Ken Borland

As the Currie Cup approaches what will hopefully be a thrilling end, there have been some apocalyptic comments about the poor quality of the rugby and how South Africa are allegedly once again miles behind the rest of the world.

People going on about the end of the world being nigh should generally be treated with some scepticism and it was good to hear Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus provide some much-needed perspective this week. In case anyone has forgotten, our Currie Cup teams are trying to play rugby in the middle of a global pandemic.

Obviously the major focus is to ensure nobody contracts the virus, which means there is regular testing being done on the players. Covid tests are not particularly pleasant, but the effects of this pandemic do not end there.

While Covid has disrupted the lifestyles of so many, it has had a terrible effect on the structured preparation rugby players have become used to in the professional era. According to Erasmus, rugby teams normally spend 280-300 minutes training together in the week before a game. But due to Covid protocols, that figure has now dropped to less than half of that.

That’s because after a match on a Saturday, teams can only do their Covid tests on Tuesday morning, because 48 hours have to pass before testing, otherwise contact tracing would have to be done in terms of who had too much physical contact during the last match. That means teams cannot train on a Monday in case anyone is positive and spreads the virus through the squad.

The results are only returned on the Tuesday night, which means all the scrum, maul and breakdown work has to be done on the Wednesday. A team could train on the Thursday, but that’s two days before the game and coaches and conditioning experts often are a bit wary of doing that so close to a match.

Captain’s runs on a Friday are now also mostly a thing of the past. When one adds in the effect of teams only being selected in the second half of the week, and the absence of coaches and players from week-to-week due to positive tests, it is clear there has been an awfully disruptive effect on the preparations of teams.

Players who do test positive return to action via a detailed nine-day quarantine period and then, once they return a negative test, a return-to-play protocol that measures the effect of the virus on the body through tests on the heart, lungs and other vital organs. It works out to be about 16 days – the equivalent of two matches – away from the game.

And even players or coaches who test negative, but are deemed to be close contacts of someone who has the virus, have to quarantine for 10 days.

These players and coaches, who have all taken pay cuts as well, are at the vanguard of keeping the South African game afloat in far from ideal circumstances. They deserve our thanks and appreciation, not our opprobrium.

With competing in Europe on the horizon, it really is a brave new world in so many ways for our rugby players. They will need our support.

They are taking the hits on and off the field, it’s midsummer when they have never been playing before, and the good thing one can say about the Currie Cup this year is that it’s still as uncompromising as ever.

Saturday’s matches between the Bulls and Lions at Loftus Versfeld, and Western Province and the Sharks at Newlands, might not be thrilling in terms of dazzling running rugby, but for sheer intensity alone they will hopefully be enthralling to watch.

Dean Elgar followed up his 206-minute occupation of SuperSport Park in the first Test by making the Wanderers his own erf of batting tenaciousness, steering South Africa to 148 for one, just nine runs behind Sri Lanka’s total, on the first day of the second Test on Sunday.

With Anrich Nortje taking a career-best six for 56 in 14.3 overs, finishing off the fine work of Wiaan Mulder before lunch, Sri Lanka were bundled out just after 2pm for 157 in only 40.3 overs. Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen then ensured the Proteas made a solid response as they added 114 for the second wicket.

Elgar made it to stumps on 92 not out, having batted for 174 minutes and faced 119 balls, and showed a great ability to adapt his game, absorbing pressure when necessary and changing gears when possible. His first 25 runs came at a run-a-ball, but after tea when Sri Lanka stuck to really disciplined lines and lengths, he showed great patience and resolve. Later in the afternoon, when the shackles were released a bit, the left-hander was able to regain his fluency.

Van der Dussen was even more patient, showing the sort of composure that comes from experience as he took 26 deliveries to get off the mark, but bided his time, sticking to his game plan until the Sri Lankan bowlers backed off. The 31-year-old went to stumps on 40 not out, after 139 minutes and 82 deliveries, having come to the crease in the third over after tea after Aiden Markram (5) was caught in the slips off debutant Asitha Fernando, who took the new ball and produced an impressive first spell in Test cricket.

Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat first under cloudy skies in cool conditions, and opener Kusal Perera’s belligerent 60 off 67 balls took them to 71 for one, before experiencing a dramatic collapse that saw them lose nine wickets for 86 runs.

South Africa’s fast bowlers were having difficulty tying Kusal down and the left-hander bashed 11 fours in his innings as anything approaching full in length was lashed through the covers. But Mulder changed the complexion of the game, finding the perfect length and some away movement as he took three wickets for one run before lunch.

Kusal was caught in the slips as he planted the front foot, reached for a drive and edged the delivery going across him, with Kusal Mendis (0) and Lahiru Thirimanne (17) also being caught in the slips. Mulder also ended with career-best figures of three for 25.

Nortje came to the fore after lunch, Sri Lanka’s lower-order being unable to cope with the combination of high pace and a fuller length as he took five for 35 in the second session.

“Kusal batted really well and if you gave him any width he was immediately on to it, but I’m very happy with the end result. As a unit the bowlers did very well and it was great to improve on the first innings at Centurion. Wiaan did really well, he’s not just bowling dot balls but taking wickets as well, which helps us so much.
“I just tried to be tight, keep it as simple as possible and use the extra bounce. You’re not trying to do miracles and we stuck to what we wanted, which is bowling in the channel after we were a bit wide and maybe both sides of the wicket at Centurion. Today we created lots of opportunities and those bowling partnerships is what we want,” Nortje said.

