Ken Borland

With the Bulls having the experience of Arno Botha and Jacques van Rooyen on the bench, and a Springbok scrumhalf in Embrose Papier sitting alongside them, and the Lions fielding six forwards amongst their reserves, five of them relatively inexperienced, Bulls coach Jake White said on Thursday that he is confident his team will have the edge when it comes to the closing stages of their Currie Cup semi-final in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Lions will have a well-travelled reserve prop in Ruan Dreyer, but Jan-Henning Campher, Carlu Sadie, Reinhard Nothnagel, Wilhelm van der Sluys and Francke Horn are all still making their way at this level and White quickly seized on the composition of the visitors’ bench.

“When I look at the Lions, I see six forwards on the bench so that’s how they’re going to finish and I don’t think those guys have played a game together as a pack. They said they’re going to run the ball but they only have two backs on the bench. So it’s going to be hard for them to play from side-to-side and it’s a big risk with six forwards who haven’t played together before.

“So that will present opportunities for us as well, our preparation has been very good and we are full of confidence. We’ve won most second halves in the matches we’ve played, so by that measure we are a team that finishes well. We can change things around and not just be one-dimensional. We’ve beaten the Lions, Sharks and Western Province twice so there’s no reason for us not to be confident,” White said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Bulls starting line-up announced on Thursday is pretty much the first-choice team White would have had in mind a few weeks ago. The exceptions are at lock and hooker, where Sintu Manjezi and Schalk Erasmus have cracked the nod.

Promising 25-year-old second-rower Walt Steenkamp is still fighting his way through the Covid return-to-play protocols, while Erasmus is the heavier of the two hookers – 108kg to the 98kg of Johan Grobbelaar – and thus will start to bolster the scrum, where the Bulls will have to weather an early onslaught from the Lions.

“Walt is still not 100% in terms of the return-to-play protocols. Our medical team is very proactive and has lots of concern for the players, so his welfare comes first, we won’t take a chance and they are 100% sure that he’s not quite back where he should be. Schalk scrummed with Lizo Gqoboka and Trevor Nyakane last game and I just thought it was easier to keep them together.

“With Grobbies, Jacques and Arno on the bench we have a bit more senior, experienced heads to finish. We have the luxury of having Jacques on the bench, who is a great asset, but Lizo is a Springbok and has played many times with Trevor. They’ve been working with scrum coach Daan Human and the feeling was they are a settled combination,” White said.

Bulls: David Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Stravino Jacobs, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Sintu Manjezi, Trevor Nyakane, Schalk Erasmus, Lizo Gqoboka. Bench – Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen, Mornay Smith, Jan Uys, Arno Botha, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.

The return of tighthead prop Thomas du Toit to the Sharks line-up and the absence of loosehead Steven Kitshoff for Western Province will be an obvious shift in the fortunes of the two teams for the Currie Cup semi-final at Newlands on Saturday, but Sharks coach Sean Everitt said on Thursday that it is what happens after the set-pieces that is of more importance than the scrum or lineout itself.

Everitt was able to choose both his Springbok props in Du Toit and Ox Nche on Thursday, while Kitshoff, South Africa’s No.1 loosehead and one of the world’s best in that position, was ruled out of the semi-final due to Covid-19 protocols.

“Even if you get set-piece dominance, what happens next is the important thing. After a dominant scrum or lineout is does make getting the gainline advantage easier, but the set-pieces are just a platform to play from. There are lot of other aspects that have to take place to get points on the board. But it will be good to have Thomas back after he was out for quite a while with Covid problems and injury before that.

“The set-piece battle is about the unit though and although Kitshoff is one of the best and exceptionally fit, Ali Vermaak is a good player as well and Western Province still have Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, JD Schickerling and Salmaan Moerat so it is a formidable tight five. So we certainly cannot take it easier and we are never happy when someone falls sick,” Everitt said on Thursday.

While Everitt had the full complement of players to choose from, the Sharks’ tight five does show a couple of changes from the outfit that would have been considered the first-choice selection a few weeks ago. The selections of Fez Mbatha to start at hooker and JJ van der Mescht at lock point to the KwaZulu-Natalians bulking up the scrum to counter Western Province’s key strength.

“Fez Mbatha went really well against Griquas and made the scrum stronger; Dan Jooste was struggling wit an eye injury last week and we actually weren’t sure whether he’d be fit this weekend, so he will start off the bench. JJ van der Mescht is purely picked on merit, he had one of his best performances against Griquas and Hyron Andrews hasn’t played for a while so we didn’t feel his body could last the whole 80 minutes.

“One would obviously like the continuity of playing every weekend and picking the same players, but we are level-pegging in that regard with the other three teams in the semi-finals. It’s all about how you train and the quality of your preparation. It’s a bit like the first game of the season, we all worry about how we’re going to go. But we’re on an equal footing with Western Province, it’s not as if they’ve been playing either,” Everitt said.

