Ken Borland

Quinton de Kock’s five weeks away from cricket – during which time he was relieved of the national captaincy – will come to an end at the Wanderers on Tuesday and both the Proteas and the Titans will be hoping he burns as brightly as magnesium oxide in the final round of Four-Day Franchise Series matches against the Imperial Lions.

De Kock looked in desperate need of a break when he was dismissed for  duck in the second innings of the second Test in Pakistan on February 8, and he no doubt enjoyed all the fresh air and the miles of beaches near his George home when he returned to South Africa.

But it has not been all easy living for the 28-year-old since his last match, with Titans coach Mandla Mashimbyi revealing on Monday that De Kock has been working hard in the nets as he prepares to return to action as the Titans look to nail down their place in the four-day final. The Proteas coaching staff will also be watching because Pakistan will be back here in April for ODI and T20 series.

“Quinny has been lively and he looks happy to be back. He’s been working hard in the nets and has been hitting balls for days. He looks very hungry to do something for the team,” Mashimbyi told The Citizen.

The presence of De Kock, as well as another international wicketkeeper/batsman in Heinrich Klaasen, significantly boosts the Titans batting line-up and there will be white-hot action in store as Kagiso Rabada spearheads the Lions attack.

Rabada’s Proteas new-ball partner Lungi Ngidi is not quite over the knee niggle he picked up in the closing stages of the T20 competition in Durban, so the Titans attack should be much the same to the one that played against the Knights last week.

The Wanderers pitch was the subject of much debate last week as Dolphins left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj recorded the second-best figures ever at the famous ground, his 13 for 174 being second only to Rabada’s 14 for 105 against the KZN side in 2014/15, but Wandile Gwavu, the Lions coach, said the wicket was a good one and he expects the same sort of surface for this game.

“It offered a little bit of turn and Keshav was always going to find it, he once again showed why he is the country’s No.1 spinner, although we should have played him better. But it also offered a lot for the seamers and was good for batting once you got in, and there was a bit of rough on the fourth day.

“This pitch looks very similar, so it should be an evenly-balanced game, although there is a crack or two that could open up in the heat, even though there is a lot of grass covering,” Gwavu said.

While the Titans, who are 14.16 points ahead of the Warriors, are the favourites to win Pool B, the other pool is coming down to the most thrilling of conclusions with the Knights, who visit the Cape Cobras, just 1.16 points ahead of the Dolphins, who travel to play the Warriors.

The two pool winners will contest the final from March 25.

Bulls coach Jake White may be looking forward to substantially boosting his backline stocks in the coming weeks, but his forward strength took a major knock on Monday with the confirmation that star flank Marco van Staden will be leaving at the end of June.

The Springbok openside will be joining Leicester Tigers, robbing the Bulls of his superb fetching prowess, tenacious work-rate and general intensity that is reminiscent of a honey badger.

“Marco is a phenomenal player, and is probably one of the most complete No. 6s in the world currently. Situations like these are always met with mixed emotions, I never want to lose a player of his calibre, but I’m also excited and proud of the player he has become. We wish him all the best with his journey ahead and know he will grow from strength to strength and will be a massive asset for Leicester,” White said.

It means that while White is contemplating the arrival of Springboks Johan Goosen and Damian Willemse to boost his impressive backline, he has gaps to fill up front.

“It’s no secret that we are looking at Damian and Johan could be coming too. With the likes of Stravino Jacobs, who I think could be an explosive centre too, Madosh Tambwe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Travis Ismail on the wings, Gio Aplon back, David Kriel, Embrose Papier, Cornal Hendricks and Stedman Gans, Damian Willemse at fullback, there are lot of permutations with the backline.

“But I am looking at one or two locks to strengthen the squad, probably a No. 4 who can double as a No. 7. We’re trying our best to get a squad that is really balanced and can beat any of the top squads overseas that have full internationals on their bench. It’s about building a team, the Bulls want to create a really good squad with players who can become Springboks,” White said on Monday.

But having attracted the interest of such big-name talents, it is inevitable with a player cap of 45 that some players will have to be let go and White said these discussions are taking place. Clinton Swart, who was signed last July to some acclaim having played under White at Toyota Verblitz, is one of the players the coach is sorry to have to let go.

A gutted Sean Everitt praised his Sharks team for a courageous effort in the Currie Cup final against the Bulls but said a piling up of mistakes in the final stages ultimately cost his side as they lost to a try right at the end of extra time.

