Ken Borland

Springbok centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Scottish international Dylan Richardson will be the two main ball-carriers tasked with laying down the law for the Sharks in their opening United Rugby Championship match against Zebre in Parma on Friday night.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt named his first URC team of the season on Wednesday, following their first-round bye, and rushed Janse van Rensburg, one of his major signings in the off-season, straight into the No.12 jersey. Capped for the Springboks in 2016, Janse van Rensburg made his name with the Lions as a fan-favourite who was explosive on the crash-ball but also slick in terms of his all-round game-management. The 28-year-old moved to Durban after four successful years with the Sale Sharks in Manchester.

Richardson, who often plays hooker, made his debut for Scotland last year and will play blindside flank in a mobile, pacey loose trio against Zebre. The 23-year-old is more accustomed to being openside flank whenever he has played loose forward.

“Rohan has been a revelation and he brings lot of experience, being an international,” Everitt said. “With Ben Tapuai, we have two very experienced centres to guide Boeta Chamberlain at flyhalf.

“Rohan has settled in very well, he brings leadership and has been a strong voice in team meetings. His knowledge and assistance in developing the youngsters will be vitally important.

“Dylan normally plays at No.6, but he is also known for his very strong ball-carrying. We’ve played him and James Venter together in the Currie Cup with a lot of success.

“Together with Phepsi Buthelezi, they will get through a lot of work and they have been the form loose forwards in training,” Everitt said.

The northern city of Parma is one of the prime gastronomical districts of Italy, and a long injury list has given Everitt plenty of food for thought. Especially in the pivotal flyhalf position.

“We have a long list of injuries so this is a young team,” Everitt said. “It is getting shorter though and we expect a full complement of players soon, and then it will be great to have more selection headaches.

“Except for the flyhalves, who we only expect back at the end of October. Lionel Cronje has a fractured arm and Curwin Bosch underwent surgery on a fractured thumb. You would never bet on two flyhalves getting injured, but that’s the nature of rugby.

“We’re fortunate to have Boeta step in, he really took his opportunity this time last year and performed admirably overseas. He is full of confidence at the moment,” Everitt said.

Sharks team: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Ben Tapuai, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Thaakir Abrahams, Boeta Chamberlain, Grant Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Dylan Richardson, James Venter, Reniel Hugo, Gerbrandt Grobler, Thomas du Toit (c), Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements – Dan Jooste, Dian Bleuler, Carlu Sadie, Justin Basson, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Cameron Wright, Fred Zeilinga, Marnus Potgieter.

Lions hooker Malcolm Marx on the rampage once again. Photo by Marcel Sigg, runridedive.com

When the ACT Brumbies’ style of play dominated rugby in the early 2000s there were many pseudonyms for what they were doing – structured rugby, expansive rugby, multiphase play, all set up by skilful ball-carriers.

The Jaguares reminded me a bit of that multiphase play at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon as they valiantly held on to the ball for phase-after-phase. But the game has moved on since the glory days of Gregan, Larkham and Finegan and these days teams trust their defences to hold out for long periods, eventually forcing the error or a one-off runner that is vulnerable to the breakdown steal.

We saw it in the Crusaders’ victory over the Sharks in the other SuperRugby quarterfinal featuring a South African side earlier in the day, and the Lions’ defence was the biggest factor in their 40-23 win over the Jaguares.

As the Jaguares pushed and prodded with more determination, so the Lions just worked harder and with more physicality in defence, simply not allowing the Argentinians to get their game going. Hooker Malcolm Marx led the way with vital turnovers, but Marnus Schoeman also contributed valuably and Kwagga Smith was also a presence at the breakdown.

“Collectively it was a massive effort and you have to give credit for all the turnovers to the guy who makes the tackle as well because he provides the opportunity. A guy like Malcolm is then just impossible to shift, Kwagga made one or two steals as well and Marnus was excellent when he came on. At stages the Jaguares kept the ball for a long time, but we showed good patience on defence,” Lions captain Warren Whiteley said after his team had clinched their third successive SuperRugby semifinal at home.

