Ken Borland

Siya Kolisi did okay in Cape Town, but judging by coach Sean Everitt’s report card since the Springbok captain moved to Durban, the Sharks are expecting him to have an explosive impact in the Rainbow Cup.

And, as fate would have it, the Sharks’ first game in the new competition is back in Cape Town against the Stormers and Kolisi was on Thursday named in the starting line-up in the No.6 jersey.

“Siya arrived here under a lot of pressure but he certainly stood up and has trained very hard. The training has been a step up from what he was used to, but he has had really good preparation now and there has been a vast improvement in his conditioning.

“As he showed in the preparation series, his contributions on the field are telling and he’s a lot more involved in our system than he was with Western Province. He brings a lot of experience and leadership too, and the guys look up to him and take a lot of confidence from him being on the field,” Everitt said on Thursday.

The Sharks ruined Western Province’s farewell to Newlands back in January when they beat them 19-9 in the Currie Cup semi-finals. They absorbed plenty of pressure from the much-vaunted WP pack on that day, demolishing their maul, and Everitt on Thursday backed his pack to nullify the Stormers up front again.

“Obviously the challenge is going to come at scrum and lineout time, but it’s the same scrums both teams had in Super Rugby and a turnover scrum won us that game. Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit are both in the Springbok fold and Fez Mbatha must be knocking on the door, so it’s going to be an interesting tussle with their front row.

“In the Currie Cup, Western Province were more set-piece orientated, but I think the Stormers will come with a mixture of styles on Saturday because they would have got a lot of confidence from the preparation series where they scored some great tries and their attack certainly came on leaps and bounds. That makes it more difficult for us, but if we nullify them up front then we should be okay,” Everitt said.

Sharks team – Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (C), Jeremy Ward, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Grant Williams, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, Siya Kolisi, Reniel Hugo, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit, Fez Mbatha, Ox Nche. Replacements: Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Wiehahn Herbst, JJ van der Mescht, Phepsi Buthelezi, Sanele Nohamba, Manie Libbok, Werner Kok.

As they prepare to wade their way into turbulent European waters, Bulls coach Jake White said the heavy defeat his team suffered at the hands of the Sharks in Durban this weekend was a valuable “learning curve” for his youngsters.

The second-string Bulls emerged from their Kings Park clash like up-country visitors battered by the Ballito breakers as they were on the wrong end of a 45-12 scoreline.

“After 25 minutes we were 31-5 down but we did not let them score again until the 74^th minute when we only had 13 men on the field. It’s never nice to be on the wrong end of that sort of result but there was fighting sprit and we can build on that. The Sharks played really well and they created some really good tries with their catch-and-pass style. But it was almost their exact team from the Currie Cup final.

“We were a bit inexperienced and it was difficult weather. But if we’re not winning then we’re learning and I’m very chuffed with the way we came back, you’ve got to be proud of the effort and commitment. It could have been a 70-pointer, but we’ll take it as being all part of the learning curve for these guys. Overall I’m very happy with the preparation series,” White said.

So impressive was the Sharks’ handling in the sodden conditions of a Kings Park swamp in those opening stages that it seemed some voodoo must have been involved.

“I thought it was an outstanding first half-hour and then unfortunately things went a little awry. But they were very difficult conditions – humid and wet – and the guys were very brave with ball in hand. We wanted to play quickly, we moved the ball around and the skill level was very high. Our plan was to up the pace as much as we could.

“There’s a certain style of rugby we want to play and we counter-attacked really well. We did not play much in our own half, but it’s not all about kicking, it’s about getting the balance right and from turnover ball you have about a 10-second window to move the ball and we managed to move it so quickly. Our set-piece also did really well at the start,” a pleased Sharks coach Sean Everitt said.

Siya Kolisi taking just 16 minutes to score his first try for his new team summed up a dazzling start for the Sharks, laying the platform for a 45-12 win over the Bulls in their preparation fixture in Durban on Friday night.