The Sharks were leading 19-9 with 15 minutes of regular time remaining, but the Bulls scored a converted try and then a penalty in the 79^th minute to draw level. Replacement flank Arno Botha’s try with 72 seconds of extra time left then gave the Bulls a thrilling 26-19 win and the famous trophy for the first time since 2009.

“It was very disappointing, the players are gutted and I am gutted for them. They played their hearts out for 100 minutes, to be able to push the Bulls for that long, to keep them out for so long, made me really proud. But at the end of the day we let it slip. It wasn’t an isolated moment, just an accumulation of many mistakes. Our kicking accuracy wasn’t where we wanted it to be today.

“And one can debate kicking for touch instead of the poles, making it 22-9 maybe was the right way to go, but the players have a feeling on the field and last week in the semi-final we scored a try from that and no-one questioned that. Today we were a few inches short and then we had a baulk in the lineout when we were planning a trick play,” coach Everitt said after the heartbreaking defeat.

Flyhalf Curwin Bosch also missed five of his 10 kicks at goal, but a large number of those were from a long way out.

“Curwin has done it time and again for us this season, but today he was maybe not up to the standard we are used to. It was not his day, but all the kickers struggled, Morne Steyn and Chris Smith missed kicks too. Curwin is a great rugby player, missed kicks don’t make him a bad player. He has been outstanding for us this season and his game-management was generally excellent today,” Everitt said.

With a large financial injection now on the way from equity partners MVM Holdings, the future looks exciting for the Sharks and Everitt said the 2020/21 season had been a big success despite having no trophies to show for it.

“You can’t base the success of a season on one game and a helluva lot happened in 2020/21. We’ve also given a large number of players opportunities and they have grown and matured, the culture and leadership of the team has also grown, so the season was definitely a success.

“Lukhanyo Am has been a great captain, he has tremendous respect from his peers and the coaching staff do too. Through tough times, Lukhanyo has shown outstanding leadership and I would say we have had a lot of success this season,” Everitt said.

A try 72 seconds from the end of extra time by Arno Botha settled an industrial-strength clash and gave the Bulls the most dramatic of victories over the Sharks in a gripping Currie Cup final at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Bulls deserved the trophy for their incredible durability and simple refusal to be beaten however down-and-out they looked. And the Sharks certainly had one hand on the trophy when they led 19-9 with 15 minutes to go.

But the Bulls fought their way back. It started at a scrum, where they had been dominant for most of the afternoon but without getting much reward as referee Jaco Peyper decided not to make the final a penalty-fest. This time he did blow the Sharks up though as loosehead Ox Nche went down on his knee. The Bulls set the lineout and although the drive was stopped, they maintained possession, kept bashing away and earned another penalty, close to the poles. Captain Duane Vermeulen went old school with a tap-and-go by the pack, from which flank Botha forced his way over for the try.

The conversion by Morne Steyn and then a penalty by his replacement Chris Smith, after great runs by wing Stravino Jacobs and centre Cornal Hendricks, levelled the scores. Smith had a chance to win the final after the hooter for full time, but his angled penalty swung wide.

But it was Botha’s second try that will live long in the annals of Bulls rugby, after both Smith and Curwin Bosch had missed long-range penalties in the first half of extra time. A relentless Bulls pack kept driving forward and the veteran found enough space to get to the line and reach over the cup-winning try.

But for much of the game, the Currie Cup looked set to find new premises at Kings Park as the Sharks were winning the kicking game and destroying the Bulls at the breakdown. The first half was interrupted after 24 minutes, with the Bulls leading 6-3, by a 40-minute delay for lightning.

Bosch and Steyn traded penalties when they returned, before the Sharks opened up the game just before halftime when wing Sbu Nkosi powered over in the corner. Being behind 13-9 at the break was mostly down to the Bulls’ ill-discipline and own mistakes.

The try came after a Sharks player was taken out in the air and although Bosch missed that angled penalty, Steyn then sent the restart straight into touch. From the scrum on the 22, the Sharks spread the ball, fullback Aphelele Fassi joining from deep to create the extra man and Nkosi finishing with a leap through the cover-tackle.

The Bulls did not initially come out of the changeroom any better, conceding two more penalties to Bosch.

But what is clear, is that there is a great resolve and winning drive at Loftus Versfeld. They might not even have played the better rugby, but that’s why the Currie Cup has returned to Pretoria after an 11-year absence.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Arno Botha (2). Conversions: Morne Steyn, Chris Smith. Penalties: Steyn (3), Smith.

Sharks – Try: Sbu Nkosi. Conversion: Curwin Bosch. Penalties: Bosch (4).