Ken Borland

In terms of the national team, the lights will be turned off at Newlands for probably the last time after the Springbok Showdown on Saturday evening, which is what the game between the Green and Gold scratch teams will most likely be remembered for. Apart from getting some much-needed game time into the legs of the Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship, there could be thin pickings for Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber given the difficulties associated with getting a team to gel after one week together.

Still, there will be some fine talent on display and it will do nobody any harm to shine given the lack of rugby South Africa has suffered this year. For the established Springboks, Saturday will be about saying farewell to Newlands while for the young guns, they will be judged mostly on their character and how much they have picked up off the training field this week.

“Cape Town has always been one of my favourite venues, although it’s unfortunate that there won’t be a crowd, that changes the dynamic. But we all know the history of Newlands and it will be great playing there one more time, even though we know how greasy it can be if the weather is bad. It’s also going to be very nice playing with new people around you,” Springbok Gold captain Lukhanyo Am said on Friday.

“Lots of energy is what the new players bring and it’s been a big week for those youngsters selected for what is basically the Emerging Springboks. They have got to experience what it’s like at Test level in terms of preparation and the environment in camp. We’ve tried to share our knowledge as senior players, they have received a lot of information, we’ve really pushed the learning, clarity and detail and hopefully it will make them better players.”

Part of the education for the youngsters will be in how to deal with combining with players you have never played with before in just a week.

“It’s really exciting to be playing alongside a guy like Rikus Pretorius, who has a lot of energy. And coming up against Wandisile Simelane is going to be challenging because he is very exciting and because of his prowess on attack we will definitely be looking out for him. No-one’s going into the game for a loss, we’re all very competitive athletes.

“We have to play with what we have, but we have a couple of tricks up our sleeves and even though we’ve only had a week to gel, we should all be able to execute whatever plans we have. It’s really nice playing with new guys in a situation where there’s less pressure. But in common with the Sharks environment, here at the Springboks it’s all about taking ownership as players,” Am said.

After sensationally bursting on the scene last year, 2020 has undoubtedly been a year of great frustration for Herschel Jantjies, but the 24-year-old scrumhalf has decided whatever time he has in the Springbok camp over the next couple of months will be a time of investment in making him an even better player.

Jantjies began 2019 not even sure of his spot as the Stormers No.1 scrumhalf, but his Super Rugby campaign was so outstanding that he was chosen for the Springbok squad, practically out of nowhere. His rapid ascension continued when he scored two tries on his Test debut in the 35-17 win against Australia at Ellis Park, and he ended the year as a Rugby Championship and World Cup winner, back-up to Faf de Klerk and with a nomination for World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.

But then came 2020 and Jantjies’ woes started well before the Lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. His own form was as inconsistent as the Stormers’, and then he fractured his leg in their last game before Lockdown, against the Sharks in Durban. But the timing has been perfect for the Kylemore product and now that rugby has resumed, he is raring to go, as evidenced by his dynamic display last weekend against the Lions at Loftus Versfeld.

“It was actually a blessing in disguise having a fractured leg going into Lockdown. It meant I had the time to recover, it took six to seven weeks for the fracture to heal and then there was all the rehab and getting match fit. And now I’m really excited to be back and really looking forward to this week with the Springboks. In this week with the Gold squad, I’m just going to take in as much as I can because there’s a lot I can still improve on.

“It took quite a bit of time, but I was ready exactly when we planned – when we started full-on contact – and I just can’t wait to play some full-on rugby. In the meantime you’re never too old or too young to learn and I am still in the phase of my career when I am learning a lot. Then I just have to apply it to my game so I become a better player,” Jantjies said on Tuesday from Cape Town, where the Green and Gold squads are preparing for the Springbok Showdown at Newlands on Saturday.

Youngsters Damian Willemse and Curwin Bosch are the two flyhalves in the Gold squad and Herschel’s namesake but no relation, Elton Jantjies, is now the senior No.10 in the Springbok squad after Handre Pollard’s serious knee injury, and is intent on helping the less experienced wannabes along.

“It’s a big week for us because we want to get the alignment right between the old and new faces. It’s about being warriors, aligning with the group and having discipline. It’s really tough to lose Handre because he was starting to play really good, consistent rugby, and we helped each other. But if it’s my opportunity to fill that role then I’m definitely ready.

“In the meantime I just want to help the younger guys in the team to feel comfortable in the environment so that they can come out on Saturday and execute their skills. Until the Rugby Championship is confirmed, our main focus is on the Currie Cup/Super Rugby. But I’m sure we will be physically prepared and mentally as well,” Elton Jantjies said.

Coach Jake White said he wants to use the Bulls’ traditional strengths but play in a different way after his tenure in Pretoria began in superb fashion with a 49-28 win over the Sharks in their SuperFan Saturday match at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend.

