Ken Borland

They say it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters but the size of the fight in the dog, but the Currie Cup final was like Alsatians versus Poodles as the Bulls simply bullied and battered the Sharks into submission, winning 44-10, the biggest winning margin in the history of South Africa’s premier domestic final.

The Bulls only really bared their teeth in the second half, but their snarling, immense defence was the stand-out feature of the first half. Despite the Sharks dominating territory and possession, the Bulls scored tries on three of their four visits to the visitors’ 22, to enjoy a handsome 19-3 lead at halftime.

The tone was set for the first half from the outset as the Bulls received the kickoff and then had to defend for 12 phases before winning a turnover penalty. From the lineout, centre Harold Vorster burst straight through the midfield and dashed over for a try from 40 metres out.

The contrast in defences couldn’t have been more stark: The Bulls barely conceded an inch on the gainline, while the Sharks were ripped asunder from first phase with ease.

The Bulls’ second visit to the Sharks’ 22 came in the 23^rd minute and this time Vorster was the provider with a lovely little pop-pass for his outside centre Lionel Mapoe to go slicing through for a try, again straight from a lineout.

The Sharks were eventually on the board after half-an-hour through a Curwin Bosch penalty, but it took 10 phases of attack that made very little headway, to get it. The Bulls quickly struck back with a try for captain Marcell Coetzee, bulldozing over from close range with fellow flank Arno Botha at his back.

The Bulls called their kicking game more into service in the second half and it brought good rewards for them as fullback David Kriel and wing Madosh Tambwe were outstanding in the air.

Lock Janko Swanepoel had ruled the lineouts with Ruan Nortje and he deservedly crashed over for a try, followed by a nifty snipe-and-score by scrumhalf Zak Burger.

By now the Sharks were creaking in all facets – their scrum was being dominated, their lineout was not working and it really seemed like men against boys.

Prop Thomas du Tot was gifted a try from a Bulls lineout that went astray, but the home side rightly had the final say and there was no more popular try-scorer than wing Cornal Hendricks. He kicked through after wing Thaakir Abrahams grubbered into Mapoe, regathering brilliantly and diving over for the sixth and final try.

The 34-point winning margin beat the previous record of 30 points set by their Northern Transvaal predecessors when they beat Western Province 39-9 at Loftus Versfeld in 1980.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Harold Vorster, Lionel Mapoe, Marcell Coetzee, Janko Swanepoel, Zak Burger, Cornal Hendricks. Conversions: Chris Smith (4). Penalties: Smith (2).

Sharks – Try: Thomas du Toit. Conversion: Curwin Bosch. Penalty: Bosch.

Chasing boundaries and trying to get to 200 on a subcontinent turner can be as tempting as the allure of a huskey-voiced temptress, but it can be disastrous and Proteas batsman Aiden Markram says these are the lessons he has had to learn as he adapts to a new role in T20 cricket.

With South Africa enjoying so many top-order options – Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Reeza Hendricks and Janneman Malan are all in the mix to open – Markram has slipped down a bit into the middle-order. Particularly on the subcontinent, that can be the toughest place to bat, but the 26-year-old seems to be learning when to be patient and when to go for it, judging by his well-paced 48 off 33 balls that took the Proteas to a winning total of 163-5 in the first T20 in Colombo on Friday night.

“It’s quite tough to judge what a winning total will be sometimes, and I haven’t been in that situation too often. You have to trust the information you get from the sidelines, Quinton de Kock usually gives a rough ball-park figure and I was able to chat with David Miller, who is very experienced. We thought 160 was good, slightly above par in those conditions, but we still had to bowl well.

“It’s a new challenge not opening the batting, obviously I have not done it much. But I’m enjoying it and it requires you to be street-smart in how you approach your innings. I’m used to being up front where your game-plan is fixed, set in stone. But you can’t be like that at No.3 or 4, your approach has to be flexible and it changes from game-to-game,” Markram said.

The Proteas cross swords again with Sri Lanka at the same venue on Sunday and stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj wants the same intensity to ensure his team wrap up the series at the first opportunity. They will then be able to go into next month’s T20 World Cup in good form having won eight of their last 10 matches. The home side will be angered by their defeat and will come out firing.

“It’s really important for us to show intensity and energy. We understand what’s at stake and we want to be as clinical as possible. We need to stick to the basics and repeat what was good from the previous game. In terms of our preparation for the T20 World Cup, we must make sure we take care of the series by winning the next game, knowing that Sri Lanka will bounce back.

“I’m a very open-minded captain, but I do demand a lot of energy and intensity. That’s the best way to bring out your character and the best things in your game. Body language is also important because it conveys a message to the opposition.