The Sharks brushed off the sodden conditions, Kings Park resembling a swamp, scoring five tries in the first 25 minutes to race into a 31-5 lead. Their fast start was enabled by their first two scrums being massively dominant, earning penalties which first set up hooker Fez Mbatha for a try and then earned a penalty try (and a yellow card for Bulls hooker Schalk Erasmus) inside the first eight minutes.

The Bulls were on the board after 13 minutes, Kolisi almost intercepting flyhalf Morne Steyn’s pass to Marnus Potgieter, but the outside centre showed great skill to take the ball outside his man and break the line before passing out wide for eighthman Nizaam Carr to score.

But the Springbok captain had his moment of glory just three minutes later. A Sharks attack seemed to be going nowhere, but flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain and wing Sbu Nkosi, changing direction to good effect, sparked something. Nkosi provided the telling break, Kolisi was up in support and he powered through two tacklers to score.

Kolisi’s debut lasted until the 50^th minute, longer than coach Sean Everitt said he expected, but that was due to eighthman Sikhumbzo Notshe rolling an ankle in the first half and needing to be replaced. Kolisi had a quiet but industrious game, wearing the No.6 jersey but playing more of a traditional eighthman linking role. His last action came when he was bumped off in midfield by Bulls centre Dawid Kellerman, on his way to the tryline on a monstrous run from halfway.

Centre Marius Louw and prop Ox Nche both scored after Kolisi and then, with the Bulls down to 13 men in the last 10 minutes, replacements Rynhardt Jonker and Sanele Nohamba added two more tries to the home side’s tally.

The Bulls improved in the scrums and kept the Sharks scoreless between the 25^th and 74^th minutes and their largely second-string side never lacked for enthusiasm and effort. But they made too many mistakes and ill-discipline was once again a problem as Marius van der Westhuizen was an unsympathetic referee. Which is what SA Rugby are expecting from the officials up north.

Scorers

Sharks – Tries: Fez Mbatha, penalty try, Siya Kolisi, Marius Louw, Ox Nche, Rynhardt Jonker, Sanele Nohamba. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain (3), Nohamba.

Bulls – Tries: Nizaam Carr, Dawid Kellerman. Conversion: Morne Steyn.

There may have been two days of rain, but Dolphins captain Marques Ackerman said he knew that on a typically dry Kingsmead deck, his spin duo of Prenelan Subrayen and Senuran Muthusamy would still win them the game in the 4-Day Domestic Series final which ended in Durban on Monday.

And so it proved in extraordinary fashion as off-spinner Subrayen (10 for 80 in 60 overs) and slow left-armer Muthusamy (nine for 91 in 42.5 overs) shared an unprecedented 19 wickets (the other dismissal was a run out) as the Titans were hammered by an innings and 76 runs, including being bowled out for their lowest ever total – 53 – in the first innings.

“I’m being dead honest when I say that even with only three days left in the game, not once was there any talk about the draw. We said from the start that we were going to win the match and not share the trophy, that was the unbelievable positive energy and mindset in the changeroom. Everyone was just so goal-driven and with so much bad light usually in play here, we normally only play three days so we knew how to win.

“We knew on this pitch that if we batted well then that would bring our spinners into the game, and so credit to Sarel Erwee, whose hundred put us on the front foot. The quality of our spinners was vital and their control was exceptional. They are world-class and I hope that gets recognised soon. Their groupings are so good, they test the batsman’s technique all the time, both edges, and they have impeccable skills,” Ackerman said on Monday.

The 25-year-old Ackerman said the Dolphins’ first outright win in the franchise four-day competition, in the last game of the franchise era, was a credit to all the players, staff and administrators at Kingsmead.

“This win was all about the people who do all the admin, the people who look after the things behind closed doors, the staff who look after all the small things, the groundsman and our sponsors who are the best, and not just the players. We’re all really stoked to finish the season this way and for the trophy not to be shared is a great end of the Dolphins journey.

“We knew we had the talent to win the four-day competition but we knew we had to put a lot of hard effort into it, we had to make changes. That was the little flame, we didn’t even have a team song, so we created the team culture we needed in red-ball cricket. I don’t think many people realise how hard it is to win the four-day tournament,” Ackerman said.