Captain Warren Whiteley epitomises the Lions defence with this hit on Agustin Creevy. Photo by Marcel Sigg, runridedive.com

The Jaguares are certainly a force to be reckoned with going forward in SuperRugby, as they showed in the third quarter when they came from 9-24 down at the break to close to 23-27.

They were piling on the pressure, but Marx won three turnover penalties and those are the crucial interventions which win knockout games, with coach Swys de Bruin talking afterwards about “great defence at the right times”.

Jaguares coach Mario Ledesma spoke afterwards about how disappointing it was to concede three “soft” tries in the first half, but the Lions are a clever, innovative side on attack, able to try different things and generally pretty clinical.

All three of the tries came from different kicks: An Elton Jantjies crosskick found wing Ruan Combrinck with pinpoint precision for the first try; centre Harold Vorster followed lovely sleight of hand with a clever kick through that became even more effective thanks to the pace of Aphiwe Dyantyi getting there first to hack through and allow Vorster to score after the Jaguares made a mess of the clean-up operation; and a little dink over the top by flyhalf Jantjies was gathered by scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou, but his loose pass was immediately intercepted by Marx, who roared away from the 10m line for the try.

The Lions were cruising with a 24-9 halftime lead, but the admirable Jaguares were not done yet though as Bautista Delguy used his quick feet to score a fine try down the right wing two minutes after the break, and seven minutes later the visitors scored again as flank Pablo Matera crashed over. It was not the best grubber kick by the Lions that had given them broken-play possession.

Flank Cyle Brink, after a barnstorming first half, did not come out for the second half due to a shoulder ‘stinger’, but it was not a problem for the Lions as his replacement, Schoeman, played with tremendous industry. He showed terrific tenacity in the build-up to Andries Coetzee’s try as the fullback wriggled through a couple of tackles.

Lions flank Cyle Brink on another storming run. Photo by Marcel Sigg, runridedive.com

A typically combative Marnus Schoeman. Photo by Marcel Sigg, runridedive.com

Being a knockout game, coach De Bruin had deemed shots at goal acceptable and Jantjies, who produced a polished performance that included a seven-from-seven success rate from the tee, then slotted a sweetly-struck drop goal to take the Lions’ buffer to two converted tries (37-23).

The seventh successful kick at goal by Jantjies was the penalty that completed the scoring with five minutes remaining, confirming that they will host the Waratahs at 3pm next Saturday in the semifinals.

The other huge positive for the Lions was the tremendous dominance of their scrum. The number of set-pieces was relatively low, but whenever the home side needed it, their scrum won them penalties or gave them strong front-foot ball.

Apart from the lack of effectiveness of the ball-carriers, which was chiefly a technical issue, coach Allister Coetzee intimated on Monday that attitude was a major factor in the Springboks’ first ever home loss to Ireland in Cape Town at the weekend.

Coetzee said the team had got carried away, perhaps trying to replicate the flavour-of-the-month style of the Lions in SuperRugby, without attending to the necessary basics first.

“We shouldn’t have got sucked into the SuperRugby vibe, all the feel-good stuff about keeping ball in hand. Test rugby is different, a lot of the time it looks on out wide but it isn’t.

“All credit to Ireland because they scrambled well and worked exceptionally hard with 14 players, but we allowed them to look good by running laterally and unnecessarily forcing offloads. We needed a bit more composure and trust in the system,” Coetzee said on Monday in Johannesburg, where the Springboks play the decisive second Test on Saturday.

Although the shocker at Newlands was meant to be the start of an exciting new era of more positive rugby from the Springboks, the home side got totally carried away, just shovelling the ball wide most of the time and totally failing to capitalise on the one-man advantage they had for an hour after CJ Stander’s red card.

Coetzee said there had been some harsh words about making sure the basics are adhered to first.

