Ken Borland

With the victory in the big game against England safely tucked away in the Done folder, Rassie Erasmus has been able to make the raft of changes that was clearly the desire of the Springbok coach for this Saturday’s Nations Championship Test against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld.

Ten of the 23-man squad that saw off England in impressive fashion at Ellis Park have been retained for the Pretoria match, but only five of them remain in the starting line-up. One of the more interesting selections is the shifting of Damian Willemse, the correct choice for man of the match against England after his outstanding display at fullback, to inside centre.

Jesse Kriel will be alongside him as he retains the No.13 jersey, while Pieter-Steph du Toit, as captain and blindside flank, and Paul de Villiers on the openside, continue to stand in for Siya Kolisi as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

Lock Ruan Nortje, whose work-rate was typically admirable at Ellis Park, is the other player to keep their starting place.

Canan Moodie moves from the bench to starting on the left wing, while scrumhalf Grant Williams, also brilliant at Ellis Park, goes in the other direction. That provides the opportunity for the long-awaited return of Embrose Papier to the Springbok fold. The form scrumhalf of the United Rugby Championship last appeared in Test rugby on November 24, 2018, as a 21-year-old against Wales at the Millenium Stadium.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Zachary Porthen and Ben-Jason Dixon retain their places among the substitutes.

Erasmus said Kolisi should be all right to play next week, as should Lood de Jager and Ethan Hooker. The news on Eben Etzebeth and Ox Nche is not so good.

“We want to give Eben proper time because he has had history with concussion. I don’t think he’ll play in the Nations Championship, we should target Argentina [August 8) for his return. Ox, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Morne van den Berg should be fit three weeks before the New Zealand series.

“Scotland winning in Argentina did not have any role in our selection. We picked this team for us to make sure we go to the World Cup next year knowing who can do what, where and when under pressure. Scotland played really well, they are a good team and they beat England in the Six Nations. So it could be a tougher game this weekend.

“We didn’t necessarily look at franchise combinations, it was just who is fit to play and players we would like to see what they can do. We don’t have a lot of caps and we will be much less experienced than Scotland. But these players wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think they can do the job.

“The wear and tear on players is tough, although we’re fairly fresh now because we have lots of Japan-based players. But then someone like Siya, who didn’t play for six weeks because his franchise was out of the URC, is well-rested but then got injured.

“So this selection is more about rotation, which is not easy because you always want to win. It’s difficult if you lose because then you lose momentum and belief as well. If Saturday had gone badly, then we would have held some guys back and been more conservative in this selection, making just one or two changes,” Erasmus said.

Given how impressive Papier has been for the Bulls over several successful URC campaigns, his continued absence from the Springbok picture baffled many; there were even (inevitably?) whispers about Erasmus and him having some sort of fallout.

But the coach said he was happy the 29-year-old had forced his way back into contention through sheer performance.

“Embrose has played very well this season,” Erasmus said on Monday when asked what had changed his mind about Papier. “2018 was my first year as coach and he earned his caps then. But then guys like Faf de Klerk, Cobus Reinach and Jaden Hendrikse established themselves, even Herschel Jantjies was involved in winning a World Cup.

“So we had a bunch of really good 9s; sometimes you don’t get selected not because you’re not playing well or because you’re not Springbok class. But you could not look past the way he has played this year, there have been some injuries and some guys have lost form. I am very happy for him personally and we wanted him to play with Handre Pollard, who he is familiar with at flyhalf, which will help him,” Erasmus said.

Speaking of Pollard, there are concerns over the 32-year-old’s form and his return to the starting flyhalf position marks a crucial opportunity for him to dispel any talk of him not being on board for next year’s World Cup. In some circles, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok and Willemse would be considered ahead of him in the flyhalf pecking order.

Willemse starting at inside centre last happened on September 13 last year – that landmark day when the Springboks handed the All Blacks a record defeat in Wellington. The double World Cup winner had been influential in the No.12 jersey, but then, in the 38^th minute, with the Springboks trailing 7-10, Aphelele Fassi was injured and Willemse shifted to fullback.

