win.

The move to Cape Town Stadium from one of the most famous homes of rugby in Newlands has come under fresh scrutiny after the turf broke up often during scrum time, not helping the Springboks according to prop Steven Kitshoff, in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions.

Cape Town Stadium was originally built for soccer and the turf did not stand up to the rigours of international scrummaging at the weekend. The Springboks, using two quality front rows, were expecting to gain some dominance in the scrums, providing them with an important attacking platform, but they struggled to get the purchase required.

The second and third Tests are both being played at the same venue, having been moved from Johannesburg due to Covid, and it seems highly unlikely that any more changes to the schedule will be made.

“The field cut up a lot and it was difficult to plant and use your feet. The grass just gives way and it becomes very slippery. There are things we can work on to prevent that – everyone having all eight studs in the ground helps a lot. The referee also called ‘Use it!’ at the scrums quite quickly, probably because he doesn’t want re-sets.

“Our scrum was rock-solid and we were starting to feel the cracks coming in the opposition, so we have to try and get our momentum a bit quicker. We have to find solutions to these problems quickly so we can take control as a group of forwards. In the second half we struggled to get our scrum going and that allowed the Lions to use their kicking game to put us under pressure,” loosehead prop Kitshoff said on Monday.

While there have been some bombastic predictions that the Springboks are now heading for a series whitewash, Kitshoff spoke of the quiet determination within the team to repeat what they did at the World Cup: Having been beaten by the All Blacks in the opening game, South Africa did not lose again as they went on to win the title.

“It’s a similar feeling to after that World Cup loss. We only lost by five points, some things just did not go our way and we struggled very badly in certain areas. But there is still a good vibe in the camp and we are very positive, although very disappointed in the result. We know how to fight back and get off the ground for the second game. We’re excited for a big game of rugby.

“The Lions did really well to take away some of our strong points, but as country we always fight back and come back stronger. We are putting a lot of work into our set-piece, we want to get that go-forward and our team on the front foot. Everybody put their bodies on the line, we all tried really hard to get over the gainline and give the team momentum. But there are some tactical and technical things for us to master,” Kitshoff said.