Ken Borland

There are ties between South Africa and France dating back to the 17^th century and the arrival of the Huguenots, but relations, especially when it came to local rugby fans, were strained when the French were awarded next year’s Rugby World Cup instead of our country, which WorldRugby’s independent panel had recommended as the best option.

Nevertheless, the French were on a charm offensive in South Africa this week, the tourism boards from their southern regions welcoming potential travellers for the tournament in September/October 2023. The Springboks will be based in Toulon, the port city right on the southern tip of France.

As the visiting delegation pointed out, South Africa is a very important travel market. Studying the pre-Covid tourism figures for travel from France to South Africa, one sees a figure of 135 000 visitors per annum. And the number of South Africans visiting France is equal to that, also around 135 000.

The south of France, in particular, looks a magnificent tourist destination, combining great historical sites, stunning natural landscapes and, of course, food and wine to savour.

The Springboks owned the 2007 Rugby World Cup when it was last held in France and several of those champions – the likes of Bryan Habana, Juan Smith, Bakkies Botha, Bismarck du Plessis, Francois Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, John Smit and Victor Matfield  – have made big impressions playing for clubs in France.

And the country made a lasting impression on them.

“South Africa has extremely good ties with France, I have fond memories of playing for Clermont in 2007/8. It was beautiful and the French cities are the closest to the South African ones you will find in Europe.

“There’s the beach, bush, skiing, the wine and food, e-biking, all sorts of things to do,” Smit said at the French embassy in Pretoria.

“When I moved to France, I thought I would get away from a country where rugby is a religion, but in Toulon they just love rugby,” Matfield said. “We had 50 000 people come and watch our first training session.

“I remember the big celebration the Springboks had in Marseilles when Australia and New Zealand were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup … and then we nearly got ourselves into trouble the next day against Fiji.

“But everything is close by in France, you can go skiing and two hours later you’re in Monaco,” Matfield said.

The man of the match in the 2007 final also spoke about how organised everything was in France and how much effort the hosts put into ensuring the Springboks could travel around the country with ease.

The 2023 Springboks are going to be staying at Les Sablettes, a French Riviera peninsula into the Mediterreanean Sea with gorgeous views over the crystal-clear blue waters. They will have their own private boat to ferry them across the bay to the famous Stade Mayol, where they will be training.

South Africa are going to play two matches (v Scotland & probably Tonga) in nearby (66km) Marseilles, the oldest city in France, established 26 centuries ago!

Nice is nearly 150km away in the opposite direction and the winter resort town of European aristocracy. Known as the Queen of the Côte d’Azur, it is also a gateway to the Southern Alps.

North-west of Toulon are the vineyards and lavender fields of the Luberon, the area of Provence where Van Gogh enjoyed the most prolific time of his career. Cezanne was also a native of the area.

The Luberon was also a stronghold of the Huguenots, so many South Africans can claim to have their roots in the area. And, unless the Springboks are playing against Les Bleus, which many are tipping as the final, they can be guaranteed to have the hosts firmly behind them.

Proteas batsman Zubayr Hamza will be able to leap back into action less than a year after testing positive for a banned substance, as the International Cricket Council announced just a nine-month ban for the 26-year-old on Tuesday.

Having returned a positive sample for the diuretic Furosemide on January 17, Hamza accepted a provisional suspension on March 22. So he will be eligible to return to play on December 22 this year, in time for the height of the South African summer.

The ICC, in their statement released on Tuesday, said there had been “no significant fault or negligence on his part” and he had admitted the infringement, so what may be seen as a lenient punishment has also been backdated to March 22.

The South African Cricketers’ Association, which supported Hamza through the legal process, said the Western Province batsman had provided “full disclosure of medications that he had been taking, and the sequence of events leading up to the positive test. Through this process, we were able to determine how Furosemide came to be in his sample”.

Hamza expressed his relief and denied any deliberate attempt to illegally enhance his performance.

