Ken Borland

Last weekend’s South African Conference SuperRugby matches just showed that the old adage of your tight five forwards winning you games remains as true as ever. For all the work we want them to do around the field these days, the set-pieces remain what teams build on.

It seems a player in the tight five’s mindset just goes if they are going backwards and are under pressure in the set-pieces and the difference between the Stormers and the Bulls in Cape Town was basically the scrums, and it was that same scrum that won Western Province the Currie Cup final last year.

Wilco Louw played his rugby as a junior at the Bulls – how and why did they let him go?! – and he is a monster who just does not get shifted at tighthead. He is certainly number one in that position in South Africa at the moment.

To have 30 000 people in at Newlands for the derby was a real positive and the Stormers were supercharged. You could just see the emotion of Robbie Fleck in the coaches’ box, he obviously knew the importance of the game, and the way a team plays is a reflection of their coaching and the Stormers were protecting a very proud recent record against the Bulls at Newlands, having won every game between them there for the last seven years.

The pressure won’t go away for the Stormers with that impressive win, but they have given themselves a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. It will now be about replicating that performance for the rest of the competition.

You have to give credit to the Stormers for the way they played, but they need a performance like that every week now. They will be a bit disappointed not to get the bonus point, they needed that because there’s not much difference between the teams on the log. Bonus points will more than likely settle matters, they are always so vital in the middle of the table, they make all the difference.

The Bulls did really well to stick in the contest, but the game hinged when the Stormers got the kickoff back straight after the Bulls went ahead 17-12 early in the second half, and scored a try to go back into the lead.

The Bulls will take away from the game that they managed to get back into contention having really been through the mincer in the first 15 minutes.

We also need to celebrate the Sharks doing so well against the New Zealand teams and they have scored an amazing number of tries against them – six against the Blues, four versus the Hurricanes and now five against the Highlanders – so they are clearly playing really good rugby. Maybe they have discovered the secret of how to play against the Kiwis, and they are certainly outscoring them, so credit to the Sharks.

Their approach has brought them reward and now they just need to look for consistency.

Some of the Sharks tries have been absolutely superb in terms of passing and clever box-kicks and to see a lock in Ruan Botha claiming the ball as the first chaser, leading to their first try against the Highlanders in the opening minute was amazing. They also scored a great try with the bridge pass over the top and another through a sublime grubber from Robert du Preez, which are all the ways to expose the wing.

The three Du Preez brothers certainly make a massive difference to the Sharks team, with the two loose forwards monstering the gain-line and Robert really controlling the game at flyhalf. It’s great to see in terms of the Springboks with Handre Pollard also playing well too, both Handre and Robert are big flyhalves who really defend their channels.

The Lions are almost indestructible on the Highveld and in South Africa in general, they’re bulletproof playing in South Africa having not lost to another local franchise in three years, but they really need to get something out of their game against the Highlanders in Dunedin this weekend. If they do then maybe they can still get a home semi-final because the Australian teams are so far behind. The Lions will be confident they can beat anyone on the Highveld and nobody will want to travel to altitude to play them, then a final away from home can always be 50/50.

The Jaguares have really improved and are in quarterfinal contention, they have a lot of home games coming up after their amazing run of winning four games on the bounce away from home. They seem to have returned to the traditional Argentinian values of a good scrum and maul.

For the Lions, Ruan Combrinck did not have the greatest game in defence, he went way too high twice and was too easily brushed off, which really cost them, and the Lions’ defence was too narrow and the Hurricanes were able to score a try by going around them inside the 22. They need better spacing there.

The Lions have kept themselves in the race to win the Conference though and they could well be in Johannesburg for the playoffs. If they are to be at home in the knockout rounds then they have to ensure that they are more accurate in the set-pieces; they lost a lineout which led directly to the Hurricanes getting seven points.

For the Wellingtonians, Ben Lam is certainly on fire … and New Zealand have just uncovered another top-class winger!

The Springbok pack is showing great potential too.

If Steven Kitshoff, Beast Mtawarira, Wilco Louw and Trevor Nyakane can replicate their performances in SuperRugby, along with the hookers we have in Adriaan Strauss, who had a huge weight on his shoulders in 2016 and is now playing with freedom, Malcolm Marx and Bismarck du Plessis, then South Africa will have a heck of a front row.