“We’ve been brutally honest with each other that that performance was definitely not up to Springbok standard. Some of the lessons are internal things that are definitely only for the camp to know, but Test rugby is definitely built around territory, physicality is crucial and scoreboard pressure as well, because three points in a Test is like a try in SuperRugby. Those are non-negotiables,” Coetzee said.

“Tactically we were off-colour, it was a pressure test and that forced old habits to come out, they played like they do in SuperRugby – have a crack, have a go. But you have to respect certain areas of the field and you can’t force things because that’s what leads to turnovers and sloppy handling.

“The Northern Hemisphere sides are playing much closer to Test rugby than we are in SuperRugby. We’re all talking about ball-in-hand, but there’s still a place for kicking. All Ireland had to do was make it as difficult as possible for us to exit, we got bogged down in our 22. They were very clever tactics and we did not handle them well.”

The Springboks not only found themselves hemmed in when they favoured hands over kicking, but also struggled to get over the advantage line, which Coetzee put down to poor technique.

“We also let ourselves down with our contact skills, to get stripped of the ball so often just shows a lack of awareness in the collisions. It’s about our body height in contact, all about the shoulder battle. Ireland carry the ball very low so they are difficult to stop on the gain-line, they get that extra yard and their cleaners are going forward.

“We need effective ball-carriers, our physicality and intensity were a bit off, not where they should be in Test rugby. It’s about the height of the ball-carriers and how effectively they attack space,” Coetzee said.

In some ways, the red card shown to Stander for his reckless and extremely dangerous “tackle” on Pat Lambie was a blessing in disguise for Ireland; it lifted them to greater heights while there was an unmistakable sense that the Springboks just expected to steamroller them after that.

“I’ve seen many teams win with 14 men. Psychologically, the team with 15 tends to think it will just happen for them and the team with 14 know they have to put in extra effort. How hard Ireland worked was shown by how they managed to tackle JP Pietersen out in the corner at the end of the game. In those situations you have to make sure you go back to basics and do those things right,” Coetzee said.

The coach said the majority of the team that played in the first Test would get the chance to play in the second game at Ellis Park, which they have to win to ensure they don’t lose a series at home to a Northern Hemisphere side for the first time since the 1997 loss to the British Lions.

“We’re between a rock and a hard place because the team as a collective did not play well, but you need to look to give them a second opportunity to rectify that. If you make changes then it looks like panic, but first and foremost, I will be choosing the best team for Saturday.

“I always see the glass as half-full and you will lose rugby Tests, you’re not going to win all your games, whether it be your first Test or your last. The most important thing is how the team responds and I look forward to seeing that. We have to make sure we improve,” Coetzee said.

That means Elton Jantjies and Faf de Klerk, whose game management earned mixed reviews at Newlands, are bound to start at halfback, although Morne Steyn is likely to provide a reassuring presence on the bench, having been called up on Monday.

Steyn may not be the media’s favourite flyhalf for the future, but there is no doubt that the experience, calm and tactical kicking ability he will bring to Ellis Park was badly missed in the first Test.

England go into the second Test against South Africa at Ellis Park on Saturday still trying to find a way to stop the Springboks’ big ball-carriers if they are to keep the three-match series alive.

England were bullied into submission in the second half of the first Test in Durban last weekend, losing 22-17, and the Springbok forwards, led by flank Willem Alberts, were the main perpetrators as they seized control of the advantage line.

Coach Stuart Lancaster has stressed the need for England to improve markedly, but has chosen the same pack of starting forwards, while hoping that a shuffled backline will provide more penetration.

“In selection, we had to get the balance right. We need to be defensively strong and robust enough to deal with their big ball-carriers coming around the corner and off the back of the lineout.

“In the last five minutes of the Test, when we had more ball, we did cause them some trouble and we’ll be trying to penetrate in wider channels,” Lancaster said.