“I have never intentionally taken a prohibited substance and I am relieved that the ICC determination confirms this fact. The past few months have been difficult for me on a personal and professional level, and I have learnt lessons that I will share with my fellow players,” Hamza said.

Last year the World Anti-Doping Agency also announced that Furosemide was one of the substances that should no longer be considered a banned substance if its concentration in the urine was less than 20ng/ml.

Hamza, who first played for the Proteas in 2019, went through a couple of years of poor form after he was dropped from the Test side during the series against England in early 2020.

But he gave his career a fresh dose of oxygen last summer and not only returned to Test cricket in New Zealand, but made his ODI debut for South Africa as well, scoring 56 against the Netherlands at Centurion.

Then came the positive doping test, a deflating incident which fortunately will not cost the talented strokeplayer more time out of the game.

A cat’s ability to right itself and land back on its feet whenever it takes a tumble is well-documented, but whether the Sharks can do the same when they visit the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday for their Currie Cup match remains to be seen.

The Sharks were humbled 20-10 by the Pumas at Kings Park last weekend and now have to play the unbeaten Cheetahs at their home ground, with the Free Staters no doubt sensing a prime opportunity to take control of first place on the log.

The KwaZulu-Natalians are trying to hold off the Griquas and Pumas in the semi-final race, but right now coach Etienne Fynn just wants to see a much-improved display from his side.

“There will definitely be a reaction to last week and hopefully a positive one,” Fynn said on Friday. “We are emotionally bruised, but I expect us to get back on track.

“It’s about sticking to the plan and individual role-execution is critical. It’s never going to work if the players don’t stick to the plan and this week has been a time of self-reflection and getting clarity.

“The buck stops with me as coach, but if the players don’t come back with the answers we’re looking for, then you have to react in terms of selection.

“Fortunately we’ve had positive reactions from the guilty parties from last weekend and we’ve trained well. We’ll have more cohesion because 80% of the team have been playing Currie Cup right through,” Fynn said.

As ever when playing the Cheetahs, Fynn said the key to the Sharks’ success lay in them not allowing veteran Springboks Francois Steyn and Ruan Pienaar to run the game for the Free Staters.

“The Cheetahs are a very settled group, they’ve kept the same combination through the tournament. We simply have to put them under pressure, bring the heat and force those key players to make decisions.

“We have to ensure we disrupt their quality ball and I don’t think it ever goes beyond dominating up front in South African rugby.

“The Cheetahs certainly know how to open the tap and close it, they manage the game well. They can play the throttle game – turn you and make you make mistakes.

“They are a settled combination at home, so it’s going to be a tough time in Bloemfontein,” Fynn admitted.

A hip-and-happening festival will be held in the stadium precincts and the Cheetahs, with such exciting players as Rosko Specman and Cohen Jasper in their backline, will be looking to play some festival rugby.

Teams

Free State Cheetahs – Cohen Jasper, Daniel Kasende, David Brits, Francois Steyn, Rosko Specman, Siya Masuku, Ruan Pienaar (C), Mihlali Mosi, Andisa Ntsila, Gideon van der Merwe, Victor Sekekete, Aidon Davis, Aranos Coetzee, Marnus van der Merwe, Schalk Ferreira. Bench: Cameron Dawson, Louis van der Westhuizen, Conraad van Vuuren, Ockie Barnard, Jeandrè Rudolph, Rewan Kruger, Reinhardt Fortuin, Chris Smit.

Sharks – Nevaldo Fleurs, Marnus Potgieter, Jeremy Ward (c), Murray Koster, Anthony Volmink, Boeta Chamberlain, Cameron Wright, Mpilo Gumede, Thembelani Bholi, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, Emile van Heerden, Lourens Adriaanse, Fez Mbatha, Khwezi Mona. Replacements: Dan Jooste, Dian Bleuler, Blaine Golden, Le Roux Roets, Nick Hatton, Mthokozisi Mkhabela, Tito Bonilla, Ethan Fisher.

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.