Ken Borland

The Highveld heat and altitude engendered a more unstructured game and caused Munster to wilt, allowing the valiant Lions to snatch a 23-21 victory with a tremendous final-quarter comeback in their United Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Lions flourish in unstructured play

For the first hour of the match, Munster were the slicker, better organised side as they built up a 21-10 halftime lead. Their brilliant phase play allowed them to mount relentless attacks with their forwards carrying and offloading superbly.

In contrast, the Lions looked disorganised and messy behind their rucks, which meant several attacking opportunities inside the Munster 22 fizzled out. The home side did not protect their ball well enough and were counter-rucked on several occasions.

But in the final quarter, with Munster visibly tiring, the match became loose and unstructured, which suited the Lions. They were superb in lifting the intensity, applying pressure and converting their chances as Wandisile Simelane, who had moved to the wing, scored and Jordan Hendrikse kicked two penalties.

All-action terriers

What the Lions lack in experience or big-name stars, they made up for in tenacity and effort. Leading the way in that respect was blindside flank Vincent Tshituka, who was all over the ball whether carrying, defending or bringing pressure at the breakdown.

Hendrikse showed there is more to flyhalf play than just being a general with a strong kicking game. Fullback Quan Horn provided the big boot for the Lions, and a couple of lovely runs, but Hendrikse was a constant thorn in the Munster flesh with his abrasive style. Playing flat, he was all about testing the defence, while he put in several big tackles and was a constant menace at the breakdown. And he also, crucially, succeeded with all five of his kicks at goal.

Scrum power pays off

Our rugby is well-known for its reliance on powerful scrummaging and initially there was a tremendous tussle in that set-piece as Carlu Sadie, Sti Sithole and Jaco Visagie put Munster under pressure. They did not get any reward though as Munster were clever in absorbing and nullifying the pressure.

That all changed in the second half when the replacement front row of Ruan Dreyer, JP Smith and PJ Botha came on. They were superb in not only winning three crucial scrum penalties but contributing brilliantly in open play with strong carries and breakdown steals.

The Lions are a different animal at Ellis Park

Given the 11-place gap between the two teams on the URC log, Munster were deservedly clear favourites for the match. And in the first half the Lions showed few signs of being able to tame them.

But playing at Ellis Park in the early afternoon, heat and altitude are always going to be factors and the Lions used them perfectly. They were able to up the tempo in the final quarter and simply scrummed and ran Munster off their feet, while competing ferociously at the contact points.

Scorers

Lions: Tries – Edwill van der Merwe, Wandisile Simelane. Conversions – Jordan Hendrikse (2). Penalties – Hendrikse (3).

Munster: Tries – John Ryan, Josh Wycherley, Fineen Wycherley. Conversions – Jack Crowley (3).

South Africa are hosting the FIH Hockey Pro League in Potchefstroom over the next fortnight with high hopes of being competitive, but the multitude of unforced errors they made caused a most adverse outcome in their opening match against the Netherlands on Tuesday night as they were hammered 11-1.

The Netherlands scored first, in the seventh minute, through a penalty stroke by Tim Swaen after an early defensive mistake by the hosts.

And the third-ranked Dutch side stamped their dominance on the game from the second quarter as they went into halftime 4-1 up.

The floodgates really opened in the final quarter as the Netherlands more than doubled a 5-1 lead, scoring four goals in the first six minutes.

South Africa, ranked 14^th in the world, equalised at 1-1 in the 20^th minute through Bili Ntuli’s excellent deflection of a reverse-sticks cross from Mustapha Cassiem, but they didn’t have a prayer thereafter.

Their main failing was their inability to hold on to the ball, basic mistakes gifting possession to the Dutch, and there was also some naïve defending.

Jip Janssen, with two set-piece goals, Swaen, Thierry Brinkman and Thijs van Dam, with two goals apiece, were South Africa’s chief tormentors.

“We played badly against a good team,” South Africa coach Garreth Ewing summed up succinctly. “We lost our shape completely in the last 30 minutes. But hopefully we have all learnt a lot.

“There’s a lot to take on board. This was a reminder of where we are in world hockey. We will have to come out with the right attitude tomorrow night against India.”

India beat France 5-0 in Tuesday’s other game.

Quinton de Kock’s previous absence from the Proteas team caused much discussion on microphones and keyboards around the world, but South Africa’s ace wicketkeeper/batsman is set to miss at least one, probably two of the forthcoming Test matches against India.

He will miss the second Test at the Wanderers from January 3 for a reason that nobody could rationally criticise: The 28-year-old and his wife Sasha are awaiting the birth of their first child and that is due to happen in early January. But because of the strict Covid protocols the series will be played under, players will surely not be allowed to leave and then return to the bio-secure bubble, meaning De Kock will also be absent from the third Test in Cape Town from January 11.

De Kock’s previous withdrawal from a Proteas match came in controversial circumstances as he pulled out of the ICC T20 World Cup match against the West Indies in Dubai in October, rather than follow a CSA Board directive to take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter initiative.

This absence will have the blessing of the selectors, however, even though it robs the Proteas of one of their most imposing batsmen.

De Kock’s situation is why the selectors have chosen three wicketkeepers, Kyle Verreynne and Ryan Rickelton, being the others, in the 21-man squad they announced on Tuesday. Keegan Petersen also has some experience behind the stumps for the KZN Dolphins.

The strict Covid protocols, with replacements not being allowed to be brought into camp, means the selectors have had to cover all the bases up front in the original squad.

Verreynne made his Test debut in South Africa’s previous Test series, against the West Indies in June, but Rickelton has been in impressive form for the Central Gauteng Lions with two centuries in three innings and an average of 93.

Their troubles overseas may have caused a slight fissure in the Bulls’ confidence and coach Jake White said on Wednesday that their crunch United Rugby Championship match against the Sharks in Durban on Friday night will be a real examination of how good the Currie Cup champions really are away from home.

The Bulls have been well-nigh unbeatable at Loftus Versfeld, but they won just one of their four URC matches in the UK and they were beaten by the Sharks in their last visit to Kings Park, in the Currie Cup in August. White is also expecting the Sharks to field many of their nine current Springboks.

“It’s going to be almost like playing an international team with nine Springboks, a Scottish international in Dylan Richardson, and Samoan (OJ Noa) and Australian (Ben Tapuai) Test players,” White said on Wednesday.

“So it’s a massive game for us against the strongest possible Sharks team, and it’s away from home. It’s not just another local derby because it comes on the back of two Currie Cup finals we won against them.

“It’s going to be a massive test of whether we are good enough to win away from home against a star-studded team, a great opportunity to see how good we are. This one is different, it has added spice.

“So the buzz at training this week has been a little like before a Test match and that comes on its own before a massive challenge. Everyone wants to have a crack at those players,” White said.

While White gave his players three weeks off upon their return from Britain because the mental stress of playing so much rugby in Covid bubbles was beginning to tell, he said they have been hard at work since then rectifying some of the areas in which they were exposed on their tour.

“We learnt a lot on tour with different players coming up against you. We thought we were in a good place after the Currie Cup only to find things that really needed to be looked at in our game.

“The breakdown was one, both attacking and in defence, and in terms of attack, we need to develop as a team, we can’t stay in the same groove, we need to work on how we want to use the players in our team.

“The athletic ability of all the players overseas was an eye-opener, their footwork and handling skills. You think you have them cornered and then their skills get them out of the hole.

“The body shapes and abilities of the players overseas was a bit different to what we’re used to and the refereeing was different too – subtleties in defence and attack that would probably be blown here,” White said.