Ken Borland

The last time the All Blacks played in Durban was on October 8, 2016, and the final round fixture of what had been a disappointing Rugby Championship for the Springboks began positively enough as Morne Steyn kicked two penalties to claim an early 6-0 lead.

What followed was an absolute bloodbath as New Zealand slaughtered the Springboks 57-15, inflicting the then biggest ever defeat in terms of points conceded on their greatest rivals. The visitors scored nine tries and the hosts zero, with Steyn’s five penalties being their only, sorry points.

The sense of depression over Kings Park was huge and even the famous outer fields after-match parties were relatively muted. A side note on a personal level is that it was the first Springbok Test my wife watched live, at the stadium. Although she remains a fan and will watch their games at home or at the pub, she has not returned to a stadium.

It was an ugly stain on the Springboks and coach Allister Coetzee struggled on for another year, ‘improving’ on the biggest defeat record by losing 57-0 to the All Blacks in Albany. The Rassie Erasmus era from 2018 has seen those bloody memories gradually fade and South Africa can now claim to have the upper hand in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, having won five of their last six meetings.

But that 57-15 scoreline is close to what I expect to happen when New Zealand play the Sharks at Kings Park.

Sharks rugby is in the doldrums, much like Springbok rugby a decade ago, having failed to make the playoffs of the United Rugby Championship last season. And coach JP Pietersen, whose 70^th and final Test was at the end of 2016 against England at Twickenham, has named a largely inexperienced side. Injuries have forced his hand in many cases, but the absence of players like Bongi Mbonambi, Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse and Makazole Mapimpi is still shrouded in some mystery.

Of the 23 who will run out to face the All Blacks at Kings Park on Tuesday night, only seven can probably feel confident that they will be involved in the first-choice URC squad for the coming campaign – Vincent Koch, Phepsi Buthelezi, Emmanuel Tshituka, Vusi Moyo, Jurenzo Julius, Ivan van Zyl and Luan Gilliomee.

The 44-year-old former All Blacks legend Ma’a Nonu has been a controversial selection on the bench, having been appointed as a high-performance mentor for the Sharks last month.

But the injury curse continues to plague Pietersen as two key players were late withdrawals from the Sharks team the day before the game – young lock Emile van Heerden, who was their player of the season in the 2025/26 URC, and Springbok utility forward Vincent Tshituka.

“We’ve had a bit of a run of injuries, which is understandable considering we are midway through our pre-season. We have a few props out and there are lock issues as well. But the young boys have got youth and energy on their side and they will definitely show that and fight too. They’ll give it a good go and be competitive for the full 80,” Pietersen said yesterday.

“It’s the strongest team we could put out and it’s going to be a great test for them, youth versus experience, and it should be a great contest against a high-quality team. The occasion will be massive, facing the haka, that’s what players dream of. They can make memories.

“Ma’a Nonu’s name and what he has achieved says it all. He has helped the younger players with how they prepare for the game and their skill sets. He’s also given them a feel for what the All Blacks may give us, he’s given them a good picture.

“He’s slotted in like he has been here a long time. It will be emotional for him because it’s the first time he’ll play against the All Blacks. He’s got the experience, with our younger centres Murray Koster and Jurenzo Julius starting, and our other centres are not available,” Pietersen said.

One area where the Sharks could trouble New Zealand is in the aerial game, especially if the All Blacks back three misses as many contestables as they did in the opening tour match against the valiant Stormers.

The Sharks are used to the humidity of Durban making the ball slippery, but this time it’s a big cold front and rain which will provide even trickier conditions.

“Durban is always humid and the ball is slippery, so we are prepared for it,” Pietersen said. “I think both teams will adjust and there will be more kicking. The All Blacks pride themselves on ball-possession though, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they hold on to the ball in those conditions … “

Flanker Luke Jacobson will captain the All Blacks against the Sharks and he said they expect another aerial bombardment.

“We know how South African teams play – maul, scrum and an up-front battering. We took some awesome lessons out of the Stormers game, it gave us a great taste of what we’re going to get on this tour. We haven’t had a whole lot of time to preview the Sharks, but we know they’ll be up for the battle, they’ll be looking to play their best rugby.

“We expect to be kicked on again, the Sharks have a really good kick-and-chase game, and we’ve put a big emphasis on the outside backs and how the other players work off the ball. You also have less time in the rain and the defences will be up higher. But that’s what we train for,” Jacobson said.