The first half display was particularly impressive as the Bulls raced into a 35-0 lead in the first half-hour, blowing away the shellshocked Sharks with five tries. Only the first was from a driving maul and the Bulls backline dazzled as the likes of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks and Gio Aplon were able to use turnover ball with ruthless efficiency.

While the backline steppers and speedsters stole the show, it was up front, however, where the Bulls’ dominance began. Their scrum was a solid platform and their lineout provided good ball, while the brutal physical power of the pack repeatedly stopped the Sharks from gaining any momentum. The visitors’ ball was also slow from phase play thanks to the effective efforts of the Bulls at the breakdown.

“The scrum was fantastic and the driving maul was strong, the physical dominance was what we wanted. Those things are a massive part of the Bulls’ DNA and we wanted to go back to the things that we know – like Real Madrid or Barcelona, they play the same type of football from academy level. I can wax lyrical, but it was just a wonderful start as a team.

“So obviously I’m very happy with those things that are part of the DNA, but there were a lot of reasons to be happy. We started really physically and accurately, which is what we wanted. We’re trying to play in a different way and we showed good tempo and finished nicely. From a defensive point of view we didn’t allow the Sharks into our 22 for long periods,” White said after his winning start.

The highlight of the game was wing Arendse racing away to score from 80 metres out after the Sharks, hard on attack, had knocked-on in a rolling maul, and White, who had warned of their danger ahead of the match, was full of praise for the Sevens speedsters who tore the Sharks apart.

“It’s the first time that backline has played together and we saw what they can do with Kurt-Lee’s fantastic try. For a first hit-out I was very impressed there were so few mistakes and we kept the ball well. Coming from coaching in Japan, the whole game is about tempo and I was surprised how quickly the guys picked that up. Practically the whole backline comes from Sevens and even Duane Vermeulen [eighthman] played it in Nelspruit.

“It’s the first time I’ve worked with Cornal Hendricks and the fact that the ball went wide so often shows moving him to inside centre worked. He’s not just a basher, he made a couple of line-breaks and was excellent in defence too. It looked like he’s played there for years. I think all the Blitzbokke have such good basics and their coach Neil Powell has done an outstanding job with them,” White said.

George Coetzee is not the only man who considers Pretoria Country Club to be his own stamping ground as Tristen Strydom showed on Thursday in shooting a brilliant seven-under-par 65 to join the first-round leader at the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Titleist Championship.

Coetzee has won two Tshwane Opens at the Waterkloof course and enjoyed plenty of junior success here, but Thursday was a struggle for him as he posted a 70 to move to seven-under for the tournament heading into Friday’s final round.

But while the 34-year-old’s record at Pretoria Country Club is well-known, Strydom showed his own liking for the parklands course with a phenomenal round that included eight birdies and an eagle. The next best round was a 67 by Louis Albertse that saw him make the cut.

The 23-year-old Strydom is in just his second season on the Sunshine Tour and has won less than R60 000 in 19 events.

“Man I am just absolutely loving it! To be playing on my home course, and to be feeling really confident, obviously helps a lot. I actually live on the course and all the members are really helping me and want me to play well. Glendower and Killarney are like this as well, all tough courses, but I just didn’t feel as comfortable on them. My goal was to just be in contention, so now I will just try and do the same thing in the final round.

“I putted really nicely and a lot more putts went in today. The momentum got rolling really nicely and then the eagle on nine took me to six-under. I know where not to hit it on this course and I was really good off the tee. The most important thing in the final round is just to have fun and it’s all good vibes out there, we are all just so happy we got the opportunity to be playing again,” Strydom said after his best ever round on the Sunshine Tour.

Strydom took advantage of going off at 7.45am in the fourth threeball, but as the weather cleared and the temperature increased significantly, so the greens speeded up and became particularly tough to hold. Coetzee, a fine iron player, said it was heavy going.

“It was all a bit scruffy, I didn’t hit the ball as well as in the first round and my game was just not all there, I was just not on it today. The pins were tricky, a lot of them were crazy, and the greens are fast so you end up going for the middle of the green at best. You have to play away from the pins and if you don’t focus, big numbers come into play. We were all putting 30 feet for birdie instead of from five feet.

“So I hit a lot of greens but I just tried to make no mistakes, I was maybe a bit too conservative. But a bogey on the first hole made me. In the end I’m actually quite happy to shoot something under-par,” Coetzee said.

Hennie O’Kennedy, the rookie who shared the overnight lead with Coetzee, had an even tougher day and notched up one of those big numbers with a nine on the par-five fourth, on his way to an 83 that saw him miss the cut by two strokes.

Another rookie, Clayton Mansfield of Durban Country Club, has played particularly well with rounds of 68 and 72 to lie in third place, three behind the leaders. Former SA Boys champion Pieter Moolman, of Benoni Lakes, shot an excellent 68 on Thursday to move into fourth on three-under-par, while the exciting young Jayden Schaper and nine-time Sunshine Tour winner Jaco Ahlers are on two-under-par.