Ken Borland

While most of the attention around the Sharks has been focused on the lack of clinical finishing in their attack, the gaps in their defensive matrix are also a concern as they go into their vital United Rugby Championship match against the Dragons at Kings Park on Friday night.

As coach Sean Everitt has pointed out, while the Sharks were extremely wasteful of their opportunities in last weekend’s loss against Edinburgh, they also leaked three tries in sodden conditions, so it’s not as if their defence was faultless either. And the Dragons scored three tries against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld to show that they have the weaponry to hurt the home side if they lose their shape in defence.

“In the last week everyone obviously looks at the opportunities we created on attack and were not converted, but we also need to look at the tries we conceded,” Everitt said.

“We let in three tries, so that means we need to score four to win the game, but that’s very difficult in these conditions.

“There were small details we fell short on in terms of taking our opportunities, but it’s a massive issue that we conceded three soft tries that we could have handled normally,” Everitt said.

The Sharks coach seldom volunteers much comment on individual performances, but given the spotlight on Curwin Bosch, Everitt felt the need to set the record straight on his starting flyhalf.

“There’s been a lot of talk about Curwin and we need to be factual,” Everitt said. “His kicking has been really good until last week and his kicking stats are the best we have.

“Against Zebre Parma he controlled the game and attacked much better than he had before. In terms of game-management, he did really well against Edinburgh.

“He showed his class in tough conditions and we were able to win 65% territory. Plus no-one sees the leadership he puts in through the week, how he performs well in training,” Everitt said.

Victory against the Dragons is crucial for the eighth-placed Sharks because they host the in-form Lions in their next match, before closing the round-robin campaign with games against top sides in Leinster, Connacht and Ulster.

The Proteas are going to take a lot of confidence from their form in the last eight months, having won Test series against the West Indies and the No.1-ranked Indians, drawn with the reigning world Test champions in New Zealand, won 13 out of 16 T20 internationals and also hammered India 3-0 in an ODI series.

So there are definite signs of regrowth in a team that seems to have turned the corner under Mark Boucher and Dean Elgar.

In a month’s time they will be playing another Test series as they host Bangladesh in Durban and Gqeberha, and coach Boucher is keen to keep climbing the World Test Championship table, having already taken crucial points off the two finalists of the previous edition. The 12 points gained this week in Christchurch move South Africa into fourth place.

“It’s been a tough couple of months without a lot of time at home with our families and then there’s Bangladesh, which will be another tough series,” Boucher said.

“We are still very much in the World Test Championship and we will take confidence from this series in New Zealand and learn from our mistakes in the first Test. But it’s clear we are heading down the right road.”

Given the enormous resilience the team has shown in coming back from 1-0 down against both India and New Zealand, it was only fitting that Boucher should pay tribute to his captain Elgar for his leadership.

“Dean talks a lot but he follows it up with action,” Boucher said. “We knew we would be under pressure in the second game and we chatted about walking towards the challenge, not running away.

“We understood what was required in the second Test and there were a couple of brave calls like Dean winning the toss and batting first, and then batting the way he did. It’s not as if he was batting No.5.

“He’s the opening batsman and he fronted up and walked straight into the pressure. He’s been fantastic and I know the team really look up to him and back him in a very strong way.

“The way we lost the first Test was very disappointing. The guys showed a lot of character though and there was no panic, just the realisation that we just did not rock up for the first game,” Boucher said.

Perhaps the biggest change in the Simon Harmer who last played for South Africa in 2015 and the one who is now back in the Test squad in New Zealand is how the off-spinner has become a systematic winner of matches, mostly for Essex but now also for the Northerns Titans in the limited time he has spent with them.

Harmer has collected more first-class wickets than anyone else in the world over the last five years and he has taken 10 wickets in a match seven times in 64 matches for Essex, with 23 five-wicket hauls.

The 32-year-old has already taken 35 wickets in six matches for Northerns, playing key roles in their wins at Newlands (10 wickets) and in Bloemfontein (8 wickets).

“There’s been that perception that off-spinners in general are there to stop the game, go for two runs an over,” Harmer told The Citizen on Tuesday, “but that has shifted to being a wicket-taking option, someone able to win games.

“I have also changed and I now have the realisation that I can win games, I’m able to really influence the outcome. That has been a big change for me over the last few years.

“I’ve relished winning games for Essex and hopefully now even more for the Titans, winning games for them in the second innings in South African conditions.

“At the start of the season, conditions were not conducive to spin so my role was to hold up an end, stop the game, give the team control at one end while the seamers rotate,” Harmer said.

It is very apparent that a major part of Harmer’s development into being one of the world’s best off-spinners has simply been the amount of cricket he has played. The Pretoria-born star has thrived on playing back-to-back seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres. He was a bit more than a budding off-spinner when he signed as a Kolpak player in English county cricket, but he is now certainly in full bloom as a master of his craft.

“Playing back-to-back seasons has really helped me to evolve and develop much quicker,” Harmer said. “And it’s not just the number of games but also the different conditions you experience.

“In England the weather is different, you play with a Dukes ball and there are different pitches. So you learn a lot and you have to do it quickly. You learn about different grips, strategies and which variations work.

“I’ve learnt along the way to sum up what will work very early in a spell and you also need to be able to change things if they are not working, and still be accurate and consistent,” Harmer said.

Keshav Maharaj is almost exactly a year younger than him, having celebrated his 32^nd birthday on Monday, while Harmer turns 33 on Thursday, and their experience and adaptability makes one feel the Proteas have their Test spin-bowling bases well covered.

There will be a bonanza of rugby at Loftus Versfeld this week with the Bulls taking on the Free State Cheetahs in a Currie Cup game on Wednesday and then also hosting a United Rugby Championship Jukskei derby against the Lions on Saturday.

And, if the players’ comments at Monday’s press conferences are to be believed, they don’t know yet whether they will be playing in the Currie Cup, the URC or both. The Bulls are set to name their team to play the Cheetahs shortly before midday on Tuesday.

For some players, it may be a bit unsettling, but centre Harold Vorster said he is one of the Bulls who is quite happy with the dual squad arrangement.

“It’s a difficult thing running both a URC and a Currie Cup team at the same time. But we’re enjoying it, it doesn’t matter which one you play in. I don’t care which team I’m in, when you get a chance, you’re just excited to play.

“Your opportunity can come at any time of the week, especially with Covid, and you need to be on the same page as everyone else whether you’re playing Currie Cup or URC,” Vorster said on Monday.

Of course, the last time the Bulls played at Loftus Versfeld, they let slip a 26-18 lead with 12 minutes remaining to lose 30-26 to the Stormers, a maiden defeat at home with Jake White as coach. It left a sour taste in the month and the Bulls produced an impressive performance in response last weekend against the Lions at Ellis Park.

Now it is the Lions who travel to Pretoria eager to erase the hurt from their previous outing.

“The Stormers game was a big disappointment, but fortunately we got another opportunity to fix what went wrong against the Lions. Our focus was just on getting back on track and being the best we can be,” Vorster said.

“We put the Lions under a lot of pressure and executed very well. I don’t think the Lions lack anything, they’re still a very good side, and it’s a fresh week, Saturday is gone and over.

“I’m sure the Lions will prepare very well and we’ll have to set new standards for ourselves,” Vorster said.