When you add in locks Lood de Jager, RG Snyman, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Franco Mostert, and Eben Etzebeth when he is fit, then we have the makings of a really good Springbok tight five. They tick all the set-piece boxes and that is still the basis of all rugby, never mind Test rugby, for all the skills people are dazzled by.

Plus I’m sure Rassie Erasmus will want to get Vincent Koch in the mix, but will he play in June at the end of a long season in England? Maybe it would be better to give him some time off before the Rugby Championship. Heyneke Meyer had a theory that it was better to play the SuperRugby guys in June and the overseas players at the end of the year, because playing all-year-round rugby is very tough.

In terms of the back row, a combination of Duane Vermeulen, Francois Louw and Jean-Luc du Preez looks really good, and then you put Siya Kolisi in the mix as well. He was superb last June – forcing turnovers, being busy around the field, chasing down kicks and making strong carries.Congratulations to him on captaining the Stormers so well in his 100th game at his beloved Newlands.

John McFarland is the assistant coach of the Kubota Spears in Japan and was the Springbok defence coach from 2012 through to the 2015 World Cup, where they conceded the least line-breaks in the tournament and an average of just one try per game. Before that, McFarland won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 09, 10) with the Bulls and five Currie Cup crowns with the Blue Bulls. In all, he won 28 trophies during his 12 years at Loftus Versfeld.

So the biggest question to come out of last weekend’s SuperRugby action was where has that Sharks team that put in two massive consecutive performances in New Zealand been hiding all season?!

The Sharks really put in a huge display in Napier and the Hurricanes were very lucky to win; the referee made some poor decisions at the back end of the game and that didn’t help the Sharks either. But Robert du Preez’s team were really in a position to win their second massive game in a row.

To see a New Zealand side struggle to cope with the pace and power of Jean-Luc du Preez and Andre Esterhuizen, especially the ease with which he went straight through from the lineout, was incredible. The Sharks would have won but for a late hit and a missed lineout that led to seven points down the other end, so that was obviously disappointing for them.

The Sharks had shown glimpses of this sort of form before, but probably not early enough in the season, so they are still 11 points off the pace in their group. Questions have to be asked as to why only now have they started to really play?

Maybe they’re more match-fit now, halfway through the competition, but the big thing is that their set-pieces are starting to function better. They’re getting good, clean lineout ball and are disrupting the opposition’s ball too, while Thomas du Toit is starting to settle at tighthead prop and that experiment is starting to not look so crazy. He’s getting his shoulders and the scrum has been stable enough to launch Esterhuizen, and the platform it provided for the Louis Schreuder try would have been really pleasing.

There are a lot of positives for the Sharks at the moment, but some of their first-phase defence and the way the wings defend needs to be better. Lukhanyo Am made one really poor decision at a lineout, he needed to be moving in instead of going out, and that provided the hole for a try.

But it’s going to be a big game this weekend in Durban because whoever loses between the Sharks and the Bulls will have a hard way back to get into a playoff spot. It’s going to be a massive derby.

But as I said, there are a lot of positives for the Sharks to take into the game – their willingness to offload in the wide channels, their ball-carriers going hard and an astute kicking game by Schreuder at scrumhalf. But they still need to tighten their defence – they’ve conceded 10 tries in two games.

As for their performances over the last night fortnight providing a blueprint for how to beat New Zealand, one thing is certain and that is that historically it takes a miracle to score more than five tries against the All Blacks. So you can’t be conceding five tries per game. It is pleasing that the Sharks are scoring so many points, but they need to concede less.

The Bulls had a great win against the Stormers two weeks ago and should be refreshed after their bye round. Handre Pollard had a really good game with the boot and exposed the positional play of the back three of the Stormers and he will be hoping to do the same this weekend. What was also impressive was the two tries they scored with their driving maul but the main thing for them will be to defend well in Durban because the Sharks are definitely scoring tries. They will have to contain the power running of Esterhuizen, Jean-Luc du Preez and Am. I’ve also been impressed by Robert du Preez’s ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over with his excellent goalkicking.

So the Bulls will have to be at their best defensively and very good in terms of discipline. The penalty count will need to be less than 10 so they will have to make very good decisions at the breakdown and strive for set-piece excellence.

