Ken Borland

SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux is not subscribing to the views of players and former players from Australasia that the days are numbered for South Africa’s partnership with Sanzaar, but he did acknowledge on Monday that major changes for both SuperRugby and the Rugby Championship were inevitable in a post-Covid world.

New Zealand’s SuperRugby franchises will resume play this weekend in an internal competition, while Australian teams are set to follow a similar route. There has been talk of the two countries setting up a Trans-Tasman competition and increased speculation that South Africa will cast its lot in with the Northern Hemisphere.

“As far as Sanzaar goes, we are busy with negotiations in good faith. I’m not too phased about whatever former players, current players or media have to say in Australia or New Zealand, I’m only interested in the people that sit around the negotiating table and they have a completely different viewpoint. But I always have a Plan B, you need the foresight to plan for the worst-case scenario.

“We are very dependent on the decisions of government and that changes quite regularly. But hopefully next Monday we will hear that we can return to training and then return to play in August. That would be a home-based, truncated version of SuperRugby, followed by the Currie Cup and then moving into more international exposure with the international window now moved to October/November.

“It depends on border restrictions, but there is a biosphere model for our teams to be based in Australia, Argentina or here, with a competition in the Northern Hemisphere being an alternative. The biggest influence on Sanzaar will be if New Zealand and Australia don’t open their borders until April. But it’s very clear that the pool format is not the preferred option, we had to come up with a round-robin in which all the teams play each other and it had to make commercial sense.

“We’ll make a rugby decision and then look at the commercials and logistical challenges like reduced flights and number of business class seats, plus whether teams will have to isolate, which means being in a bio-bubble, or quarantine, which means a month in a hotel room without training, will determine those. But the current format will be too tight in a post-Covid world, which is why we’re looking at different options,” Roux said in a virtual press conference on Monday.

The CEO said that the pandemic had at least provided world rugby with the impetus to move towards a global calendar.

“Covid has enabled us to do what we couldn’t do for 130 years and that’s get a global calendar aligned because all competitions are on hold, agreements have been breached or are being re-negotiated. Basically rugby in the Northern Hemisphere will move from winter to summer. The Rugby Championship will move to the beginning of the year with the Six Nations, SuperRugby will stay at the beginning of the year and international rugby will be in October/November. We’ll probably have that all done by July 1.

“We can’t make a final decision on the Springboks until government opens the borders, but by the end of July we should have a very good idea of their schedule. There are very detailed plans for the Rugby Championship to be held at a single venue. If that doesn’t work out then hopefully we’ll have local inbound tours, otherwise we can go North. Failing that we have some very exciting plans for local competitions,” Roux said.

A quick question, if you will.
When did the position of Springbok captain become downgraded to one in which the office-bearer is not allowed to speak on matters of major national interest, especially in terms of rugby?
The furore that has greeted Siya Kolisi’s comments on transformation and quotas has been rife with suggestions that it is not his place to talk about such matters.
Which is absolute nonsense.
I would far rather listen to Kolisi’s views on the subject because he is most affected by it; as a player he is at the coalface of the whole transformation debate. I would far rather listen to Kolisi, surely the embodiment of what transformation hopes to achieve, than either a politician, who lies most of the time and is unwilling to actually do the hard work required to change our society, or an administrator, who in this country is generally self-serving and sadly divorced from the realities of professional sport.
It’s typical of our easily distracted political discourse that everyone has focused on Kolisi’s comments about Nelson Mandela not supporting quotas. It’s not a viewpoint I agree with, my recollection of the 1990s being that Mandela certainly supported efforts to ensure all-White teams did not represent South Africa anymore.
But it’s not the most important thing Kolisi was saying. With respect to the late great Madiba, who did more for sports unity in this country than anyone, his views on quotas are really not relevant anymore. Our society, by and large, has changed so much.
And yet the demographics of our national teams (excluding football) still don’t really reflect this. And it’s because of the other, way more important, issues that Kolisi raised.
It’s hard to believe sometimes when you see the super-athlete that Kolisi has become, and how inspiring and authoritative a figure he is when speaking, that he grew up in poverty. Taking the big hits on a rugby field is probably nothing compared to the feelings of hunger and hopelessness he must have felt before rugby so dramatically changed his life.
Kolisi mentions in his interview with Kyodo News that if he hadn’t have been given a bursary to Grey High in Port Elizabeth he would never have been a professional rugby player, never mind Springbok captain.
South African sport – and especially our rapaciously opportunistic politicians and administrators – owes our Model C schools a tremendous debt of gratitude because they have mostly been driving transformation ever since the 1990s.
Which brings us to the crux of Kolisi’s comments. He is one of the fortunate few to be given the opportunity to fulfil his God-given talent and he made the most of it through tremendous hard work and strength of character. But what of the millions of other township kids who are lost?
One cannot expect them to compete on a level playing field when they are struggling for regular meals, they have no facilities and even getting to practices and games is a major issue.
This is where transformation should be focused and not on the numbers that are so beloved by two-faced, box-ticking politicians and administrators.
It is a sad fact though that many White South Africans have a tough time rating Black players fairly, and Kolisi will no doubt be aware that there are some who believe he is not worthy of his place in the Springbok team.
To blindly stick to a quota system and to not concentrate efforts on ensuring there is a level playing field – equal opportunity – all through the pipeline, is only going to feed into that sort of bigotry.
Our Black sportspeople don’t need quotas to make it; they just need fair opportunity and a level playing field. But that’s going to take hard work from our grandstanding politicians and administrators.

