Ken Borland

The Springboks versus All Blacks rugby Test at Ellis Park last weekend counted as one of the greatest sports events I have been to and I felt immensely proud not just because our national rugby team won, but also because of the way they played and the way they carried themselves after the long-awaited triumph over their greatest rivals.

Even if one is not impressed by the way New Zealand and South Africa are steering rugby in a bright new direction of high-tempo play, the wonderful spirit shown between the two teams and the obviously high respect they hold each other in, must gladden the heart of all who love sport for the character-building effects it can have.

The wonderful gesture made by the All Blacks in Wellington when Richie McCaw handed over gifts to Bryan Habana and Jean de Villiers for playing their 100^th Tests will live long in the memory. The fact that nothing of that sort happened in Australia probably says more about the special relationship between the Springboks and All Blacks rather than any deficiencies on the Wallabies’ part.

But if the Springboks are going to win over even more hearts and minds – it is clear that still not everyone in South Africa believes they represent them – then perhaps they should take a leaf out of the book of their cricket counterparts who launched their ProteaFire campaign this week to some fanfare.

A huge part of the Proteas’ success in recent years has been due to the calibre of people in the team – the likes of Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander are all fantastic human beings – and the Springboks also have some fantastic leaders of men in their ranks, Jean de Villiers, Victor Matfield, Tendai Mtawarira, Adriaan Strauss, Duane Vermeulen, Francois Louw, Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen springing readily to mind.

Rugby will be facing their own World Cup challenge next year, but they will also be tested off the field with sponsors cutting back and transformation issues still bedevilling them.

Whether ProteaFire will help the cricketers finally win their World Cup remains to be seen but what is certain is that most of the population will be firmly behind them.

ProteaFire emphasises the importance of putting the team ahead of the individual and the concept of Ubuntu is a key part of Graeme Smith’s vision that started in 2007. Cricket is often, because of its tradition of statistics, a very individual game and one would have thought rugby, perhaps the greatest of team sports, would have been quicker to implement this sort of mission statement of what playing for the national side really means.

For the cricketers, their diversity will be their strength and rugby probably isn’t quite there yet.

Another important aspect of ProteaFire is that it is almost a contract the national team have signed with their supporters in terms of what is expected of them, on and off the field. As Hashim Amla pointed out, this does not mean treating players like babies.

“On the field, emotions can run high and nobody’s perfect. It’s not about having 15 saints, everybody’s different and it’s about getting the strengths of all 15 players together and dealing with any fallouts,” Amla said.

One cannot help but come to the conclusion that the current turmoil wreaking havoc in English cricket is born out of their failure to deal properly with issues of team culture and identity.

Kevin Pietersen can be a brat, but there have been difficult cricketers before who have been allowed to enjoy the middle of the spotlight while still contributing to the team success.

Last Saturday night at Ellis Park and Thursday night in the SuperSport studios were two proud evenings because it showed South African sports teams are getting it right.

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Joint defending champions, the Nashua Cape Cobras will be anxiously awaiting the fitness of four key players before they begin their Momentum One-Day Cup campaign against the Chevrolet Knights in Kimberley on Saturday.

Ace spinner Dane Piedt has had an operation on the shoulder he injured in the Champions League in India and will be out of action for six weeks, while Justin Kemp (broken hand), Rory Kleinveldt (knee) and regular captain Justin Ontong (back) are all in a race against time to be fit. Key pace bowler Beuran Hendricks is also a long-term absentee due to a stress fracture in his back.

Veteran Robin Peterson will be leading the side in the absence of Ontong and he says they will have to plan carefully due to the disruption.

“We’re struggling with a few injuries and therefore how to balance the side, which is going to make it tough up front in the competition. We’ll maybe have to blood a few more youngsters, it’s a bit of a changing of the guard, but we need to be mindful that the main reason we’ve been more successful than the other franchises recently is probably because we’re more experienced than the rest. When you have six or seven senior players, it makes it easier to bring in a couple of youngsters,” Peterson said.

The Knights will come into the game bursting with confidence after winning their opening two Sunfoil Series games to top the log and they will be fielding an in-form pace bowling trio in Corne Dry, Quinton Friend and the seasoned Dillon du Preez.

Captain Werner Coetsee will also be crucial, however, with his off-spinners and the 31-year-old has a fine record in limited-overs cricket, with both bat and ball.

“Wickets are what stop momentum, we will be trying to get them any way we can. Our bowlers are all in exciting form and we have plans during the fielding restrictions that we hope will give us the edge,” Coetsee said.

The Knights batting line-up, having lost Morne van Wyk, Dean Elgar, Ryan McLaren and Johan van der Wath, does not have many familiar names, but Rudi Second and Gihahn Cloete already have centuries to their name this season.