The Lions, after their setbacks of the last few weeks, came out full of intent against the Stormers and Madosh Tambwe was outstanding.

For his first try, from the chip, Damian Willemse’s kick was from too deep. With his footwork, he needs to be flat and bringing runners into the game, and that chip needed to be behind the centres. It was just in the wrong spot and he doesn’t yet have the tactical boot and appreciation for space.

So that try had the Stormers under pressure from practically the first minute and then the ability of Elton Jantjies to pick up Tambwe on the kick into space and the wing himself showing he can also go into the hard channels led to his other two tries for an astonishing hat-trick in 13 minutes.

The Lions certainly seem to have a pool of wings now, with Ruan Combrinck back and Aphiwe Dyantyi close to returning, plus Courtnall Skosan on the sidelines, they have four really quality players. Four years ago, our wing stocks were really low in South Africa, but now we have those four plus Sbu Nkosi of the Sharks and Travis Ismaiel of the Bulls.

However, a lot of the defensive decisions of South African wingers this year have been poor. Yes, you have to put pressure on but you also have to make the tackles! Springbok defence coach Jacques Nienaber will have a different approach to guys like John Mitchell and Paul Feeney, who are using a rush defence at the Bulls and Stormers respectively. They want their wings to get in amongst the opposition, but that leaves you open to the bridge-pass and the kick-pass because they get disconnected from their centres. Jacques in the past wanted his wings behind the centres, to shadow the opposition and force them towards the touchline.

We are seeing so much of the kick-pass to the wide channels these days and wings have so much on their plate defensively, not to mention the big guys with serious gas and stepping ability they have to contend with as well.

The Springbok alignment camps are on the go and obviously the guys don’t train at those, but it’s a good chance for the national coaching staff to impart their philosophies. They will reveal the calling system and defensive lingo to be used, basically it’s a chance for them to give the players their messages for the year. It involves a heck of a lot of study because it’s all about how the Springboks will play this year.

There’s certainly some exciting talent available for Rassie Erasmus, and how his predecessor, Alistair Coetzee, would have loved to have seen the 30-cap overseas player rule relaxed. Why was this policy in place for two years and now it’s suddenly lifted?

It’s probably been changed for the likes of Faf de Klerk and Vincent Koch, they are the two players affected who really spring to mind.

Faf has been playing quite well for Sale, and has also been goalkicking, plus he’s proven at Test level. With Ross Cronje not invited to the alignment camps, I also rate Schreuder very highly at scrumhalf, he definitely has the skill-set to play at that level – he has a good kicking game, he’s a good organiser and he has the ability to finish, he’s no slouch with ball in hand.

Koch is being looked at because obviously South Africa’s tighthead stocks are a bit low. The Springboks have Wilco Louw and Ruan Dreyer, but you always need three guys in the crucial positions and there will always be five props in the Springbok squad.

England have some big guys up front and I’m sure Koch has had many training sessions against Mako Vunipola at Saracens, so he would be a good pick for the Springboks in terms of inside knowledge.

John McFarland is the assistant coach of the Kubota Spears in Japan and was the Springbok defence coach from 2012 through to the 2015 World Cup, where they conceded the least line-breaks in the tournament and an average of just one try per game. Before that, McFarland won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 09, 10) with the Bulls and five Currie Cup crowns with the Blue Bulls. In all, he won 28 trophies during his 12 years at Loftus Versfeld.

That there is enormous cricketing potential in this country is generally accepted, but due to a variety of reasons, it is tough for Cricket South Africa (CSA) to ensure all our communities get decent opportunities to play the game.

CSA’s development programmes are one thing, but what happens next? How do those talented young cricketers in the outlying areas then get to play enough decent matches, how are they transported to matches, what facilities do they have with which to hone their game? Are they given the love of cricket and then just left to their own devices?

CSA identified these problems and came up with the idea of hubs and regional performance centres (RPCs).

The RPCs have been a heck of a success in ensuring it is no longer the case that talented young cricketers from disadvantaged areas are lost to the system due to socio-economic circumstances. And, in tremendous news for South African cricket, it has been announced on Thursday that Standard Bank, the headline sponsors of the Proteas, will no longer be focused on just the pinnacle of the pipeline, but are now making a major contribution at grassroots level with their sponsorship of the RPC programme.