There was nothing logical about the Springboks’ epic victory over the All Blacks in Wellington last weekend: their recent form and that of their opponents certainly didn’t suggest it and neither did South Africa’s miserable record at The Cake Tin, where they had lost all six previous matches against New Zealand. The match statistics were thoroughly dominated by the home side, who outscored the Boks by six tries to five.

And, unusually when I get to watch the Springboks in a non-working capacity, there wasn’t a beer or a braai in sight when I settled down to watch the TV broadcast. That’s because I was watching in a shopping mall (not maul) of all places.

The occasion was one of those “events” that marketing people are so fond of, but this one was memorable, not just because the long nine-year wait for a Springbok win in New Zealand came to an end. I remember thinking, shortly before those excruciating final minutes when the world’s best referee, Nigel Owens, lost his composure as much as anyone, that this had been one of my most enjoyable Springboks-on-TV viewing experiences ever.

I know this next bit will be met with as much disbelief in some quarters as the revelation that I did not have a beer the entire match, but I was also the only White person at the gathering.

In terms of the demographics of the country, it is logical that last weekend’s Fine Leg Productions event with the Gwijo Squad and Touch Rugby Sundays shows what the future of rugby in this country will be like. And what a bright future it is judging by the sheer passion on display, the knowledgeable comments and the tremendous spirit that led to a wonderful atmosphere, even when many of us were cursing Owens under our breath.

I have watched rugby in many establishments in the supposed rugby heartland and felt way less comfortable in a testosterone-fuelled atmosphere and way less impressed by the knowledge of the game that was on display. Several women attended the Fine Leg Productions event and seemed totally at home.

And imagine how much harder it is for these rugby-loving Black fans to feel comfortable in some of our stadiums? This was one of the issues raised after the match in the discussion that was held and it is also central to the creation of the Gwijo Squad.

They are a group of rugby-mad Springbok followers who are transforming the stadium vibe by singing and chanting vernacular war cries and their efforts to inculcate a more inclusive culture have been mirrored at Springbok level. It has been hard for Black Springboks to feel totally comfortable in that environment, to feel that they can bring their own culture into the team, but that has all changed with the appointment of Siya Kolisi as captain. Now we see the team singing traditional songs before and after the game and it is wonderful to behold this new, all-South African culture taking hold.

With so much focus now on the economics of our rugby – the viability of our professional structures and how we are struggling to compete with overseas teams because of the weakness of the rand – it is definitely necessary for the sport to be open to as many communities as possible. In order for that to really take off, those communities have to feel wanted and truly part of South African rugby.

A term like “rugby development” is perhaps not the best word to use because it implies creating an interest that is not already there. Contrary to what All Blacks coach Steve Hansen may believe, judging by the extracts of his book published this week, rugby has also been a Black sport for more than a century.

Perhaps the Gwijo Squad can arrange to take Hansen, when he is here in the first week of October, on a little tour of the Eastern Cape, where Black clubs are more than a hundred years old and rugby poles are seen in the rural areas far more often than soccer goals.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-gauteng/20180922/282720522881060

The Bulls did well to win so convincingly in Durban last weekend, their display was really something special, especially after the Sharks had put in good performances in New Zealand.

I really thought that the Sharks would put up more of a fight though, but it seemed like they just weren’t there. The Bulls exposed a few things in their side tactically, which wasn’t great. Warrick Gelant scored his three tries from kicks through so you have to ask ‘where was the sweeper?’, ‘where were the wings?’ and ‘where was Curwin Bosch?’