Only Wanindu Hasaranga (29) and Dushmantha Chameera (22) gave the Proteas much pause for thought as they added 39 for the eighth wicket.

But Monday could be a long second day for Sri Lanka, with batting likely to be easier.

Tabraiz Shamsi put the disappointments of the 2016/17 season behind him and was one of the star players for the Multiply Titans as they won two of the three domestic trophies on offer this season, so much so that he was named the Players’ Player of the Year at the franchise’s awards evening.

The left-arm wrist-spinner’s phenomenal form in limited-overs cricket – he was the leading wicket-taker in both the Momentum One-Day Cup (26 @ 14.84, economy 4.50) and Ram Slam T20 Challenge (16 wickets, economy 7.00) – was obviously the major reason he won the prestigious award, but he also made a valuable contribution in the triumphant Sunfoil Series campaign, taking 13 wickets in three matches.

His Momentum One-Day Cup display included one of the greatest wicket-taking runs in South African day/night cricket history as he took 20 wickets in six games.

“It was a very, very successful season and to be the top wicket-taker in two competitions was really amazing for me. Last season there were quite a few disappointments, so it was important I had a good mindset this season because I was a bit disheartened. The best way to do that is to keep performing. To play just the one Test in 2016 was one of the disappointments, although Keshav Maharaj has done an exceptional job since then,” Shamsi said.

At the age of 28, Shamsi is still developing his game and is still a few years away from the age a spinner is usually considered to be hitting his peak.

“I feel in a good space and I’m still very young for a spinner and I still have a lot to learn. But I feel comfortable now at international level. Even against India, who are great players of spin bowling, I felt relatively comfortable. So it was a massive boost doing well against them in unfavourable conditions for a spinner,” Shamsi said.

Shamsi played two of the ODIs and all three of the T20 internationals against India and, added to his experience of playing in both the Caribbean Premier League and the Indian Premier League, it means he is settling in nicely at international level.

“I went to the Caribbean Premier League as an uncapped player and it changed my life to get noticed there and then be signed up for the IPL. There’s a very negative perception of these T20 tournaments in general, which is a bit unfair. They brought me recognition and playing against world-class opposition in those leagues means I felt a lot calmer when I played for South Africa.

“I’ve been selected more for white-ball cricket for South Africa and I’ve bowled to all those international batsmen before. If I’ve made mistakes then I’ve learnt from them and if I can dominate them in the T20 league then I will be able to take that edge into international cricket. I’m a big believer in having the mental edge,” Shamsi said.

Part of the Titans’ success this season has been deploying both Shamsi and leg-spinner Shaun von Berg in matches, and Shamsi believes they dovetail well.

“We’re very spoilt to have Shaun, who is a great spinner, too and it’s quite exciting for a team to have two quality wrist-spinners. Generally I’m more attacking and he does the holding role more, but I also only went for 3.3 runs-per-over in the Sunfoil Series, so we complement each other, I feel comfortable doing both jobs.

“I still dream of playing more Test cricket and there is a sub-continent tour coming up, so I haven’t given up on that. I didn’t play a lot of four-day cricket last season, so this year was about finding my groove again. I’m confident I have a lot to offer with the red ball as well,” Shamsi said.

Having risen from a low ebb, Shamsi will continue to bring the sort of positive attitude to his game that usually brings results.

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The Sharks left a potential bonus point behind in Bloemfontein, but coach Robert du Preez was nevertheless delighted with their 38-30 win over the Cheetahs at the weekend, and especially that they managed to score four tries.

“Unfortunately we didn’t get the bonus point, but it’s always very tough to come here and win, the Cheetahs are a very good, talented side and Franco Smith is a very good coach, so you’re always up against it here. So we’ll take the win any day!

“We want to score tries and we scored four, which is much better than last week when we only managed two against the Kings. I’m also very happy that the wings scored three of those tries, that’s always good. And Kobus van Wyk scored two of those on the left, coming from the right-hand side, so that shows that the boys are working really hard,” Du Preez said.

While 19-year-old flyhalf Curwin Bosch stole the limelight with a stellar display, Du Preez still swears by Pat Lambie, who is set to return to action in six weeks after fracturing a vertebra.

“Curwin’s now ready to play flyhalf, but Pat is in a class of his own. We’ll be in a good position when Pat comes back because then Curwin can go back to fullback. The fact that he can also play there gives him more space, and he gets confidence from that. At flyhalf he’s under pressure to call all the plays on attack, it’s a big responsibility and it’s not the same at fullback,” Du Preez said.

“Curwin has definitely got BMT and pedigree, but we must all be very careful with how we handle him because he is young. But he’s definitely one for the future for South African rugby.”

Du Preez also backed tighthead prop Coenie Oosthuizen, whose all-round game caught the eye, for a return to the Springboks.

“The work that Coenie has done on his conditioning has played a big role and he’s a fantastic team man. I think he’s really enjoying his time with the Sharks and he should definitely be in the mix again for the Springboks,” the former international scrumhalf said.

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