Ken Borland

How does it feel now that you have become the most-capped Springbok ever?

EE: It’s difficult to put in words how I feel. Thank you to everyone for your kind words. Guys like Victor Matfield were one of a lot of heroes I had growing up.

This team is a bunch of unbelievable guys, we have the best supporters in the world and I could not ask for a better family that supports me.

That’s why I play rugby, to play for this team, it is so special. We just want to do the country proud because rugby is like a religion in South Africa. To play for the Springboks is the best feeling and hopefully I can stay fit and the coaches keep selecting me.

What has driven you to achieve 128 caps?

EE: I could not have done it without the team, guys who I’ve been to three World Cups with, guys like Siya Kolisi, Jesse Kriel, Handre Pollard, Frans Malherbe, Willie le Roux, Damian de Allende. They’ve been with me from day one and I would not have reached this milestone if they weren’t there. To do it together with this team, we are best pals, makes it even more special. It’s also not nice if you lose on a day like this. This was a final for us and the guys made it special for me. We will celebrate very nicely, you must win in this industry to be able to enjoy your beer.

There was obviously a lot of attention on you in the last week, how did you avoid becoming distracted with the Rugby Championship title on the line?

EE: Because of social media, it’s difficult not to see stuff, sometimes hard to get it out of your head. But we are all professional and we’ve managed to get through World Cup finals before. You just have to make sure you prepare well, because that’s something you can fall back on. At the end of the day, you must just make sure you perform.

What are your future plans, how much further do you think you can extend your record?

EE: I’m staying put for now. I will push my body as far as it can go. The ultimate is playing rugby for this team, so I will keep on pushing, training hard and trying to perform for my club [the Sharks]. Hopefully the coaches will keep selecting me. But other than that I prefer to keep my goals close to my heart.

You seldom show your emotions, but today must have been very special and emotional for you?

EE: I was thinking of my Pa [late father] pouring brandies up there with the angels. It was also a very special day for my wife and baby girl. Siya and I have come a long way and he spoke so nicely about me, he is an unbelievable person. As a small boy, you just want to play for the Springboks, and to now have the most caps feels unreal, it is unbelievable.

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Siya Kolisi on Eben Etzebeth – It’s a special moment for Eben  and I’m so grateful to be part of it. He has taught me on and off the field ever since I met him when I was 18. I had a sleepover at his house and we have been mates ever since, even when he left to play overseas.

I’ve been so excited for him and I know he didn’t want it to be about him, but the biggest way we could have shown how special he is to us is by playing well. It was our responsibility as a team.

A lot of people see the brutal force he brings, and that is an awesome role he plays, but his leadership is also very important and people don’t understand that he is so smart, he has a great rugby brain and he comes up with awesome plans.

But he is so much more than just a player, one of the most consistent players day in, day out. It’s the way he cares about this team and the team’s values, he has kept those intact, he makes sure everyone stays in line.

So today was special for all of us. To Eben, you are an yster [iron man] and I’m so grateful to have been able to walk this journey with you and I’m so grateful for your support, from when Rassie Erasmus first made me captain, you have had my back. He leads the team, he is so smart and I am so proud of you. I can’t wait to tell my grandkids that I played with Eben Etzebeth. I love you, my brother.

Victor Matfield on Eben Etzebeth – I was very fortunate to also become the most capped Springbok in Nelspruit, taking over from another legend in John Smit. And now another legend has overtaken me. What Eben does on the field is incredible, but he does even more off the field and is a great ambassador for South Africa. I was there with him when he was 19 years old.

Kagiso Rabada became the second-quickest bowler, in terms of deliveries bowled, to reach 250 Test wickets during South Africa’s almighty thrashing of England at Lord’s, making it three Proteas inside the top-four of that particular statistical honours list.

The great Dale Steyn tops that list, needing just 9 927 deliveries to take 250 wickets, with Rabada reaching the milestone with his 10 065^th ball, a clever slower-ball that had a slogging Stuart Broad caught at backward point. Pakistani legend Waqar Younis is third on 10 170 deliveries, with Allan Donald, the godfather of Proteas fast bowling, the fourth quickest (11 559).

Since South Africa’s return from isolation in November 1991, they have taken over from the West Indies as the team that has consistently produced the most lethal fast bowlers, and it was great to see that traditional strength used to such marvellous effect at Lord’s.

Test cricket is arguably at its best, a heavenly spectacle indeed, when great fast bowlers are in action, especially these days when so much is loaded in favour of batsmen.

South Africa is clearly blessed to have four world-class pacemen at the same time in Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen, who played together for the first time at Lord’s.

Sadly, it seems they will not be given enough Test matches to put up the same numbers as some of the other great fast bowlers in the history of the game.

