Ken Borland

Springbok Sbu Nkosi will get the chance to re-establish himself as one of the country’s top three wings in Pretoria next season, with Bulls coach Jake White confirming on Friday that the 26-year-old is heading to Loftus Versfeld.

Nkosi has been one of the Sharks’ star players over the last few years, but with Madosh Tambwe leaving for Europe at the end of this season, the Bulls approached the World Cup winner and have now won the tug-of-war for his services.

The Barberton product was contracted at the Sharks until July 1, but he has hardly featured in their United Rugby Championship campaign due to persistent illness and recent surgery. Nkosi is in danger of losing his place in the Springbok squad due to his lack of chance to shine, especially with the rise of players like Aphelele Fassi, Tambwe and Seabelo Senatla. He was previously considered next in line to Cheslin Kolbe and Makazole Mapimpi, and he played in the 2019 World Cup semi-final against Wales when Kolbe was injured.

“Sbu Nkosi will start with us when Madosh goes to Europe,” White confirmed on Friday. “When the season at the Sharks ends, he will move back up to Gauteng and he will join us on July 1.

“He can’t come and join us before the end of the season though. The only new guy coming before July is Ruan Vermaak, whose season in Japan has ended and he will be an extra forward for us,” White said.

With the Bulls backed by such successful businessmen as Patrice Motsepe and Johann Rupert, they are probably the only South African franchise who can compete with the Sharks, who are backed by the wealthy MVM Consortium, for players.

Having done all the hard work to get themselves into the top four of the United Rugby Championship, Sharks coach Sean Everitt says it is vital his unchanged team don’t miss the chance to move further up the log when they host Connacht at Kings Park on Saturday.

Connacht are out of the running for a quarterfinal place, but they have shown they will be a tough proposition who never miss a chance to slow down and frustrate their opposition.

“Like the other South African teams, we were under the pump right from the start in this competition because we dropped points away,” Everitt said. “We’ve had to build our performance.

“The guys know winning every game is important, but this is a really big game and it’s very important for us to go up the log. We don’t want to get on the plane for our last match under pressure to qualify.

“Connacht are a difficult side to play against, as they showed in beating the other three South African teams. They are certainly gutsy and they have a good defence that flies off the line.

“One of their main attributes is the way they attack the breakdown, they tend to spoil at the breakdown and set-piece and try not to let you get into any rhythm. They come with unbelievable speed and energy,” Everitt said.

With the URC now at the sharp end of the season, Everitt says it is the soft moments, the errors that often come after a period of good rugby, that you cannot afford against the likes of Connacht.

“Things are coming together nicely for us, but what has let us down is our alertness on the field and you can’t afford to give away soft opportunities.

“Against Leinster it was two moments we lacked concentration on defence, not closing down the space, and the top teams are ready for any opportunity like that – around the ruck or a quick tap on the 22 or a crosskick.

“Connacht are also a massive threat on the floor, so you obviously have to focus on that. But our breakdown has improved a lot, both in defence and attack.

“We have a good blend of attack and kicking and we had some very good counter-attacks against Leinster, with Aphelele Fassi having a wonderful game. Hopefully it’s dry and we’ll have more time on the ball to get it to the edge where our dangermen are,” Everitt said.

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Ben Tapuai, Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Henco Venter, Siya Kolisi, Gerbrandt Grobler, Le Roux Roets, Thomas du Toit (CAPT), Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Reniel Hugo, Jeandre Labuschagne, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain.

The Stormers showed last weekend just how effective a powerful scrum is against the Glasgow Warriors, but Bulls coach Jake White also wants to use the lineout to attack the Scottish playoff contenders in their United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

The Glasgow scrum struggled to take the heat put on them by Frans Malherbe and Steven Kitshoff in Cape Town, but White said on Thursday that the Bulls don’t have the luxury of Springbok props, so they will be looking to the lineout to also put the Warriors under pressure.

The visitors’ lineout is, however, led by the lighthouse-like figure of veteran lock Richie Gray, who has played 67 Tests for Scotland.

“We don’t have the luxury of a great scrum with incumbent Test props, but we need to find a way to use it as an attacking platform, be clever with it and not just use it to bail us out and get a penalty,” White said.

