Ken Borland

Any lingering worries that South Africa’s bowling attack might not be as effective in Abu Dhabi were blown away on Monday as the Proteas defended a total of just 145-5 in beating Afghanistan by 41 runs in their T20 World Cup warm-up match.

An outstanding all-round bowling effort saw Afghanistan restricted to 104 for eight in their 20 overs as South Africa bowled with tremendous control and a clear plan.

Slow left-armer Bjorn Fortuin (4-1-12-1) and paceman Lungi Ngidi (4-0-27-2) set the tone up front as they dismissed both openers for ducks, and then spinners Keshav Maharaj (4-0-14-1) and Tabraiz Shamsi both struck in their first overs as Afghanistan struggled to 42 for five.

Seamer Dwaine Pretorius also chipped in with a wicket and did a good job in the middle overs, sticking to his strengths.

Shamsi, the No.1 bowler in the world in this format, had no mercy on the rest of the batting line-up as he finished with three for 18 in his four overs.

South Africa had won the toss and elected to bat first, but were off to a torrid start against spin.

Quinton de Kock fell for 7 to impressive off-spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (4-1-24-3) and a rusty Temba Bavuma struggled in his first competitive knock since September 2 after suffering a broken thumb in Sri Lanka.

Bavuma only scored two runs off his first 13 balls, but then picked up the pace to make 31 off 39 deliveries.

South Africa only posted 26 runs in the powerplay, and such a slow start normally damages a team’s prospects irretrievably.

But Aiden Markram played a skilful innings on a slow pitch, his 48 off 35 balls injecting some urgency and being the mainstay of the batting effort.

Rassie van der Dussen (21) and Heinrich Klaasen (11) both scored at well over a run-a-ball and David Miller provided an explosive finish with 20 not out off 10 deliveries.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt said his team needs to learn quickly how to avoid giving away a raft of penalties following their chastening 42-17 defeat at the hands of Munster in their opening United Rugby Championship match at Thomond Park at the weekend.

Not for the first time this year, the Sharks’ ill-discipline prevented them from getting any sort of foothold in the match as they conceded a whopping 17 penalties. Munster were thereby gifted territory and, with their dominance in the set-pieces, they were able to merely grind the visitors out of the match.

“I was disappointed with the discipline, we gave away 17 penalties and almost all of them had massive consequences. So the guys have to learn quickly, although I felt we were a bit unlucky at the breakdown and could have been rewarded more there.

“The first 20 minutes was how we want to play, the territory and possession stats were both with us. But in the second quarter we gave away too many penalties and that’s all Munster needed to get control of the game. But I was very proud of the fight and energy the team showed for the full 80 minutes. There are three games left on this tour though, and the players have got to learn quickly,” Everitt said.

The Sharks were dogged in the Currie Cup by poor discipline at the defensive breakdown, making the same silly errors that were evident on Saturday night in Limerick. It is clear that this is going to be a massive issue for the Currie Cup runners-up going forward because their lack of focus is giving their opposition a grip on the game.

It is individual errors that are putting the whole team under pressure, forcing them to defend for long periods, which inevitably leads to more penalties. Everitt might need to now show more bite because his bark clearly is not working.

Twice the Bulls built a spacious lead for themselves and twice they had to repel ferocious Griquas’ comebacks before eventually pulling away in the final quarter to win 56-33 in their Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday evening.

Having weathered a torrid start when they struggled at the breakdowns, conceding several penalties and a yellow card to prop Mornay Smth, the Bulls used the power of their rolling maul and scrums, as well as some swift counter-attacking play, to score three tries for a 20-6 lead.

The first went to flyhalf Johan Goosen and was thanks to a very fortuitous bounce after scrumhalf Zak Burger charged down a kick. Hooker Schalk Erasmus then scored from a maul and wing Kurt-Lee Arendse slipped through a tackle to score in the left corner after a sweeping counter by the Bulls from deep in their own half.

The Bulls closed the half in sloppy fashion though, allowing Griquas flyhalf George Whitehead to kick a third penalty and then the home side conceded a scrum penalty inside the visitors’ 22. Outside centre Chris Hollis made a break and scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer squeezed over in the corner to bring Griquas right back into the game at 16-20 at the break.

Another Whitehead penalty early in the second half closed the gap to just one point, but then the Bulls simply powered their way into a 30-19 lead as lock Walt Steenkamp drove over for a try and Goosen kicked another penalty.

Still Griquas came back although the Bulls were once again their own worst enemies as Arendse dropped the restart and then stopped Griquas from using a blindside overlap with a deliberate knock-on. A yellow card and a penalty try were rightly awarded.

But then the Bulls brought their A-game in the final quarter as all the exciting young talent they have bought stepped into the limelight.

Chief amongst those was eighthman Elrigh Louw, who burst clear from next to a ruck 20 metres out for the try that provided some breathing space. The rolling maul provided further tries for Erasmus and his replacement young Jan-Hendrik Wessels, while Arendse redeemed himself with his second try.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Johan Goosen, Schalk Erasmus (2), Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), Walt Steenkamp, Elrigh Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Conversions – Johan Goosen (4), Chris Smith. Penalties – Goosen (2).

Griquas: Tries – Stefan Ungerer, penalty try, Janco Uys. Conversions – George Whitehead (2). Penalties – Whitehead (4).

Despite the daunting task ahead of them and the fact that they are playing away from their Kings Park haven, coach Sean Everitt said the Sharks are as excited as puppies about taking on the British and Irish Lions at Ellis Park on Wednesday night.

“We spoke about the opportunity to make history and if we win we will forever be in the history books as the first Sharks or Natal team to beat the British and Irish Lions. The guys are excited and have watched a lot of Northern Hemisphere rugby so they know the players and there are no false pretences of the challenge in front of us. But if we can stop their momentum and power game then we are in with a chance.

“Unfortunately we can’t play in Durban, but we’ve been in Johannesburg since Friday so our acclimatisation will be spot-on and we’ve generally done pretty well up here, we feel comfortable playing on the Highveld. Personally I remember watching the 1974 Lions playing against Border, so I have a lot of respect for the team and I’m just so glad that the game is going ahead,” Everitt said.

The Lions, meanwhile, have added a pacy, marauding loose trio to their mix for the meeting with the Sharks, selecting Tom Curry, Josh Navidi and Sam Simmonds.

Behind a top-class tight five, they will certainly have plenty of opportunity to fulfil coach Warren Gatland’s mandate to “express yourselves”.

A hamstring strain to Robbie Henshaw, who added plenty of muscle to the Lions’ midfield against Japan, has given a chance in the outside centre berth to Elliot Daly, who has mostly been a wing or fullback under England coach Eddie Jones.

Everitt knows that the only way to counter the individual star quality in the Lions team is through a concerted team effort; the sum of the Sharks’ performance must be greater than its parts.

“The focus is always on team first and if anyone goes off programme we will pay the consequences. We need all 23 players on match day to reach our peak performance and I don’t think anyone will go off-programme because we all know we need a massive team performance and not playing as individuals.

“We have to manage the ball well in our own half and not just throw the ball around and expect things to happen. They have three very good loose forwards and good lineout jumpers and we need to survive at the set-pieces and then look after the ball when we have it and then make sure we are playing in the right areas,” Everitt said.