Ken Borland

Spin bowler Keshav Maharaj played a vital innings in the first Test against England that provided a crucial cushion for the Proteas, and on Tuesday he praised batting consultant Justin Sammons for the great work he has done with all the batsmen, the lower-order included.

When Maharaj came to the crease at Lord’s late on the second day, South Africa had slipped to 210/6, losing three wickets for 23 runs as England captain Ben Stokes produced an inspired spell for his team.

But Maharaj helped regain the momentum by scoring a pugnacious 41, as he and Marco Jansen (48) added 72 for the seventh wicket in just 12-and-a-half overs.

Anrich Nortje then added 28 not out on the third morning, boosting South Africa to a decisive first-innings lead of 161. It has been noticeable how much the batting of the lower-order has improved, and those runs are vital for a team playing with just six specialist batsmen and no real batting all-rounder.

“When Mark Boucher took over as coach, he really made us work hard on our batting because he knew how vital 70 runs can be,” Maharaj said. “So there’s lots of time spent by us in the nets.

“Mark, Justin Sammons and the other coaches really put in a lot of work throwing to us. Sammo has been exceptional for the batting unit as a whole, and he makes sure us in the lower-order really take care of the nitty-gritty of batting.

“As a batting unit, I’m sure the top six want more centuries, they are very driven. I’m sure in the second and third Tests we will see some hundreds.

“SJ Erwee showed really good application and he and Dean Elgar really set a good platform for us. The middle-order did not really fire, but I’m sure they’ll get that right in this Test coming up,” Maharaj said.

Speaking of Elgar, Maharaj said his direct captaincy style had been one of the reasons for the Proteas turnaround in Test cricket.

“We are more sound as a unit, we are going about our business a lot better,” Maharaj said. “From Dean’s first tour in charge to the West Indies last year, he put a lot of clarity in place.

“That’s what we needed, a bit of a shake-up. Dean is very driven and the youngsters feed off him as things have aligned in terms of discipline and culture.”

But Maharaj also respects the strength of the English camp ahead of the second Test starting at Old Trafford on Thursday.

“We know England are fierce competitors and they will do everything to try and bounce back. They have played some really good cricket in the last year.

“They have fought out of situations where they weren’t favoured to win. They have some world-class players and we know what they are capable of,” Maharaj warned.

Veteran Springbok fullback Willie le Roux may have ceded the No.15 jersey to Damian Willemse for the first Test against Wales in Pretoria on Saturday, but he will still be on the bench, with coach Jacques Nienaber saying he is “crucial to our attacking game-plan”.

The 32-year-old Le Roux, who gets more than his fair share of criticism, could earn his 73^rd cap on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld and statistics prove the value he adds in often being the spark for the South African attack.

Acoording to a tweet released by Opta statistics on Tuesday, Le Roux has made the most offloads (40) and try-assists (35) of any Springbok since making his Test debut in 2013.

“Willie has lots of experience and he brings a lot to the team through the week,” Nienaber said on Tuesday. “He has knowledge to impart for the youngsters.

“I know people have lots to say about Willie, but look at how many times he makes the last pass to allow us to score a try. You must be able to see space and create to do that.

“What Willie does for our attack is outstanding. Sometimes he looks average in other areas and he always gets criticism, but the reality is he does lots and is crucial to our attacking game-plan,” Nienaber said.

While South African fans have been loving the exciting new talent that has exploded on the scene through the United Rugby Championship, Nienaber said youth will have to wait to be given its head.

“It was a tough selection to get to the final 23, but we have a plan in terms of what we want to achieve. We could have selected other players who would not have dropped the team,” Nienaber admitted.

“Hopefully we will see those guys operating in the near future for the Springboks. To get youngsters into the team is always a balancing act. You want to do it when you have momentum, because that makes it easier for them.

“And the only way to get momentum is by winning. It’s not easy to bring new guys into the team when the confidence is low.

“Sure, new faces will bring a bit of energy and renewal to the team, maybe some creativity, but you also want to be able to build that momentum,” Nienaber said.

There is no doubt the Bulls players and management crave the sort of pedigree and success in European rugby that Leinster enjoy, and coach Jake White is hoping upsetting the Irish giants in their United Rugby Championship semi-final in Dublin on Friday is the first step on that path.

