Ken Borland

Key battles in the second Rugby Championship Test between the Springboks & Argentina in PE on Saturday

The midfield battle

While Argentina coach Mario Ledesma has made eight changes to his starting line-up, the midfield of Jeronimo de la Fuente and Santiago Chocobares are not the ones footing the blame for last weekend’s loss as they have been retained. The Pumas dropped the ball – both literally and figuratively – a few times on attack in that 32-12 defeat and they will be under even more pressure to stick to their game-plan on Saturday as they come up against Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am. That duo were a major part of the success against the British and Irish Lions and, after a week’s break, they are bound to pitch up at their best at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

The loose trios

Springbok eighthman Jasper Wiese will be looking for an encore after his man of the match display last weekend, and this time he has the indefatigable Franco Mostert and a fully fit Siya Kolisi (he was battling a stomach bug in the first game) alongside him. One can bet good money though that there will be a fiery response from the Argentina loose trio after they were so badly outplayed last weekend. Guido Petti, a tough, physical, powerful and experienced player has moved from lock to join Pablo Matera and Rodrigo Bruni in the back row.

Cheslin Kolbe & Makazole Mapimpi versus the defence

South Africa’s brilliant wingers have gobbled up tries quite relentlessly since being paired together. They are ruthless when it comes to spotting and exploiting the slightest opportunity. The Pumas cannot afford any signs of weakness out wide and they need to keep the defensive door firmly shut against the Springboks’ lethal marauders.

Trevor Nyakane versus Francisco Gomez Kodela

The grinning Limpopo powerhouse starts at loosehead prop at Saturday and watching him dismantle Argentina’s 36-year-old tighthead prop Francisco Gomez Kodela at the first scrum will be just the thing to get the gees going around the braai. Nyakane had the measure of the best scrummagers the British and Irish Lions could throw at him and South Africa’s set-piece dominance lays the platform for so much else of their pressure game. But Gomez Kodela is a very clever scrummager technically, and he will be looking to man up in his last game for Argentina before he returns to club duty with Olympique Lyon.

Hooker Bongi Mbonambi is a seasoned and potent member of the front row club and he knows the importance of the Springbok pack being a cohesive unit ahead of the bruising forward battles that lie ahead against Georgia and the British and Irish Lions.

South Africa take on Georgia for the first time since their inaugural meeting and 46-19 win in Sydney in the 2003 World Cup, with back-to-back Tests on July 2 at Loftus Versfeld and July 9 at Ellis Park. The Georgian forwards are a lively bunch and they will provide decent preparation for the Lions series.

“We’re definitely focused on Georgia at the moment, they have a quality pack and they scrum very low so we have to adjust to that. As a pack we want to make sure we are all aligned and on the same page, especially in the scrum and maul. Other countries look at us and see those as a threat and it is definitely one of our weapons, but we do have other weapons too,” Mbonambi said.

The 30-year-old Stormers star, capped 36 times, also acknowledged the gulf between professional club rugby and the international game, which was so rudely exposed by the hammering of the Bulls in the Rainbow Cup final last weekend.

“There’s a massive difference between local and international rugby, the intensity is about 10 times higher. But the coaches are making sure we get back there to those levels, so I am feeling it on the body at the moment. But I’m 100% sure we’ll be ready given the way we are training now,” Mbonambi said.

Apart from the scrums and mauls, Mbonambi obviously also has a key role to play in the lineouts and, as in all facets of their game, the camp in Bloemfontein has focused on ensuring there is no broken language when it comes to communicating about this crucial set-piece, which is usually a South African strength.

“We’re focused on our system and working on the lineout detail. A hooker needs to have a feel for the other players, you need to build that confidence and connection. We always have high standards, but as a thrower I aim for 100%, I want to be perfect.

“The Lions have top-class payers in the lineout so we know we will be under pressure, but we have great coaches who have put things in place and now it’s up to the players just to execute,” Mbonambi, who is renowned for his accurate set-piece work, said.

Cricket South Africa are fighting lots of legal battles at the moment, but possibly the most damaging to their reputation has just been made public as former England captain Karen Smithies has served the embattled organisation legal papers alleging discrimination during last year’s interview process for the position of Proteas Women’s team manager.