“The batting is starting to get better with Quinny and Reeza Hendricks setting a foundation and Aiden and David were sublime at the end. The bowlers set the tone in the powerplay – to only concede 34 runs is almost unheard of on the subcontinent – and then they were superb in finishing the game off,” Maharaj said.

Flyhalf Lionel Cronje made his name in the Eastern Cape with his ability to produce some magical trick plays, but Sharks coach Sean Everitt said on Thursday that the visitors will not be looking to deck out their game with any embellishments when they take on the Bulls in the Currie Cup final on Saturday.

Everitt’s comments mean the Sharks have been sending mixed messages this week, with captain Phepsi Buthelezi earlier saying that they wanted to play “their brand of rugby” and “move the Bulls around”.

But the coach who has risen through all the structures at Kings Park toned down the views of his enthusiastic eighthman.

“A Currie Cup final is not time to be experimenting with manoeuvres. Lionel kicks really well and he brings something to the attack as well. But there is a plan in place, Curwin Bosch has a very good boot at the back and he can counter-attack. But Lionel is our general and I’m sure he will execute the plan. A lot depends on what you get from the Bulls defence.

“They like numbers on their feet and they are really good at it. We will play what is in front of us and if they have a full defensive line then it means there will be space behind. A solid set-piece gave us the platform to beat the Bulls the last time we played them. If you get that right then it makes your job a lot easier. If we can do that again then I’m confident we can get the result,” Everitt said.

The Sharks coach said his team also have to avoid conceding a chain of penalties at the start of the final.

“If you look at the Sharks’ performances the last few games then our discipline has improved, but we conceded six or seven penalties in the first half of the semifinal and that put us under pressure, it meant we couldn’t build scoreboard pressure. In last season’s final, we also gave away a couple of early penalties which Morne Steyn kicked.

“Not conceding early penalties is important to how you want to play, you must never underestimate the influence of scoreboard pressure in a final. There will be nerves, and the team that settles down first will probably go on to make the better start. And that’s really important in a game of this magnitude. Both teams need to handle the intensity of the game,” Everitt said.

Sharks team: Curwin Bosch, Yaw Penxe, Werner Kok, Marius Louw, Thaakir Abrahams, Lionel Cronje, Sanele Nohamba, Phepsi Buthelezi (c), Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Gerbrandt Grobler, Le Roux Roets, Thomas du Toit, Kerron van Vuuren, Khwezi Mona. Bench – Dan Jooste, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Thembelani Bholi, Reniel Hugo, Lucky Dlepu, Jeremy Ward, Anthony Volmink.

Rassie Erasmus may not be in Queensland with the Springboks, but it is business as usual for coach Jacques Nienaber and his unusual relationship with his director of rugby when it comes to coaching the South African rugby team.

Erasmus is back in South Africa still waiting for a date to be set for his misconduct hearing after WorldRugby took exception to the 62-minute long video that he made pointing out all the refereeing mistakes made in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions. The former Springbok loose forward has had a far more hands-on relationship with the team than other directors of rugby around the world, who tend to be paper-pushers in plush offices.

“We had a conversation 10-15 minutes ago, so life goes on as per normal,” Nienaber said on Wednesday when asked at the team announcement whether he was missing Erasmus. “We operate a bit differently to the usual director of rugby/coach relationship because we are not confined by job titles. We don’t work like that. We know we have certain responsibilities, the team understands how that works, and even with the assistant coaches, we all have input in each other’s responsibilities.

“The one positive of Covid is that technology has made the world very small – you can be in someone else’s living room in 10 minutes. Rassie has flipped his day and night around to fit in with our schedule and sometimes he’s in our team meetings, he’s a part of us whenever he can join in. So it’s business as usual. He was also not with us for the first Test against Argentina.”

The last time the Springboks were in Australia was in Septmber 2018 when they lost 23-18 to the Wallabies in nearby Brisbane. They made many dumb mistakes that day, looked one-dimensional and sorely lacking in confidence. In the week after that stuttering display, Erasmus said he did not expect to keep his job if things then went badly against the All Blacks in Wellington the following week. But South Africa won in New Zealand for the first time since 2009, to the astonishment of everybody.

But back then they were still emerging from their years in the wilderness and have gone from strength-to-strength since.

“Last time we were in Australia, it was our sixth game working together with Rassie. From then a lot of things have been implemented. We installed a new defensive system in 2018 which the players were still getting used to, and they were finding their feet in terms of playing style.

“We’re now a lot more settled, we’ve been together for quite a few Tests now. We’ve only lost a handful of players since then, so our continuity has been good. We’re a lot more aligned – that’s the good difference between us then and now,” Nienaber said.