The Stormers produced a top-class display against the tourists and still fell 17 points short. A powerful set-piece, a focus on lineout drives and a strong kicking game were all part of a highly-competitive showing. But the Cape Town powerhouses fielded a URC-strength side, with five Springboks in the pack.

The Sharks have a couple of internationals starting and another pair on the bench in Nonu and scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl. But they are up against what could be a shadow Test side, with the first clash against the Springboks looming on August 22.

It is the first meeting between the All Blacks and the Black-and-Whites since 1992, when New Zealand were in South Africa to celebrate the return from isolation. South African rugby were in for a rude awakening during that tour and a Natal team that went on to dominate the decade locally, were beaten 43-25, with a rampant Va’aiga Tuigamala [PICTURED ABOVE] battering them relentlessly on the wing.

I was in the stands that day for my first view of the All Blacks in the flesh, having been dazzled by watching Bruce Robertson and Sid Going on TV in 1976. A great respect for the All Blacks was born that day, and I expect a callow Sharks team to be taught a lesson this evening.

Leinster are in pain, according to Leo Cullen, after their disappointing exit at the semi-final stage of the United Rugby Championship, but the head coach said the group are still confident they have the ability to continue winning trophies.

Leinster were edged out 25-20 by the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday evening and are now trophyless for a third season, having also been beaten by Toulouse in a Champions Cup final that went to extra time.

The Bulls claimed the winning try in the 67^th minute when wing Sergeal Petersen used one hand to snatch an up-and-under out of the grasp of replacement centre Ciaran Frawley and dived over the line.

“It’s a sixth playoff game we have now lost and it is painful to go through, there is a pretty empty feeling in the dressing room. But there is still a strong belief in the group, as a club we are still highly ambitious and everyone wants to win trophies,” Cullen said after the gripping semifinal.

“It was an unbelievably tight game and really just a moment separated the teams, an aerial contest, just a hand in the air, so there was nothing in it in terms of the result. An individual moment won the game, we were all-square and then there was one big moment, an unbelievable piece of skill at the end.

“The players should be proud of their efforts, I cannot fault that or their character, but there are fine margins in knockout rugby. When you lose, you feel a million miles away, but in the Champions Cup final we were just a drop goal away from the win as well.

“We’ve had some special moments this season, but we’ve just not quite been good enough in the final or this playoff game. We’ve picked up experience of how to navigate at a tough place to come, but it’s disappointing to have the same result. Both of them have been one-score losses and we will go away and reflect, build and go again. Our focus will be on making sure we are better in the big moments. We will get back to work and we’re the ones chasing now,” Cullen said.

The Bulls made 163 tackles with an 88% success rate, compared to Leinster’s 126 at 86%, and the visitors also shaded possession and beat more defenders, leading Cullen to praise the home side for how well they stood up to the attacking pressure piled on to them. A crowd of more than 31 000 roared them on.

“You have to give the Bulls a lot of credit for the way they fought. They would get stuck into the contest, get back on their feet and barge the breakdown again. Defence was maybe the difference tonight, they showed more intensity and fight than us.

“We created lots of opportunities, but you have to give credit to the Bulls for the way they defended, they threw their bodies on the line. You could see the response from the Bulls players to the crowd, as it lifted up their energy.

“We pounded away on attack but the Bulls held firm. You have to give them a lot of credit for the way they stood up in defence. We were very close to breaking them, but we could just not quite do it,” Cullen said.

Leinster had absorbed a strong start to the match by the Bulls, keeping the first quarter scoreless before wing James Lowe crossed over for the opening try as a blindside move took advantage of a yellow card to Petersen for a deliberate knock-on.

But they were unable to build on that lead, with the Bulls levelling matters on the half-hour, and then stretching a 10-7 halftime lead to 17-7 with a try by Petersen two minutes into the second half. Although Leinster fought back to go into the last 15 minutes at 20-20, they were doomed not to add to their tally.

“When we went seven ahead we needed to ram home that advantage, but if you don’t get the back-field right then a guy like Willie le Roux is able to manipulate that and he exposed us with a 50/22.

“But then we were able to fight our way back into the contest and build more pressure, when we were 10 points down we actually had a dominant 15-minute period as our bench made a good impact. But there were a couple of big turnovers and vital moments, and then you don’t get that opportunity again.

“It’s frustrating that we had our chances, but in the first half we weren’t able to build a bigger lead and force the Bulls to play differently and chase the lead. We just made a couple of key errors,” Cullen said.