Smithies, who led England to the World Cup title in 1993, has been a highly-respected administrator and manager of the Titans team for the last 20 years and played a key role in the growth of the women’s game in this country in the early 2000s.

But Smithies has now made the shock claim that CSA rejected her application to be Proteas Women’s manager due to her being “bisexual or lesbian”, according to the organisation’s disgraced former head of HR, Chantal Moon. And Smithies has the recordings to prove it.

For an organisation that is trumpeting diversity as a core value and riding the wave of the tremendous recent success of the national women’s team, the revelations are deeply embarrassing and disturbing.

The online interview was held on June 9 last year via Teams before a panel comprising Moon, who has subsequently been dismissed as she was not properly qualified for her job, director of cricket Graeme Smith, head of player pathways Eddie Khoza and high performance manager Vincent Barnes.

Smith left the meeting after the interview, but the other three then discussed Smithies without realising that their conversation was still being recorded.

The legal papers allege that Moon pointed out that Smithies is “bisexual or lesbian”, to which Khoza responded that she “is in a life partnership with a previous South African women’s captain”. Moon then said there was a risk that Smithies would get “involved in some darling-darling relationship with one of the players”.

Barnes pointed out that it would not be right to appoint a “White Pommie instead of a Black African Male [current manager Sedibu Mohlaba].

The comments are an obvious case of discrimination against Smithies personally because national women’s captain Dane van Niekerk is married to team-mate Marizanne Kapp and there are other relationships within the squad. Coach Hilton Moreeng is a man but nobody has ever raised any concerns about him having a relationship with one of the players.

Smithies told The Citizen on Saturday that the initial hurt of the comments has been exacerbated by CSA’s steadfast refusal to respond to any of her complaints, forcing her to go the legal route.

“I felt so hurt and very disappointed that my career and achievements all came down to that one thing [her sexuality]. These are people I know well and I just wanted an apology and an acknowledgement that what happened was wrong. I’ve tried everything possible to avoid going to court, sent so many letters, but CSA have not had the decency to reply to one of them,” Smithies said.

Marius Louw v Wayne van der Bank

Modern rugby and the vastly-improved defensive structures means inside centres no longer play with the same electrical intent to spread the ball like they used to, but Louw and exciting 23-year-old Van der Bank were two of the better No.12s in Super Rugby Unlocked.

Louw has been an impressive mix of industrial strength, throwing himself into the physical collisions, and pleasing skills for the Sharks, and has arguably been their most consistent player as the pacesetters at the start of the year have struggled to regain their spark. The former flanker had the fifth-most carries, shared with Van der Bank the honour of beating the second-most defenders [15] and produced five offloads [T6th] in Super Rugby Unlocked. He was also tied-fourth for the most tackles won.

Van der Bank may be small in build [89kg] compared to some of the bruisers playing inside centre these days, but he has been a delight to watch as he has rewired the Pumas backline. He has also beaten 15 defenders [T2nd] and has shown his physicality by winning the third most tackles. He may be coming off the bench on Friday night, but such has been his impact that he will almost certainly come on and take on Louw in a thrilling head-to-head.

Thembelani Bholi v Phumzile Maqondwana

The 23-year-old Maqondwana has been in such powerful form lately in the back row for the Pumas that the Sharks can expect him to throw the kitchen sink and several other appliances at them. Bholi is a hardworking loose forward and he is going to need to be at his best to keep the powerhouse from the Eastern Cape in check.

Dylan Richardson v Francois Kleinhans

Retreaded hooker Richardson has been given a remit as openside flank and will have to neutralise former Sharks flank Kleinhans, who will definitely target the breakdowns hard even though he is playing eighthman. The Pumas were the most effective team at the rucks in Super Rugby Unlocked, with a 94% success rate, while the Sharks were towards the bottom of that ranking, which makes it likely the visitors will target them in that department at Kings Park on Friday night.

Curwin Bosch v Theo Boshoff

The Pumas flyhalf is fresh out of university where he played a starring role for Tuks in the Varsity Cup and, solid as he has been, Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse will be tempted to shout instructions down the radio when it comes to game management. Bosch, in contrast, has been an accomplished, polished general all year long. Given that the Pumas could well match the Sharks up front, the decision-making of the flyhalves will be crucial and Boshoff faces a big test in Durban.