Leinster have won the European Champions Cup four times, second only to Toulouse (5), and the Pro14 competition (the URC’s predecessor) eight times including the last four tournaments in a row. They also topped the final URC log by six points.

But while it’s obvious how much White respects Leinster, it’s also one of the great joys of sport that hot favourites are sometimes upset by the underdogs in knockout matches. It’s those games the fans live for, and the former World Cup winning coach is hoping Friday night is one of those days for the Bulls.

“Leinster are an incredible team, to put it in perspective, Sean Cronin, their reserve hooker, has played 206 games for them and Jonny Sexton has played 183. Together they have probably played more matches than our entire squad and they are both on the bench.

“We all want to become like Leinster in terms of our structures and we have massive respect for them. Who else has players like Cronin, Sexton, Cian Healy and Ciaran Frawley on the bench?

“Leinster used 60 players in this season’s URC, which is 16 more than us. Those learnings mean you will be so much better next year and after that. For us it’s about building a team over the next couple of years so we can be one of the strongest clubs in world rugby.

“But people follow sport because there’s always a chance, the players believe they can do it and I want them to give it a real crack. We’ve got confidence that on our day we can win,” White said.

For the upset to happen though, it’s going to be crucial for the Bulls to absorb the early blows Leinster, at their formidable RDS Arena, are going to rain down on them.

“We have to start well, Leinster score most of their points in the first 25 minutes,” White said. “It’s very difficult to play catch-up against them, especially at their home ground.

“La Rochelle stayed in the game well in the Champions Cup final a fortnight ago, but the last time we were here, we looked again and we were 15 points down.

“But it will be different this time because we won’t be overawed, we are more controlled now and we have more settled combinations.”

Having bished-and-bashed their way into the last four, there is no pressure on the Bulls, and whatever they get out of Friday night’s game will be a bonus.

“I think we have surpassed everything we were meant to do already,” White said after naming an unchanged starting XV on Thursday. “Now we see if we can live with the best standard of European clubs.”

Bulls: Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, Madosh Tambwe, Chris Smith, Zak Burger; Elrigh Louw, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements -Bismarck du Plessis, Simphiwe Matanzima, Robert Hunt, Janko Swanepoel, WJ Steenkamp; Embrose Papier, Morne Steyn, Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Springbok legend Joel Stransky has advised the Sharks to concentrate more on their coaching structure than who they actually play at flyhalf as they head into a crucial phase of the United Rugby Championship.

The Sharks host the Scarlets at Kings Park on Friday night and are leading the South African Shield, sitting inside the playoff places in eighth spot. But the Stormers and Bulls are within striking distance and the Sharks need to get bonus point wins against both the Welshmen and then Zebre Parma the following weekend to capitalise on home games against teams in the bottom half of the log.

But to do that, the Sharks will need to score tries and they seem unsure of who to play in the pivotal flyhalf role – Curwin Bosch, Boeta Chamberlian or Tito Bonilla?

“Whenever a team does not click on attack then people blame the flyhalf, but more often than not one should look at the coaching structure,” Stransky told The Citizen.

“Is the team getting good ball, go-forward possession, quick ball? Are they creating the space to attack and what are their running lines, are there dummy runners?

“The flyhalf plays a big part in all of that because he is first-receiver more often than not. If you have a forward as first-receiver than your whole game-plan changes.

“But if your flyhalf is first receiver then he must understand space and have the ability to carry the ball into that space with speed. He needs to understand if he needs to play flat or be in the pocket,” Stransky said.

The 1995 World Cup hero was part of the Natal Sharks’ Currie Cup winning teams of the early 1990s, and while his most famous moment came with the boot, Stransky was also an authoritative figure on attack, with silky skills. The Sharks then moved on to an iron-bodied, gain-line dominating flyhalf in Henry Honiball.

None of their current trio of No.10s are in that mould, but Stransky said he would back Chamberlain as his first-choice. The 23-year-old wrought a tough 24-10 win over the Pumas last weekend in the Currie Cup, kicking eight penalties as the Sharks failed to score a try.

“It’s a tough one but I would probably go for Boeta because he brings a bit more flow and rhythm to their game,” Stransky said. “He plays a bit flatter and understands when he needs to take the ball flat.

“Curwin is a great kicker and has other attributes, but he does hang back a bit in the pocket. The Sharks have got issues scoring tries, but when Boeta played URC five or six weeks ago, he wasn’t too bad.”