“There’s been a lot of talk about us losing our senior players, but the first two games have shown the responsibility of the batsmen. It does a lot for your self-confidence to win those matches and now we want to start well in the one-day competition and play consistent, disciplined cricket,” Coetsee said.

The Chevrolet Warriors, meanwhile, will be doing battle with the bizhub Highveld Lions in Potchefstroom on Sunday and will probably have to do so without Proteas star Wayne Parnell, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury.

With Coetsee spinning the Lions to defeat at the same venue last weekend, the Warriors are likely to attack the hosts with spin.

“Spin is massively important for us, ever since we had Robin Peterson, Johan Botha and Nicky Boje in the team, it’s something we’ve developed. Jon-Jon Smuts did a huge job for us last season and Simon Harmer proves himself every season,” Warriors captain Colin Ingram said.

With one batsman’s spot probably still open in the World Cup squad, Ingram said he would love to go to cricket’s showpiece event again, having travelled with the Proteas to India and Bangladesh in 2011.

“The World Cup is always at the back of your mind, but you have to prove yourself as a player at franchise level, so it’s really important for me to focus on the Warriors. International cricket has pressure of its own and it grew my game. I would definitely love to go again,” Ingram said.

Experienced left-arm spinner Ryan Houbert took three for 22 to lead the Global Gladiators to a 53-run victory over the Nashua Phantoms on the first day of the Northerns Bash at SuperSport Park yesterday, stabbing at the heart of the defending champions’ campaign for a second title in the T20 competition.

Houbert was brought into the attack as early as the third over and removed opener Gerry Pike, to a wonderful, leaping one-handed catch by Ethy Mbhalati at deep mid-on, to immediately undermine the Phantoms’ pursuit of 157 for victory.

The CBC Old Boys 31-year-old then dismissed Jason Brooker (4) and Danie Rossouw  (13) in the 11^th over to leave the Phantoms on 66 for five and well on their way to defeat.

They eventually staggered to 103 all out in 17.2 overs, thanks chiefly to Shaun von Berg scoring 24 not out. Their key batsmen contrived to get themselves out – opener Blake Schraader being run out attempting a crazy second run for 23, Qaasim Adams (10) being bowled by Cobus Pienaar as he swung across the line, and Roelof van der Merwe (8) hoicking Sammy Mofokeng to deep cover.

Medium-pacer Mofokeng was the other bowler to excel for the Gladiators, taking two for 16 in his four overs.

Van der Merwe had earlier produced a superb display of spin bowling at the death to restrict the Gladiators to 156 for five after they had reached 100 for two with seven overs left. The left-arm spinner claimed two for 25 in four overs, while left-arm paceman Rowan Richards grabbed a wicket and was economical, and off-spinner Eden Links also produced a tidy spell of four overs for 27 runs.

A top-class innings of 53 off 51 balls by Ryk Eksteen laid a solid platform for the Gladiators, sharing a second-wicket stand of 54 off 51 deliveries with Lerato Kgoatle (31) and putting on 61 off 43 balls for the third wicket with Farhaan Behardien, who survived a chance on 1 and went on to score 23 off 18.

The second match of the day was also a one-sided affair, with the Tornados beating the Pirates by 51 runs.

Aiden Markram provided the initial momentum up front for the Tornados with his 32 off 19 balls and his fellow Tuks star, Theunis de Bruyn, kept the scoreboard moving with 29 off 20 deliveries.

Titans stars Henry Davids (26) and Mangaliso Mosehle (21) also batted well to take the Tornados to 100 for two after 12 overs, before the innings soured as the Pirates used five spinners to good effect.

Lanky off-spinner Ruben Claassen was the best of the Pirates bowlers as he dismissed Markram, caught behind by Heinrich Klaasen, with his first delivery and conceded just 13 runs in three overs.

David Wiese was also impressive with one for 22 in four overs, but the star of the innings was Graeme van Buuren, who scored 35 not out off 20 balls. He lifted the Tornados from 138 for five at the start of the final over to 162 for five, belting three sixes off wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.

Fast bowler Gerhard Linde was too much of a handful for the Pirates top-order, removing Jeandre Jumat and Ruan Olivier cheaply, while Corbin Bosch was also impressive with the new ball.

The required run-rate was already over nine when the Pirates’ two best batsman, Klaasen and Wiese, were brought together, and the Tornados bowlers executed their plans well to ensure they could not snatch control away.

Klaasen was dismissed by off-spinner Markram and Wiese was snapped up by Davids, who took two for 10 in three overs to finish the job started by Linde and Bosch.

The Pirates innings eventually closed on 111 for eight.

