Ken Borland

South Africa have to win the second Test against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Saturday to stay in the series and the ante was raised even further by captain Siya Kolisi on Friday when he confirmed he felt disrespected by the match officials in the first Test last weekend and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said all the Springboks want is to be treated equitably by the authorities.

The now infamous hour-long video released this week by director of rugby Rassie Erasmus shows how Kolisi battled to be heard by the referee, while Lions captain Alun-Wyn Jones seemed to have a hotline to Nic Berry.

Erasmus is now reportedly going to be sanctioned by WorldRugby, but as Stick pointed out, the first person to disrespect the match officials was Lions coach Warren Gatland last week when he questioned the integrity of TMO Marius Jonker. The South African was appointed at late notice after New Zealander Brendon Pickerill was unable to fly over for the tour due to Covid travel restrictions.

“I didn’t feel respected, I didn’t feel like I got a fair opportunity to talk to the referee. I wasn’t given the same access to the referee. The man must give a fair opportunity to both captains, that’s all I’ve asked for. But I’m looking forward to a new game and I trust Ben O’Keeffe [Saturday’s referee] will be well-prepared,” Kolisi said on Friday.

Stick went further and said the integrity of both the series and WorldRugby had been ‘destroyed’ by Gatland’s actions last week, which had the predictable outcome of putting Jonker in an impossible position.

“The challenge came when Marius Jonker was appointed because the original TMO could not travel because of Covid. We did not appoint him, that was out of our control. But first things first, when the Lions started questioning the appointment made by WorldRugby, that’s when the problems started.

“No apology was made for questioning his integrity and then everyone goes crazy when we ask questions about decisions that were made on the field. What is right for one side must be the same for the other team, otherwise one team is playing on grass and the other is on mud.

“We would not love it if the series, which only happens once every 12 years, was all about the decisions of the officials. We just want fairness, if Rassie is in trouble then the person who challenged the integrity of the TMO, who destroyed the integrity of the series and WorldRugby, must also be,” Stick fumed.

In terms of what the players will be focusing on on the field of play, Stick said they expect the Lions to once again lean on the kicking game that served them so well in the second half of the first Test, while the Springboks will again be trusting their physicality.

“We think the Lions will come again with a massive kicking game and I must compliment them because things weren’t working for them in the first half last week, so they decided to not play much rugby and instead challenge us in the aerial contest. The first half was going well for us, we had the clinical kicking game, but then in the second half, whatever the Lions coaches said at halftime, it worked for them.

“We know the set-pieces are also crucial at this level and Northern Hemisphere sides are always very physical. The scrums and lineouts are still key because that gives you a platform to attack from. The Lions also scored one try from the driving maul, but we did not get much opportunity to drive. But it’s going to be tough and physical again on Saturday and if we can execute our plan very well then we will have a chance to win,” Stick said.

“We are not doing anything different, we have prepared the same way and we will play the same rugby as last week but better. We need to make sure we maul better and handle their kicks better. There’s a lot of pressure, but we are focused on what we can control and that’s making sure we fixed the mistakes we made. We’ve worked hard on where the Lions attacked us and gained the most benefit,” Kolisi added.

 Teams

Springboks: 15-Willie le Roux, 14-Cheslin Kolbe, 13-Lukhanyo Am, 12-Damian de Allende, 11-Makazole Mapimpi, 10-Handré Pollard (vice-captain), 9-Faf de Klerk, 8-Jasper Wiese, 7-Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6-Siya Kolisi (captain), 5-Franco Mostert, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Frans Malherbe, 2-Bongi Mbonambi, 1-Steven Kitshoff. Replacements– 16-Malcolm Marx, 17-Trevor Nyakane, 18-Vincent Koch, 19-Lood de Jager, 20-Marco van Staden, 21-Kwagga Smith, 22-Herschel Jantjies, 23-Damian Willemse.

British & Irish Lions: 15-Stuart Hogg, 14-Anthony Watson, 13-Chris Harris, 12-Robbie Henshaw, 11-Duhan van der Merwe, 10-Dan Biggar, 9-Conor Murray, 8-Jack Conan, 7-Tom Curry, 6- Courtney Lawes, 5-Alun Wyn Jones, 4-Maro Itoje, 3-Tadhg Furlong, 2-Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1-Mako Vunipola. Replacements -16-Ken Owens, 17-Rory Sutherland, 18-Kyle Sinckler, 19-Tadhg Beirne, 20-Taulupe Faletau, 21-Ali Price, 22-Owen Farrell, 23-Elliot Daly.

Covid hit the British and Irish Lions camp on Wednesday in what may well be the tipping point that sees the entire tour moved to Cape Town or called off completely.

The Lions management confirmed on Wednesday evening that a member of their management team as well as a player have tested positive and had gone into isolation, as had 12 close contacts – eight of whom are players. The entire touring party was then tested again on Wednesday and for several hours the match against the Sharks in Johannesburg on Wednesday night hung in the balance.

It was eventually played, but the fact that the virus has now penetrated the meticulously assembled Lions bubble is of grave concern and the entire series must now be in danger of being called off. The glimmer of hope that the organisers are no doubt hanging on to is that the tourists, with their weekend game against the Bulls in Pretoria already postponed, can now head to Cape Town where the number of Covid cases is much lower.

