Ken Borland

The Bulls had stretched Griquas to almost breaking-point in the first half of their Currie Cup clash at the weekend, but then allowed the visitors to come roaring back in the second half, coach Jake White making no bones about how disappointed he was with his players for some dumb moments both in discipline and in defence.

It was one-way traffic in the first 40 minutes at Loftus Versfeld as the Bulls cruised to a 36-5 lead with some clinical rugby. They extended their advantage to 41-5 early in the second half, but then two yellow cards in three minutes – to prop Lizo Gqoboka for collapsing a maul and to wing Madosh Tambwe for a deliberate knock-on – caused a total shift in momentum.

In the end Griquas were able to score six tries and the Bulls were relieved to win 48-38 in the end.

“Griquas made the Currie Cup semi-finals last year so they’ve showed they can play,” White said. “But with a URC team playing against a Currie Cup side and leading 36-5 at halftime, you would think you get a lot more out of the second half.

“Instead Griquas really got a roll on in the second half, which was very disappointing. The players must be proud to play for the Bulls, but they did not show that in the way they defended. They know how I feel about it because I let them know – we cannot defend like that.

“When it becomes too easy, you can play a bit too loose and that played into Griquas’ hands. It’s even more of an indictment that we were so far ahead, because that’s when you have to keep them out.

“And we speak about discipline every week but we had two yellow cards when we were more than 30 points ahead and not under any pressure. It was just too easy, it’s not as if they were pounding away at us,” White said.

While Tambwe’s yellow card came when he went for an intercept but could not hang on to the ball, killing a Griquas overlap in the process, the French-bound wing looked the classiest player on the park.

“Madosh has just improved so much,” White said. “His sheer understanding of what to do in defence killed a lot of Griquas attacks and he showed a real touch of class in setting up Canan Moodie’s try.

“His work-rate is also exceptional. We definitely want to keep him … maybe there will be some visa issues that keep him here … ” White joked.

The Bulls are likely to attack the next two weekends of Currie Cup action as hard as player-management allows, but they will be hoping the Lions and Sharks follow suit as they can do the Loftus Versfeld team a massive favour over the next fortnight by beating back the charge of the Free State Cheetahs.

The Bulls are sitting at the top of the Currie Cup log at the moment, but they are just one point ahead of Free State, who have a game in hand.

While the Bulls are hosting Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, the Cheetahs will be visiting the Lions at Ellis Park on Friday night. The Lions are bottom of the log and, given that they cannot make the URC playoffs anymore, they could well decide to focus on ensuring a better final position in the Currie Cup.

The Sharks then play Free State on May 14 and the Bulls would love them to take a strong team to Bloemfontein. But the Bulls host the Lions on the same weekend, before flying to the UK on the Monday, so that could be a pivotal game in their bid to top the Currie Cup log.

“We don’t know exactly what the other franchises are planning,” Bulls assistant coach Pine Pienaar said on Tuesday. “The Lions did really well in the URC at home, so maybe they want to end that competition on a high.

“They will show their hand with their selection against the Cheetahs this week, and then they could play the same side against us the following weekend. I would guess quite a few URC players would feature.

“I think there will also be URC players here and there in our team, although obviously some guys will be resting and there are a few players at the Springbok training group.

“We still see the Currie Cup as being very important, but all loading of the players has to be managed carefully. In some positions we don’t have as much depth, so we have to manage carefully when those guys rest,” Pienaar said.

Big calls will have to be made by head coaches Jake White and Gert Smal, and it is only going to get more complicated for the Bulls.

If the Bulls do win their URC quarterfinal on June 4 then they will advance to the semi-finals on June 11. That is the same day they are scheduled to play the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in the final round of Currie Cup action, in a match that could well decide who hosts the final.

The Currie Cup semi-finals then clash with the URC final on June 18, with the local final being played on June 25.

Proteas batsman Ryan Rickelton expects Bangladesh to use the local knowledge of their coach Russell Domingo to bounce back in the second Test against South Africa starting on Friday at St George’s Park, after the touring team’s questionable tactical approach in the first Test in Durban.