For Gelant’s first try, Bosch sprinted all the way from the left-hand side of the field to the right, but he never looked at the ball! He never clocked on to what Handre Pollard was doing. It was a middle ruck and Gelant was on the inside of the flyhalf, but the Sharks still had plenty of time to get to the kick. The Sharks were just not good enough in terms of covering kicks.

The Bulls also scored two tries from mauls, and that’s against a very strong, experienced pack of forwards including Springbok back-rowers. You would have expected them to stop the drive much better than they did and there are obviously issues with the Sharks pack. You know that if you are five metres from your line, the Bulls will maul, that is very predictable.

Gelant really took his opportunity on the day and he is an exciting talent. He’s been in the Bulls system since 2014, after being spotted by Heyneke Meyer at Outeniqua High School in George.

He has really great feet and it is very rare for a fullback to be able to kick with both feet as easily as he can. He has certainly nudged the Springbok selectors in the right direction and his tactical kicking was also good.

But it was Pollard who really directed the game and you have to credit him for seeing the space and executing so well. He has been a Springbok for four years, so even though he is just 24 he is experienced and one can see that he is definitely better in terms of his tactical appreciation of where the space is and how to find it. He was able to put the ball behind the Sharks back three quite easily.

Since Adriaan Strauss has moved back to starting hooker, the Bulls have changed their lineout defence and their maul and their forwards just look much better. They even earned some scrum penalties against the Sharks, so it was a special performance by the pack.

There is now a mountain of pressure on Sharks coach Robert du Preez and their match against the Stormers this weekend in Durban is make-or-break for both teams, who have similar records. The Sharks have 14 points but have only won two of their eight games, with one draw, while the Stormers have won three out of eight matches but have 13 points.

They can still get up to the Lions on 25 points, but they need a good run of wins at home now. The Bulls will probably target away wins against the Sunwolves and Jaguares, which will be so important for them.

The key is how the Lions do on tour – and the three other South African challengers have all toured – and if their four away games don’t go well then it will really bring them back to the pack and make the conference exciting.

I foresee the Bulls getting a good win over the Rebels at Loftus Versfeld.

The Rebels have fallen away a bit with their loss to the Jaguares last weekend and a big defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes before that, so they are not quite where they were a few weeks ago.

They do have one real quality player though in Amanaki Mafi, who is also the Japan eighthman. He is the leading ball-carrier in both Japan and SuperRugby and is one heck of a player, named the Rebels Player of the Year last season. He’s exciting, very explosive and just loves playing rugby. He doesn’t seem to suffer from fatigue and plays 15 Top League games in Japan and then the whole of SuperRugby. I think Loftus will really enjoy him.

It’s been strange to hear the Stormers camp talk about last weekend’s result making the Sharks angry because they will be up against the same team. You would expect them to come out firing at home after a loss like that, but they could also be a little bit devoid of confidence.

The Stormers, meanwhile, have to improve their away record and to do that they have to improve their defence, which has been conceding too many tries – 37, second worst behind the Sunwolves’ 40, including eight against the Lions and five against the Bulls in their last two games.

It’s been interesting to see the differentiation of roles in the Stormers set-up with two defence coaches: Paul Treu doing first-phase attack and defence and Paul Feeney doing everything after that, in other words broken play. It’s definitely a first for me and the proof of how effective it is will be how they finish the season. I do wonder who’s where during training sessions though because normally the defence coach is always behind the defensive line. I’d love to see a video of the Stormers’ training because I reckon the two Pauls are racking up plenty of miles on their GPSs running backwards and forwards!

It’s been really good to see a South African coach do well overseas and Johann van Graan’s achievement in steering Munster into the European Champions Cup semi-final against Racing 92 in Bordeaux on Sunday is fantastic. Since taking over from Rassie Erasmus in November he has had a chance to put his own stamp on the team and it is exciting to see a young (38!) South African coach doing so well overseas, it is a real feather in Johann’s cap.

Munster have certainly put on more attacking displays recently and they have scored quite a lot of tries in the Pro14, with JP Ferreira also doing well as defence coach – another young South African coach doing well.

John McFarland is the assistant coach of the Kubota Spears in Japan and was the Springbok defence coach from 2012 through to the 2015 World Cup, where they conceded the least line-breaks in the tournament and an average of just one try per game. Before that, McFarland won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 09, 10) with the Bulls and five Currie Cup crowns with the Blue Bulls. In all, he won 28 trophies during his 12 years at Loftus Versfeld.