The DP World Lions ladies team will be hoping for two days of sun and better basics as they take on the Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers in Johannesburg this weekend, following their disappointing trip to Durban three weeks ago.

The Lions were frustrated to have their one-day match against the Dolphins abandoned due to rain, seeing them slip to fifth in the standings, and they then suffered a 10-wicket defeat in the T20 game.

But it’s not like coach Shaun Pretorius hit the roof or anything, he knows our DP World Lions ladies are not far off from winning form. Just one win in the One-Day Cup will lift them back up to third.

“Things didn’t go according to plan in Durban, and there were small things that we can learn from; the only way you’re going to learn those lessons is on the park,” Pretorius said.

“I’m quite confident actually that if we stick to the basics and follow our game-plans, then we have got enough ability to win this weekend. There are still good things happening around the team, there’s no stress.

“If we execute in the right phases of the game, if we get a grip on the game and then hang on to it, then we are capable of a bonus point win which has a massive effect on the log. It’s about handling situations, not overthinking things. We must focus on the ball being delivered now and not look too far ahead. One ball can change the game,” Pretorius said.

They may be feeling a little blue after recent results, but Pretorius has been reminding our #PrideOfJozi of past successes and epic performances like chasing 250 twice at the DP World Wanderers Stadium before.

Our Pride will be without Chloe Tryon and Shabnim Ismail, who are in India for the IPL, and young stars Karabo Meso and Jenna Evans, who are representing South Africa at the Africa Games in Ghana.

But the DP World Lions are not about individuals, but the system, and Pretorius backs the squad for this weekend to put their hands up in the key phases of the game.

Proteas star Tazmin Brits battered a century off the Lions in their meeting in Oudtshoorn in November, but our Pride will not be overly focused on her. Besides, the DP World Lions have experienced, quality Proteas batters of their own in Kirstie Thomson, Sunette Viljoen-Louw and Nonkululeko Thabethe.

The Bulls will be eager to stop their slide down the United Rugby Championship table before the end of October when the competition takes a break, but disappointing results are not the main reason coach Jake White has changed half his starting line-up for their match against Benetton in Treviso on Friday night.

Having been knocked over and physically dominated by the Glasgow Warriors and Munster on successive weekends, the Bulls are now down to sixth on the log. Benetton will definitely be tricky to beat on their home turf, and the high-flying Sharks then come to Loftus Versfeld on October 30.

“It’s not just results that decide selection, I would have changed the team anyway this week,” White said on Thursday. “Every coach has an idea of a certain team he wants to play against certain opposition.

“But then the whole thing changes with injury and I didn’t think I would not have Johan Goosen or Cornal Hendricks. But it’s a long season and the European competition hasn’t even kicked off yet.

“Benetton rested a lot of their main players last week, we know they have targeted this game and everyone understands how tough it will be. It shouldn’t be an ambush here anymore.

“We have not gone from a good team to a poor one overnight, and this is a massive game for us because an away win is like gold. No-one must think we’re going through the motions,” White said.

The ever-improving Benetton side is certainly not going to stand back for anyone on their home ground anymore, and the Bulls can expect a feisty welcome up front, led by loose forward Lorenzo Cannone and his brother, lock Niccolò. Benetton still talk about their famous victory over the Bulls in the Rainbow Cup final last year, when White’s team, rampant at home, were shocked by the intensity of their hosts.

“I hope we are not surprised again. There will be unbelievable passion in the crowd and we are coming from rain and cold every day in Scotland and Ireland to warm weather and sunshine,” White said.

“Benetton still talk a lot about beating us in that final, and that was an opportunity for us to learn some lessons. I hope we are wise enough that we don’t get caught again.

“They are a good team, well-coached, while, for whatever reason, we have not played as well as we can. Sometimes it feels like we are stuck in third gear and we struggle to get into fifth.

“But our saving grace is that it is a long season and we only need to play our best rugby at the back end. But the challenge is for us to get better every week,” White said.

Bulls: Kurt-lee Arendse, David Kriel, Stedman Gans, Harold Vorster, Wandisile Simelane, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier, Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Ruan Nortje, Janko Swanepoel, Francois Klopper, Bismarck du Plessis, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench – Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Walt Steenkamp, WJ Steenkamp, Zak Burger, Morne Steyn, Stravino Jacobs.

Kickoff: 6.30pm.