Rabada, for instance, takes his wickets currently at a rate of 4.71 per Test. With just 28 Test matches scheduled for the Proteas over the next five years, given the same strike-rate, Rabada will be on around 380 Test wickets, still well short of breaking Steyn’s mark of 439 as South Africa’s most prolific bowler. Even Steyn himself expected Rabada to cruise past his record, but if South Africa keep playing as few Tests as they do, it will take the man who sprang to fame as the spearhead of the U19 side that won the Junior World Cup until he is in his mid-30s to claim the record.

For neutrals, South Africa’s demolition of England at Lord’s must have made for compelling viewing. Surely the International Cricket Council would want to ensure their fans get to see more of that?

Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus, the duo who became heroes by turning a Springbok side at its lowest ebb into world champions, are now trending towards zero in some critics’ eyes, with fellow World Cup winning coach Jake White the latest to take a potshot.

White, now spearheading the Bulls’ renaissance as director of rugby at Loftus Versfeld, took a thinly veiled swipe at Nienaber’s lack of coaching experience in a column he wrote for the Rugby Pass website on Thursday.

Criticising the decision to make 14 changes to the Springbok starting XV and suffering an historic first defeat to Wales on home turf last weekend in Bloemfontein, White said Nienaber should have learnt not to experiment at Test level in that fashion at junior or club level.

“Making 14 changes obviously didn’t work for the Springboks and personally, I think Jacques Nienaber missed a trick,” White wrote. “There’s an expectation that you win every time you play in South African colours and the margins in Test rugby are incredibly small.

“I’m told his rationale for picking that second Test team was because he … didn’t want them to just be playing a dead rubber in the third Test. I’d say I don’t think there should ever be a dead rubber Test when you’re playing at home.

“The job of a national coach is to win Test matches. National coaches shouldn’t use Tests to see if players are good enough, thats what A sides or training is for.

“You’re not a national coach to learn lessons. You learn that at age-grade or club level – I mean that sincerely – there’s a reason people go through a system to become national coach,” White said.

The often-outspoken coach added that Wales will love the prospect of a winner-takes-all contest in Cape Town and the situation the Springboks have put themselves in.

“What I’m expecting on Saturday is massive amounts of pressure that he [Nienaber] didn’t need. Nienaber could have won the Series and now he’s created a real cauldron in Cape Town.

“It’s at sea level, and the Welsh will be boosted by the fact they’ve contested Tests on the highveld. Wales will come brimming with confidence. I’ve coached against them, and the one thing they don’t do is go away.

“Going back to selection, when Sir Gareth Edwards, one of the greatest players of all time, said it was a slap in the face, I can’t believe it wasn’t a real motivation for the Welsh team.

“Wales won’t make changes to a winning team. With consistency comes confidence. It’s backs to the wall for the Boks and if they don’t get the proper game going, they could lose the series,” White said.

The Northerns Titans became the latest team to be stung by the irrepressible bowling and fielding of the Boland Rocks as the Paarl-based side shocked the tournament favourites by beating them by 15 runs in the CSA T20 Challenge final at St George’s Park on Sunday.

Chasing a modest 139 for victory, Northerns slumped to 29/3 inside the powerplay, but put themselves back into position to win with two handy middle-order partnerships.

Heinrich Klaasen (17) and Sibonelo Makhanya (37) added 35 for the fourth wicket as Northerns recovered to 64/3 at the halfway stage.

Klaasen was then beaten in the flight and bowled by left-arm spinner Siyabonga Mahima, but Makhanya and Donovan Ferreira made them favourites as they added 35 in 4.1 overs, needing just 40 more off 34 balls to win.

A run out changed everything though as Ferreira was caught short by Ferisco Adams after confusion with Makhanya, and Hardus Viljoen then took a stinging return catch next ball to dismiss Aya Gqamane (0), the last of the recognised batsmen.

Boland were sharp at the death and the Titans closed on 123/9.

The spin of Mahima (4-0-22-2) and Imraan Manack (4-0-14-2) obtained bite out of the St George’s Park pitch and fatally undermined the Northerns’ chase, while fast bowler Viljoen took 2/14 in three overs.

Having elected to bat first, Boland lost wickets at regular intervals, but the fact they got to 138/6 loans credibility to the importance of having an anchoring batsman in T20 cricket.

Captain Pieter Malan, the leading run-scorer in the tournament, scored 71 of those runs off just 56 balls, batting through to the penultimate over in a matchwinning effort.

Viljoen provided a late boost to the innings by blasting 32 not out off just 16 deliveries.

Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, helped by the tremendous frugality of Aaron Phangiso, who conceded just 13 runs in his four overs, once again ruled the middle overs with 3/20, while seamer Lizaad Williams was also good with 2/30.

But the Boland Rocks, the new franchise in the blossoming cricket area of Paarl, were worthy and popular champions.