“It’s a significant difference between how rugby is played locally and overseas, where the scrum is used as an attacking platform, compared to being used here as a way to get a penalty and territory.

“But the lineout can also be used as a different form of attack, like the Canterbury Crusaders or Leicester Tigers do – you can maul, go off the top, come round the front or the back, or use overthrows.

“It’s an area of the game that has changed a lot because the referees are strict on the backs not coming in too soon. So you can have changes of tempo there, you can play quickly if you want,” White said.

While the selection of a counter-attacker like Canan Moodie to replace the injured Kurt-Lee Arendse at fullback shows that the Bulls will still want to give the ball plenty of air, especially if Glasgow – who like to kick for territory – are inaccurate with the boot, White said he had chosen Morne Steyn as his starting flyhalf for a specific reason he did not want to divulge.

Perhaps Steyn’s ability to mail monster kicks deep into opposition territory and then putting the Warriors lineout under pressure is the reason.

And then when the visitors are ailing from altitude in the second half, impact players like Chris Smith, Cyle Brink and Harold Vorster can come off the bench and play some exciting rugby.

Bulls team:Canan Moodie, James Verity-Amm, Lionel Mapoe, Cornal Hendricks, Madosh Tambwe, Morne Steyn, Zak Burger; Elrigh Louw, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. IMPACT-Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Dylan Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Cyle Brink, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Harold Vorster.

If you are used to some of the Bulls sides of old, you would not believe it but current coach Jake White has prioritised a counter-attacking fullback, which is why he has shifted wing Canan Moodie to No.15, in place of the injured Kurt-Lee Arendse, for their United Rugby Championship clash with Glasgow Warriors at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

Arendse, who has shown marvellous ball skills and the ability to regularly ghost past defenders on his way to seven tries in this season’s tournament, fractured his thumb last weekend against Benetton Treviso. White described it on Thursday as a relatively minor injury similar to the one that kept Stormers star Warrick Gelant out for a few weeks.

“Kurt-Lee got injured in the 60^th minute and then after the game he felt his hand was a bit sore after the adrenalin wore off. He came to training on Monday and the hand was a bit bruised,” White explained.

“The scans showed a little hairline fracture at the bottom of the thumb and he had a screw put in which should help the bone heal quicker, hopefully it gets him back on the field sooner.

“It’s an injury like Warrick had, with the associated ligament damage, which could take four-to-six weeks, but hopefully sooner because Kurt-Lee is very important to us.

“The way we attack requires a different kind of fullback to say a David Kriel, Kurt-Lee’s type of fullback has worked well for us. And the competition as a whole has shown that a fullback that can attack from the back works – for example Warrick,” White said.

The well-travelled World Cup winning coach likes the idea of backs who can play in several different positions, and the versatile James Verity-Amm comes in on the right wing to replace Moodie, while former Springbok wing Cornal Hendricks will continue his midfield partnership with Lionel Mapoe, with specialist inside centre Harold Vorster on the bench upon his return from a positive Covid test.

“Canan has run a few times at fullback in training and James can play both fullback and wing. It’s a good opportunity to see how Canan goes at fullback with mature and older wings around him in James and Madosh Tambwe,” White said.

“In the 2003 World Cup, Australia played Latham, Roff, Rogers, Larkham and Burke, who were all fullbacks. If you’re good enough, you should be able to play anywhere.

“It’s just about balancing the combinations, and the number on your back is not important in multi-phase attack. Jonah Lomu played eighthman at school and was one of the greatest wings ever.

“Tiaan Strauss and Morne du Plessis both played fullback and centre before moving into the pack; Danie Craven played in a handful of positions for South Africa. So it’s nothing new.

“It’s the way the game is going now, the more versatile you are the better. To use a chess analogy, having more Queens would be better that having just Pawns that can only play in certain ways,” White said.

Bulls team:Canan Moodie, James Verity-Amm, Lionel Mapoe, Cornal Hendricks, Madosh Tambwe, Morne Steyn, Zak Burger; Elrigh Louw, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. IMPACT-Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Dylan Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Cyle Brink, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Harold Vorster.