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (c), Marius Louw, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Ruben van Heerden, JJ van der Mescht, Thomas du Toit, Fezokuhle Mbatha, Ox Nche. Bench – Dan Jooste, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, Hyron Andrews, Thembelani Bholi, Jaden Hendrikse, Jeremy Ward, Manie Libbok.

Given an opportunity at outside centre by coach Jake White, Springbok Sevens stalwart Stedman Gans has become one of the Bulls’ star players in their successful 2020/21 campaign and while he achieves some goals, he says there are more boxes he wants to tick in the future.

The 23-year-old Gans, born in Vredenburg on the Cape West Coast but educated at Waterkloof and Tuks, played three Currie Cup games off the bench for the Blue Bulls in 2019, but it was a major surprise when White entrusted him in SuperRugby Unlocked with the No.13 jersey. And it was a masterstroke as Gans has brought considerable flair, skill and defensive nous to the midfield alongside another former Sevens star in Cornal Hendricks.

“The plan was always to come back to XVs and I’ve really enjoyed the last year with the Bulls, I’m definitely happy with the way things have gone. I’m not surprised that us Sevens guys have done so well because the way XVs is going, it definitely suits the Sevens guys more these days. More speed and skill are coming in, power still plays a big role but skill has a big influence now.

“Because I play at No.13, a big motivation for moving to Sevens was to sharpen my defence, my tracking ability, and that’s a big focus in Sevens. I think we’ve shown that Sevens players can come in and make a big difference in the 15-man game. A guy like Cornal is a Springbok, he has played for a long time, at a few places, and you get a lot from the experience and calmness that he brings,” Gans, who represented the Blitzbokke from 2016 to 2019, said.

Looking ahead to the Currie Cup semi-final against the Lions at Loftus Versfeld next weekend, Gans said the do-or-die nature of the Sevens circuit will certainly help him prepare for the nerves and the pressure of knockout rugby.

“There are certain things I’ve learned from Sevens for if you’re in these situations, these pressure positions, I’m fortunate to have been in those a few times. So I will just focus on the processes and not the outcome, and there are certain mental triggers and I will use those in the next week.

“We are very aware that the Lions will bring their A-game in the semi-final, so we must prepare well and be at our best as well. We expect their best game of the season from the Lions, they’re definitely going to bring their A-game so we have to too if we are going to play in the final,” Gans said.

As for the rest of 2021, it is an Olympic year and Gans would like to be in the mix for a return to the Springbok Sevens squad.

“The Olympic Games are a definite goal, but closer to the time those details will be tightened up. But I have spoken to coach Jake White and it is his intention and mine to give me the opportunity to go to Japan if the Blitzbokke want me. It will be a very difficult decision if the Springboks want me at the same time, I will have to make that if we get there,” Gans said.

Barring the development of further Covid infections in the next week, Sharks coach Sean Everitt said on Thursday that he will have a full squad to choose from for their Currie Cup semi-final against Western Province at Newlands next weekend.

The Sharks had their last round-robin match – also against Western Province in Cape Town – cancelled after several positive Covid tests in their camp, but the outbreak would now appear to be over as the whole squad tested negative this week.

“At the moment no-one is ruled out and as things stand we will have a full squad to choose from for the semi-final. And I’m extremely confident that it will stay that way because the players have really tried hard to isolate at home, and I believe the other three teams are the same. Nobody wants to miss out on a semi-final and potential final, and we control what we can.

“We have a good week’s training, although some guys still need to work through the Covid protocols and will only return to training later. The return-to-play is a different process for the number of guys that tested positive and some of them will only return to training on Saturday. The severity of symptoms vary, but we’re in a pretty good space at the moment,” Everitt said on Thursday.

The Sharks had just notched a highly-impressive win over the Bulls when the virus struck their camp, leading to weakened teams being well-beaten on the road by the Lions and Free State Cheetahs. But the KwaZulu-Natalians bounced back with a commanding 47-19 win over Griquas in their last outing on January 2, and Everitt believes they have the potential to carry that momentum all the way in this year’s Currie Cup if they can eliminate individual errors.

“Since those defeats we’ve been able to get the show on the road and prepare properly, and when we’ve been able to pick our best team, we’ve been able to deliver a performance. Obviously our rhythm has been disrupted, but we came back strongly after our last break to beat the Bulls, we have a full squad to select from and the guys are raring to go.

“It’s always easier going to Cape Town than playing on the Highveld and if we can eliminate the individual errors, then I’m not too concerned about whatever conditions we’ll face. We all know Western Province have a good set-piece, and I’m sure they’ll try and use their strengths to dominate us, but if we get that right then I’m sure we’ll have a very good chance of winning,” Everitt said.