The Lions are scheduled to play the SA A team at the Cape Town Stadium next Wednesday and their only remaining fixtures in Gauteng would be the last two Tests. It now seems likely those will be moved to the Cape as well.

Quite who the hosts are going to be able to field in that SA A match and in the three Tests that start on July 24 is difficult to know. The Springboks camp has been hard-hit by Covid with 12 positive cases, including head coach Jacques Nienaber. There are currently seven players who are in isolation and, with the second Test against Georgia, scheduled for Friday night at Ellis Park, now cancelled, questions are being asked about what sort of preparation the Springboks will have before taking on the might of the Lions.

Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus may be forced into a situation where the SA A game, which was meant to be for the second-string South African side to take on the Lions, is now where the first-choice Springbok line-up has to play in order to get some game-time together before the Test series. Which would be most unfortunate for the fringe players in the national squad.

The Lions are also concerned about their preparation for the series bring disrupted and have reportedly been trying to find some opposition to replace the Bulls over the weekend. Georgia announced on Wednesday that they have half-a-dozen Covid cases in their camp as well, which is why they cannot stand in.

All rugby fans will be hoping that when the whole series moves to Cape Town, the situation will normalise and sport rather than a pandemic can take centre stage again.

The fact that the British and Irish Lions tour will be moving to Cape Town at the end of the week is ironically a beacon of hope for the Bulls that their match against the tourists might still happen, according to the franchise’s CEO Edgar Rathbone.

SA Rugby confirmed on Tuesday night that the Bulls’ match against the Lions scheduled for Loftus Versfeld on Saturday has, at this stage, been postponed due to four players and one member of the medical staff testing positive for Covid. It is now up to the Lions and SA Rugby to see if the match can be rescheduled.

Rathbone, while accepting that the matter is now out of the Bulls’ hands, is hopeful that the game will still go ahead. The Bulls, although they were arguably the best club team in the world back then, also did not get to play against the Lions in 2009 for what can only be described as some arcane SA Rugby in-house political issue when it came to drawing up the schedule.

“It’s a big disappointment for the players because they were very excited to play, but the positive, the good news for the players, is that it is not cancelled and at this stage they are looking at a postponement, so there is a bit of hope. It depends on the date fitting into both the Lions and Currie Cup schedules. The Lions only come every 12 years but the Currie Cup runs on log-points, so it’s a tight balance.

“One option is the Tuesday before the first Test [July 20], but we have three Currie Cup games in the space of just about a week then. Playing midweek games between Tests has not been scheduled before. But the tour is definitely not in jeopardy, the Sharks are already in their bubble and will play the Lions on Wednesday night.

“After that the Lions play against SA A and the Stormers in Cape Town where there are much lower Covid numbers. Logically, with the Lions then in their bubble in Cape Town, our game if rescheduled will most probably happen in the Cape,” Rathbone said on Tuesday night.

And it’s not as if the Bulls are an island of infectivity either, because SA Rugby have confirmed that four more Springbok players (Marvin Orie, Frans Steyn, Handre Pollard and Frans Malherbe) plus six of their management team, including head coach Jacques Nienaber, as well as four Georgia players, have tested positive.

Western Province were grateful for the services of an ace goalkicker in Tim Swiel as they edged out the Sharks 32-31 in their Currie Cup match in Cape Town on Wednesday evening, the flyhalf succeeding with all eight of his kicks at goal.

Western Province were outscored four tries to two by the Sharks, but Swiel’s man-of-the-match display ensured they were in the lead for almost the whole game. The Sharks led twice, taking a 21-19 lead into halftime after a sensational run by wing Thaakir Abrahams from his own 22 set up scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse for his second try; and then flyhalf Curwin Bosch kicked an easy ruck penalty to put them 31-29 up with just four minutes remaining.

But as happened so often in the game, the Sharks messed up the restart, being penalised for hands in the ruck, and Swiel nailed the kick to make the final score 32-31.

But the hardworking flank Thembelani Bholi won a turnover penalty in the final minute, only for Bosch to kick the ball dead, Western Province then stealing the lineout throw to notch their first win at Cape Town Stadium.

Western Province fullback Sergeal Petersen had an elegant response to the halftime deficit as he cut the line soon after the restart and then passed to powerhouse eighthman Evan Roos, who muscled over the tryline with only scrumhalf Hendrikse fighting a lone and futile battle to try and bring him down.

It was yet another moment of sloppiness by a Sharks side who played some beautiful rugby, but were beaten by a team that simply made fewer mistakes.

Not even dominating the lineouts and scrums could win the game for the visitors, who dominated territory and possession. That allowed them plenty of opportunities to maul from the lineout, from which three of their tries came, but Western Province’s new-look side proved their character by winning against the run of play.

Scorers

Western Province: Tries – Paul de Wet, Evan Roos. Conversions – Tim Swiel (2). Penalties – Swiel (6).

Sharks: Tries – Thembelani Bholi, Jaden Hendrikse (2), Fez Mbatha. Conversions – Curwin Bosch (4). Penalty – Bosch.