The Tornados, who boast the strongest batting line-up on paper, now take on the Phantoms, the defending champions who have to win tomorrow to stay in the race.

Scores in brief

Gladiators 156-5 (Lerato Kgoatle 31, Ryk Eksteen 53, Farhaan Behardien 23; Roelof van der Merwe 2-25). Phantoms 103 (Blake Schraader 23, Shaun von Berg 24*; Sammy Mofokeng 2-16, Ryan Houbert 3-22). Gladiators won by 53 runs.

Tornados 162-5 (Henry Davids 26, Aiden Markram 32, Theunis de Bruyn 29, Mangaliso Mosehle 21, Graeme van Buuren 35*). Pirates 111-8 (Shershan Naidoo 33, David Wiese 24; Gerhard Linde 2-13, Henry Davids 2-10). Tornados won by 51 runs.

Springboks defence coach John McFarland said on Tuesday that his team will need to lay down the law early on against Argentina in what he predicts will be two very tough Tests at the start of South Africa’s Rugby Championship campaign.

“I think they’re going to be two very difficult Tests against Argentina and that’s what we’re focusing on because you get the same four points for beating the Pumas as you do for beating the All Blacks.

“Argentina have certainly improved and they have a lot of experience, so we’re going to have to do the hard yards. We have to dominate the collisions and set a defensive line in front of them. As the second Test against Wales showed, when we were maybe too complacent, if you don’t bring your top game into a Test match, you’ll be in trouble,” McFarland said.

Although there have been some protests over too many veteran players being used by Heyneke Meyer, one of the greatest strengths in the current Springbok squad is the considerable experience it contains. Just a year out from the World Cup, it is worth noting that successful campaigns have been built around experience; send a green team and you’re on a hiding to nothing. South Africa’s poor 2003 performance was partly due to their squad only having a combined 397 caps, or 13 per player; in 2007, Jake White assembled a total of 809 caps (an average of 26 per player).

The current 30-man Springbok squad has 964 caps between them. That’s without Victor Matfield’s record 113 appearances, but his replacement, Juan Smith, brings 69 caps himself. Fourie du Preez is a certainty for the World Cup if fit and he has 70 Tests to his name.

For McFarland, players like Smith and Bakkies Botha are crucial for the team dynamic.

“You can’t buy experience, like we saw when Bakkies came back late last year. Guys like him and Juan are inspirational, they never give up and they’re an example to all of us in how to keep going,” McFarland said.

For Smith, his determination has brought the sweet taste of success as he returns to the Springbok squad he holds so dear, the bitterness of his achilles injury that curdled his career for so long a thing of the past.

“It’s been a long road back, I was out for 28 months, I had announced I was finished and I saw no light at the end of the tunnel. I had five operations and they were tough times, it was all very dark times. I felt I had no other choice but to call it a day.

“I had one operation in Bloemfontein and then three in Pretoria. After that I tried everything to fix the achilles but there was no way around it and I was forced to retire. But then a surgeon in Bloemfontein, Dr Johan Kruger, said he could give me a chance of playing again. But for me it wasn’t about playing again, I just wanted to walk without pain. For 25 months I would stand up and go to bed with pain.

“I could immediately feel the difference after that operation, the next morning there was no pain, and I said to my wife that I’m going to try and play again,” Smith said on Tuesday.

Since making a fairytale return to the rugby field for Toulon in September 2013, Smith has dished up consistently brilliant performances in his 28 appearances for the French club, helping them to the dream double of the Heineken Cup and the Top 14 title last season.

While Smith is by no means assured of playing against Argentina – it is hard to see him jumping ahead of Vermeulen, Louw, Alberts and Coetzee in the loose forward queue, while competition at lock is also stiff – there will definitely be a new face in the number 13 jersey against the Pumas.

It is sad that Meyer does not have faith in the obvious abilities of Juan de Jongh and S’Bura Sithole, and it looks likely that the uncapped Damian de Allende, used at inside centre and on the wing by the Stormers, will be pressed into duty as the outside centre to captain Jean de Villiers.

While De Allende is obviously a potent force with ball in hand, it is in defence where teams like New Zealand and Australia can make a fool of anyone in midfield who does not know exactly what they are doing.

McFarland said playing at 13 was all about taking your time when it comes to defence.

“It’s a bit different to playing at 12, where things happen quicker because the flyhalf is on top of you. You have a bit more time at 13 and the important things is not to come too hard, don’t bite the bait,” the defensive guru said.

Argentina were destroyed 73-13 by the Springboks in Soweto last year, but they have not played a Test at Loftus Versfeld before. But Pretoria was not a kind place for the South America combined team in the past, with the tourists of 1982 losing 50-18 and their 1984 successors going down 32-15.