Domingo was born and raised in Port Elizabeth and first made his name in cricket coaching with the local Eastern Cape Warriors franchise. By making one of the less-resourced teams in the country a trophy-winning force, Domingo quickly rose in the coaching ranks and become Proteas assistant coach and then head coach between 2013 and 2017.

“I think Russell and Allan Donald [Bangladesh bowling coach] will have a massive say in this Test,” Rickelton said. “I was very surprised that Bangladesh bowled first at Kingsmead, where you generally bat first.

“Russell will have valuable insight which Bangladesh need to exploit, they need to invest in what he says, especially in regards to Port Elizabeth.

“Bangladesh came into the Tests with lots of momentum after their one-day series win. They do have some really good players and seamers, but unfortunately a couple of them are injured and going home,” Rickelton said.

The 25-year-old left-hander, who is also an accomplished wicketkeeper, made his debut in the first Test and hit a bright 21 in the first innings, boldly getting off the mark with a reverse-sweep for four, before he mistimed a pull shot off fast bowler Ebadot Hossain and looped a catch to mid-on.

In the second innings he showed more composure under pressure, as he batted through a collapse to finish with 39 not out.

Rickelton said it was an extremely exciting prospect to make his debut.

“It was an awesome experience, I was honoured to represent my country and to step into the Test arena is something I dreamt about since I started playing.

“My Dad came down the night before the game once I was told I was playing. We’ve been through thick and thin together since I was a little boy. He was over the moon and probably even more excited than me.

“And I was probably a bit too excited and played a few too many shots! I was a bit too expansive and gave my wicket away. In the second innings, I was a lot more composed and controlled, back to my normal self.

“I’m not sure if it was brave or stupid the way I got off the mark, but when you’re that excited it’s tough to fight it and you just have to let it happen and try and make the best decisions,” Rickelton said.

The Johannesburg-born, St Stithians product has been one of the most successful batsmen in domestic cricket this season and he has a first-class average of 51.21, having hit 10 centuries in 37 matches.

Sisanda Magala may have bowled 20 overs and batted for more than two hours to rescue the Central Gauteng Lions this week, but as far as the national selectors are concerned, the bowling all-rounder is back in the dog kennel when it comes to the Proteas as he has been omitted from the squad for the three ODIs against Bangladesh starting on March 18.

Magala was declared unavailable for Proteas selection because he failed a fitness test. But that fitness test was held before the Lions’ CSA 4-Day Series match against the Northerns Titans. Not for the first time, the burly 31-year-old did not meet the national team’s fitness criteria, but his omission from the Bangladesh series has raised eyebrows because he put in a typically wholehearted effort against Northerns and was one of the few Lions’ players to shine.

All-rounder George Linde has also been left out in the cold in the only two changes to the squad which hammered India 3-0 in such impressive fashion in January.

Fast bowler Anrich Nortje was also not considered for selection because he is still struggling with his hip injury and is unlikely to play in the Tests against Bangladesh either. And Lungi Ngidi is in the squad but still needs to prove his fitness following his back problems in New Zealand.

Apart from the Magala controversy, the other main talking point around the selection was the retention of Aiden Markram, and he is likely to continue batting in the middle-order and providing a valuable sixth-bowler option. Apart from the other five batsmen who played against India – De Kock, Malan, Bavuma, Van der Dussen and Miller – the only other batters in the squad are reserve wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne and Zubayr Hamza, who would be an option for the top three.

“With World Cup qualification points in the balance, it was vital for us not to tinker with a winning combination,” selection convenor Victor Mpitsang said in the CSA statement announcing the squad on Tuesday.

“After a great performance against a very strong India side, we felt it was important to reward the good performances of the previous series and continue to back this growing team.

“Consistency in selection and performance are just some of the key elements that need to be looked after, especially when building up to a World Cup, and we are looking forward to seeing what this group will produce against fresh opposition,” Mpitsang said.

The first ODI is on Friday, March 18 at Centurion, followed by the Pink Day ODI at the Wanderers and March 20 and then the third and final match back at SuperSport Park on Wednesday, March 23.

Squad – Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Wayne Parnell, Kyle Verreynne, Zubayr Hamza.