The implementation of the RPC programme means CSA are now making great headway in terms of building relationships with communities and local municipalities. And now this progress will be accelerated thanks to the support of Standard Bank, who have added this vital development initiative to their naming rights sponsorship of the national team.

“Standard Bank has been a key supporter and sponsor of the Proteas for many years and by sponsoring the RPCs we hope to develop the immense cricketing talent we have in our country.

Budding young cricketers in many outlying areas are still in desperate need of facilities and coaching, and this RPC in Soweto will assist in helping these players fulfil their true potential and turn their dreams into reality,” Vuyo Masinda from Standard Bank said at the launch of the new deal at the Dobsonville RPC in Soweto on Thursday.

There are RPCs in all nine provinces, with each having several hubs in their stable acting as feeders. Having a centralised venue dedicated to nurturing the disadvantaged talent in the vicinity allows CSA to pour resources into it, ensuring there is adequate infrastructure with which to develop quality cricketers.

Girls and women’s cricket is also included in this programme.

The quality of coaching is also of the greatest importance and each RPC must have a head coach who is Level III certified and an assistant coach who is Level II certified. The Hubs must have a head coach who is Level II certified and an assistant coach who is Level I certified.

The feeder system for the Hubs starts with the KFC Mini-Cricket programme and, thanks to the Momentum Friendship Games, the Hubs and RPCs get to play against the leading schools in their area.

Some of the franchise players who will be acting as mentors for the programme include Omphile Ramela, Malusi Siboto, Khaya Zondo, Mangaliso Mosehle and Temba Bavuma.

The only positive to come out of the T20 Global League fiasco right now is that all the best players in South Africa will be available for the domestic T20 competition that will fill the gap created by the collapse of the ambitious but overhyped get-rich-quick scheme.

The CSA T20 Challenge was going to be played from mid-March, in the middle of the Test series against Australia, and would have ended in mid-April, by which time everyone would probably have been exhausted by cricket anyway after what was going to be the most hectic summer in South African history. The tour by India was going to be sandwiched in between the T20 Global League and the arrival of the Aussies.

But now the domestic T20 will actually have a decent window and the participation of the Proteas, so that is at least some good that has come out of the crater-sized hole that has been left in our cricket, both in terms of the calendar and financial resources.

Given the magnitude of the crisis – it has the potential to dwarf the Gerald Majola bonus scandal – it is only right and proper that Cricket South Africa shares with all their stakeholders – the public, the players and sponsors – just how they managed to get this so wrong.

The South African Cricketers’ Association’s call for an independent review to be set up is exactly right, but after the machinations of the board during the bonus scandal (there were a couple of reviews that were disgracefully lacking in integrity), I have some doubts over CSA’s ability to put all their cards on the table so their stakeholders can get to the bottom of exactly what went wrong.

It is obvious that the CSA board once again, as in Majola’s case, allowed their CEO far too much latitude to just operate on his own, doing what he liked without proper oversight. Another CEO told me that Haroon Lorgat’s sidelining of the chief financial officer from the biggest financial project the organisation has ever undertaken should have set off obvious alarm bells for the board.

The lack of timely action taken by the board (at least they did something before the bleeding became terminal) raises questions over the culpability of their own members in this disaster and that is something that should be within the scope of an independent review.

A more pressing issue is compensation for the players. While CSA are now so financially squeezed that they are like a lemon at a seafood festival, they are going to have to make payouts to the 144 players who were set to play in the T20 Global League.

Many of those had signed on for juicy contracts and have made financial commitments that are now in tatters; many gave up on other opportunities, some of them even at international level. Think of the players who qualified to be rookies this year, but by next year will be 24 and too old.

“The total player loss is very significant and there are many sad stories out there,” SACA head Tony Irish said.

And let’s not forget the bad PR that will follow from many of the top international players who will be spreading news around the world of how disgruntled and let down they feel.

Lorgat used to boast about how CSA were the top sports federation in the country, but after his ignominious fall, they are in the same position they were in when they appointed the former International Cricket Council CEO – desperately trying to win back the confidence of the players and public.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-gauteng/20171014/282445644283171