His performance was a revelation and one of the great individual displays in Springbok history, and Willemse has been in the No.15 jersey for the next seven Tests he played in. But with the unfortunate Fassi back in the Springbok mix for the first time since then, Erasmus wants to get him back up and running. With Andre Esterhuizen concussed, Willemse has the chance to remind everyone how good he is at inside centre as well.

Other players looking to re-state their ability are Edwill van der Merwe, fresh off a hat-trick against the Barbarians, on the wing, Evan Roos at eighthman, Cobus Wiese at lock and Johan Grobbelaar and Boan Venter in the front row. Ntuthuko Mchunu, another standout star in the URC, and Porthen are extremely mobile props on the bench and they will be well-suited to an attacking Scottish side playing at altitude.

Ben-Jason Dixon did well as a replacement lock against England and will surely fill that role again at Loftus Versfeld, with Vincent Tshituka and late inclusion Elrigh Louw providing loose forward cover on the bench. Having originally been left out of the Nations Championship squad following a major knee injury that saw him miss most of 2025, Louw has more to gain than most if he can put up a barnstorming performance on his home ground.

Lions star Quan Horn will provide cover for both the fullback and flyhalf positions, Erasmus confirmed.

“Damian Willemse has done helluva well at 15 and now he has a different role at inside centre, he probably won’t have to catch a lot of box-kicks … But we wanted to give Damian de Allende a rest and we wanted to see Aphelele Fassi at fullback. Quan Horn will cover 10 and 15,” Erasmus said.

Team: Aphelele Fassi; Edwill van de Merwe, Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Canan Moodie; Handre Pollard, Embrose Papier; Evan Roos, Pieter-Steph du Toit (capt), Paul de Villiers, Ruan Nortje, Cobus Wiese, Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar, Boan Venter. Replacements– Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zachary Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Vincent Tshituka, Elrigh Louw, Grant Williams, Quan Horn.

Our DP World Lions men’s team has only had to endure the bitter taste of defeat twice in this CSA T20 Challenge campaign, without playing their best cricket yet, which speaks to their ability to get the job done in tight situations.

They were at it again at the weekend when they beat the Auto Investments North-West Dragons by five runs in Potchefstroom to ensure they finished top of the log and will host Qualifier 1 at the DP World Wanderers Stadium on Tuesday evening. Win that and we go straight through to Sunday’s final, defeat would mean a second chance when they take on the winners of Wednesday’s Eliminator between the Dragons and WSB Western Province.

The DP World Lions were defending a total of 170 for three against the Dragons, built around a classy 59 off 38 balls by the veteran No.3 Rassie van der Dussen and a punishing 62 not out off 39 deliveries by young Connor Esterhuizen, who was the Batsman of the Match.

North-West were then restricted to 165 for six in their 20 overs, #ThePrideOfJozi attack once again producing the goods, even when the home side needed 27 runs off the last three overs. Evan Jones kept his nerve as he conceded just nine runs off the last over, but it was the thrilling left-arm paceman Kwena Maphaka who produced the matchwinning over as he conceded just three runs in the penultimate over.

Maphaka had earlier bowled both Dragons openers with superb deliveries as he finished with excellent figures of two for 28 in his four overs and the Bowler of the Match award. Tshepo Moreki also took two wickets, while spinners Nqaba Peter and Reeza Hendricks kept things tight with five overs between them going for just 29 runs.

“We’re finding ways to win, even though we haven’t played our best cricket yet. We’re coming out on top in those big moments and to finish top of the table was a good feat,” happy head coach Russell Domingo said.

“Connor has a lot of potential, he’s only 23 and hasn’t played a lot of cricket. I have plenty of hope for both him and Mitchell van Buuren, they can be very, very good players. And then it’s great to have Rassie’s calmness coming in at three.”

Our DP World Lions’ opponents on Tuesday evening will be the Momentum Multiply Titans, a team that will boast several players who have really mastered the T20 format. The fact that the Titans beat the Pride by 117 runs in our home den in the opening round of the competition, and yet the DP World Lions still ended up topping the standings, illustrates their tremendous resilience.

“The past will have no bearing on the Qualifier, it’s a one-off match between two teams who have some seriously good matchwinners. We take real confidence in the way we played after that first game,” Domingo said.

