“Just add it to my tab,” Graeme Smith would be justified in saying as India’s tour to South Africa was confirmed and in no small part due to the excellent relationship CSA’s director of cricket enjoys with Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli.
Although India will arrive a week later than the scheduled date of December 9, they will still be playing three Tests and three ODIs in December/January. The four T20s that were meant to be played have, however, been postponed, although CSA are confident that they will be played sometime in 2022.
Many in India seemed to be itching to ditch the tour in light of the Omicron variant of Covid now sweeping the world, but those in the know say the respect former Proteas captain Smith is held in by BCCI president Ganguly and India captain Kohli, helped sway the most powerful team in world cricket.
Given that the broadcast rights alone are worth at least $100 million, Smith has saved financially-troubled CSA hundreds of millions of rand.
The first Test will now start on Boxing Day (December 26) and be played at SuperSport Park in Centurion, while the Wanderers will now host the New Years Test, from January 3. Newlands in Cape Town unfortunately again misses out on their traditional New Years Test, but they will stage the third and final Test from January 11/12.
The ODI series is scheduled for the Cape thereafter.
Omicron is still considered a threat to the tour, however, so it is likely that no spectators will be allowed at the games, insiders say. The number of Covid cases in the country has been rising rapidly, so CSA have had to put a lot of planning into ensuring their bio-secure bubbles in Gauteng and Cape Town will be based on the strictest protocols.
2022 is another T20 World Cup year and CSA are confident India will return to complete their tour with four T20 matches, worth around $20 million each, before the global showpiece is held in Australia in October/November.
India are currently playing their second and last Test against New Zealand, which is due to finish on December 7, and the uncertainty surrounding quarantines has led to their departure being delayed by a week.
Cricket South Africa’s Board issued a directive on Tuesday morning that all Proteas players must ‘take the knee’ in support of the Black Lives Matter initiative against racism before their T20 World Cup match against the West Indies in Dubai, a move that was later confirmed as the reason for key batsman Quinton de Kock withdrawing from the match.
De Kock was a notable omission from the starting XI for what team management called “personal reasons”. The wicketkeeper/batsman has previously expressed his struggles with bubble life, but the timing of his withdrawal inevitably cause immense speculation and CSA issued a statement during the West Indies innings confirming that the former captain had made a “personal decision … not to take the knee”.
The statement said the Board will await a report from team management before deciding on “the next steps”.
The Proteas were fielding first and all the players on the field and the support staff on the side appeared to take the knee with their right fists raised.
CSA Board chairman Lawson Naidoo said he believed the Proteas needed to have a unified response to BLM, rather than the previous situation where some players were standing, others kneeling, some had fists raised and others didn’t.
“A commitment to overcoming racism is the glue that should unite, bind and strengthen us. Race should not be manipulated to amplify our weaknesses. Diversity can and should find expression in many facets of our daily lives, but not when it comes to taking a stand against racism.
“South Africans were recently joined by people across the world in celebrating the 90th birthday of our revered Archbishop Desmond Tutu. What better tribute from the Proteas to an icon of the struggle for freedom in South Africa than to demonstrate we are working to fulfil his vision of a united South Africa,” Naidoo said.
Former long-serving Proteas Mohammed Moosajee urged the board to implement a unified response to BLM by the Proteas when he testified before the Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings last week.
Jasper Wiese will now be the man the Springboks turn to to wear the No.8 jersey and try and make up for the much-mourned absence of Duane Vermeulen, while the much-criticised replacement of prop Ox Nche for the second half of the first Test against the British and Irish Lions has now officially been confirmed as being due to injury.
Nche, who held his own against highly-rated Lions tighthead Tadhg Furlong and was typically impactful in open play, will sadly miss the second Test on Saturday due to a neck injury he picked up towards the end of the first half. It has forced a rejigging of the Springboks’ front-row plans, with Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe now the starting props. Trevor Nyakane, who also did well last weekend, will now cover loosehead from the bench, with Vincent Koch brought in as the tighthead reserve.
But scrummaging was not the Springboks’ major issue in the first Test defeat. In the second half they were exposed in the aerial battle and there was little explosive gainline work either. Wiese, who has been a superb offensive ball-carrier for Leicester Tigers, will hopefully be able to bring some improvement in both problem areas.
“Jasper has been part of our plans and he could form a nice combination with Kwagga Smith coming off the bench too and able to play to his strengths. His main role will be the same as Kwagga’s last week – to get and stop momentum and he was Player 24 last weekend. He’ll have another week of preparation now to get used to how we do things.
“He did very well in the Premiership, his carries were so dominant. Tactically I was probably not sharp enough last weekend to protect Kwagga on the high balls, he was hung out to dry a bit. So we have changed things around there and we want to see from Jasper what got him into the squad. We just needed to improve on how we handled the contestable kicks in the second half,” Nienaber said at the team announcement on Monday.
Smith and Marco van Staden both coming off the bench are certainly two high-energy players and the Springboks have returned to the 6/2 split on the replacements bench they used so successfully in winning the World Cup. That makes Damian Willemse the key backline substitute, fulfilling the role of the veteran Francois Steyn in Japan in 2019.
“Damian has participated in all of the warm-up games and has had time at 12, 15 and 10, similar to what Frans Steyn gave us. He’s versatile and we’ve introduced him into the various roles. We’re comfortable that he can slot into all three of centre, fullback and flyhalf. We’re comfortable the backs can now all handle a full 80 minutes, after a couple of guys had been in isolation for 10 days before the first Test.
“We knew it was going to be tough last week, which is why we didn’t go for the 6/2 split, guys had just not been exposed enough to training, someone like Handre Pollard started cramping. Now they have all been exposed to high-intensity rugby, they are topped up and the muscle memory will still be there having dropped off after isolation,” Nienaber said.
Springbok team: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handré Pollard (vice-captain), Faf de Klerk, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff. Bench – Malcolm Marx, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, Lood de Jager, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies, Damian Willemse.
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.
Galatians 5:25 – “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep walking in step with the Spirit.”
There is only one Christ and all things that are preached in his name must conform to his character. We can only know Christ’s character through an intimate and personal relationship with him.
How would Christ respond in situations in which you find yourself? Would he be underhanded? Would he be unforgiving and cause broken relationships?
“The value of your faith and the depth of your spiritual experience can only be measured by their practical application in your daily life. You can spend hours at mass crusades; have the ability to pray in public; quote endlessly from the Word; but if you have not had a personal encounter with the living Christ your outward acts count for nothing.” – Solly Ozrovech, A Shelter From The Storm
Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Thomas du Toit, Vincent Koch, Salmaan Moerat, Marco van Staden, Embrose Papier, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Aphelele Fassi.