Manu Tuilagi, who has shifted inside to replace the injured Brad Barritt, and Jonathan Joseph, making his first Test start, are a rookie midfield pair who are both 21, and England have also changed flyhalf, with Toby Flood coming in for Owen Farrell. Ben Foden has moved to fullback to replace the injured Mike Brown and David Strettle has been recalled on the wing.

“I want Manu to get over the advantage line, we didn’t really achieve that enough last week and I trust that Jonathan is ready having played at the highest level in the Premiership, trained consistently and had the game against the Barbarians.

“Toby can play flat, he kicks well and can move defences around, as well as defending well. He has a tremendous appetite to win, he’s ready and it’s his time,” Lancaster explained.

The Springboks have made just one, injury-enforced change to their starting line-up, with Pat Lambie replacing Zane Kirchner at fullback.

The 21-year-old is the more exciting option and Springbok captain Jean de Villiers warned that his team should be even more of a threat this weekend, with the extra time together they have had.

“Last week, the main thing was to just win and there were a lot of butterflies, including for me. We weren’t great last Saturday, there’s a helluva lot to improve, but this week, things have happened more naturally. We haven’t had to think first about what we are doing so much. It takes a while to get used to each other, but things are becoming more instinctive and it’s much easier to play when that happens.

“One week is a long time in rugby and I’ve seen the difference in training. Last week we were a side with fantastic individuals but we weren’t a team yet. We’re closer now,” De Villiers said.

The veteran centre admitted that his team will have to closely police Tuilagi, who at 112kg weighs the same as the Springboks’ loosehead prop Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira.

“England have made their backline changes due to injury, but Tuilagi is a quality player no matter where he is. At 12 he will be running in the channel where there is a bit more traffic and he won’t have as much opportunity for one-on-ones. But he will get more ball and we need to stop him,” De Villiers said.

The Springbok outside centre said Tuilagi and Joseph will also benefit from having the experienced Flood, who has been capped 47 times, inside them.

“England’s one centre is making his run-on debut while the other is still in his first year of international rugby, so Toby’s experience counts for a lot. He has a good passing game and he kicks well, so I think he’ll make a big difference. We have to make sure we keep the pressure on him and not give him time and space,” De Villiers said.

Ellis Park is one of the most daunting venues though in world rugby and the effects of altitude at 1763 metres above sea level will also be in the favour of the home team. The conditions will suit their much-vaunted kicking game and Lancaster knows his side have to stop the Springboks from building any momentum to have a chance of beating them.

“They’ve chosen the same team except for Pat Lambie, who is clearly a talented footballer and obviously poses a different threat, so I imagine they’ll use the same formula which was pretty successful last week. We have to prepare for their kicking game and put pressure on Morne Steyn [flyhalf]. When they got momentum in the second half, they had tremendous ball-carries, so we need to defend better,” Lancaster said.

Teams

South Africa – 15-Pat Lambie, 14-JP Pietersen, 13-Jean de Villiers, 12-Francois Steyn, 11-Bryan Habana, 10-Morne Steyn, 9-Francois Hougaard, 8-Pierre Spies, 7-Willem Alberts, 6-Marcell Coetzee, 5-Juandre Kruger, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Bismarck du Plessis, 1-Tendai Mtawarira. Bench: 16-Adriaan Strauss, 17-Werner Kruger, 18-Flip van der Merwe, 19-Keegan Daniel, 20-Ruan Pienaar, 21-Wynand Olivier, 22-Bjorn Basson.
England – 15-Ben Foden, 14-Chris Ashton, 13-Jonathan Joseph, 12-Manusamoa Tuilagi, 11-David Strettle, 10-Toby Flood, 9-Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7-Chris Robshaw, 6-Tom Johnson, 5-Geoff Parling, 4-Mouritz Botha, 3-Dan Cole, 2-Dylan Hartley, 1-Joe Marler. Replacements: 16-Lee Mears, 17-Alex Corbisiero, 18-Tom Palmer, 19-Thomas Waldrom, 20-Lee Dickson, 21-Owen Farrell, 22-Alex Goode.

Referee – Alain Rolland (Ireland).