The focus is on the big moments for our DP World Lions women’s team this weekend as they head to Bloemfontein to get the 2024/25 HollywoodBets ProSeries underway against the Free State Knights, with coach Shaun Pretorius saying all the hard work has been done in the pre-season and now it is all down to the execution.

The DP World Lions finished as runners-up in both the Pro50 and Pro20 competitions last season, so #ThePrideOfJozi are hungry to get over the line this season.

“The focus is on BMT, those big situations when we need to step up and show character, those times when our backs are against the wall,” Pretorius said.

“We’ve had quite a few warm-up games, including against the Titans and the Knights, as well as lots of middle sessions and some time in the classroom as well, where we went over our game-plans and KPIs. There’s been buy-in from the squad, all the hard work is done and the preparation has gone really well.

“We could not ask for better in terms of the facilities at the DP World Wanderers Stadium, so now it all comes down to the execution,” Pretorius said.

Pretorius is not a keen advertiser of his selections ahead of matches, and in terms of the squad he is taking to Bloemfontein, all he wanted to say was that there are a couple of injured players at present, for which they have good cover, and that there are very experienced players going to take on the Knights.

The hosts, meanwhile, will be without former Proteas captain Mignon van der Merwe (nee’ Du Preez), who is pregnant with twins. And our DP World Lions have good memories of their last visit to Bloemfontein, when they chased down 248 with 31 balls and six wickets to spare in the one-day game, and then won the T20 match by seven wickets with seven balls to spare.

“Mignon has obviously been a big run-scorer for the Knights, but we will not take anything lightly going there. Even though we won both games there last season, we still have to execute properly and be clinical in the different phases of the game. Free State still have Yolandi Potgieter and Izel Cilliers is back.

“I especially want our batters to try and manipulate spin bowling better, we need to score at a better strike-rate against the slow stuff. Against pace we are executing well,” Pretorius said.

ST FRANCIS BAY, Eastern Cape – Golf is a capricious mistress and George Coetzee has been in the game for long enough to know the swing he has one day might not be around the next, but the two-time Sunshine Tour order of merit champion had the experience, composure and skill to get the job done on Sunday as he clinched his second PGA Championship title at the St Francis Links.

Coetzee had just a one-stroke lead going into the final round, but a polished four-under-par 68 on Sunday, which included two eagles and almost a third, carried him to 15-under-par and a three-stroke victory in the prestigious R1.2 million tournament.

“I was pretty much under pressure all day, I didn’t really feel comfortable and my swing wasn’t 100%,” Coetzee said after claiming his 14^th Sunshine Tour title.

“But golf is one of those games, it’s not like cycling where the more you cycle the better you get. You can have one swing on one day and then the next day another swing.

“So I was putting pressure on myself, but I stuck to the game-plan, made good choices and hit good shots, and luckily it was enough in the end,” Coetzee said.

Some of those shots were better than good as an eagle on the par-five third hole brought some early pleasure, and he holed out with a sand-wedge for an eagle-two on the par-four 10^th hole. In between those highlights, he could also have eagled the 350-yard par-four fifth hole after driving the green, but his putt was narrowly wide.

“We were put on the clock on the fifth and I didn’t have time to read my putt properly,” Coetzee laughed.

Unusually, Coetzee made bogey on the following hole on both occasions he registered an eagle.

“I was really happy with my two eagles after I saw a lot of chances in the third round. But then it was a bit hard to calm down and get back into my rhythm, get my head back into a good space,” Coetzee admitted.

But back-to-back birdies on the 12^th and 13^th holes put him firmly in control of the tournament and he parred his way in from the 14^th for a comfortable victory in the end.

Rookie Casey Jarvis produced his best Sunshine Tour result as he finished second after a final-round 69, and the experienced duo of Hennie Otto and Jake Redman were tied in third place, one stroke behind on 11-under-par, both shooting two-under-par 70s on Sunday.

Coetzee will now head to Sun City and this week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge, which is like the AGM of South African professional golf, assured that he has the game in place to contend for that massive title.

“The confidence I take from beating the field here is a big boost and I’m generally pretty happy with the swing that has shown up for the last couple of weeks,” Coetzee said.