Ken Borland

New Presidents Cup Internationals team captain Trevor Immelman is keen to build on the foundation laid by Ernie Els and has warned that his side will have a lot of exciting youngsters providing great depth as they look to end the eight-match winning streak of the United States.

Els led the Internationals to one of their best ever showings in December as they were edged out 16-14 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club by the Americans, captained by Tiger Woods. Immelman is the youngest ever captain to be appointed – he will be 41 when the Presidents Cup is played again in September 2021 at Quail Hollow, beating the mark set by Woods, who was coming to the end of his 44th year in December.

And Immelman is banking on an injection of youth to make the International team even more competitive next year.

“I was part of Ernie’s team for the last Presidents Cup and I will try and continue his legacy and I really look forward to building on the platform he created. It’s an amazing honour to follow in the footsteps of Ernie Els and Gary Player as the Internationals captain. They have both been mentors and great friends of mine, whose advice I have relied on through my life.

“In the last two years we’ve had a number of youngsters step up as some of the best golfers in the world. We have a lot of different players starting to play really well, guys who were on the fringes of the team last time around. We had a group of 12 in Melbourne and now I can cast a bigger net and create a group of 30 to 40 golfers, and start to get the camaraderie going,” Immelman told OFM radio’s Morgan Piek this week.

The 2008 Masters (again beating Woods) and two-time SA Open champion mentioned players such as Koreans Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun-An, Cameron Smith, Jazz Janewattananond, Pebble Beach winner Nick Taylor and Corey Conners as being amongst the young talent that is making him excited about being the seventh Internationals captain.

Not that the Cape Town-born Immelman is discounting a healthy contingent of his countrymen making the cut in 2021.

“There are the more experienced guys I grew up with like Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen, but South Africa has such a rich history of golfers performing at the highest level and winning the biggest championships – guys like Charl Schwartzel, who is coming back from injury and showing good form, and Branden Grace, who won the SA Open recently.

“Plus there’s someone like Erik van Rooyen, who has been playing some beautiful golf on the PGA Tour, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who is competing against the best in the world and showing what he can do,” Immelman said.

Kwagga Smith has unparalleled strength for a man of just 80kg who is 1.80 metres tall, and his tremendous exertions led a muscular display from the Lions pack as they sealed an exciting 29-28 win in the final quarter of their SuperRugby match against the Waratahs at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Smith made a couple of crucial turnovers in the second half, including the one that led to the Lions claiming the lead for the first time in the match, and he punched weigh above his weight in the collisions. Probably the moment that will be most remembered, however, came when replacement centre Adam Ashley-Cooper engulfed his upper body in a tackle but Smith lifted his 98kg opponent off his feet with seemingly just the power of his neck muscles! (see video here)

In this year of superhero-themed SuperRugby, it was an earth-shattering moment and the Waratahs must have been shaken. Shortly thereafter they conceded the penalty, kicked from in front of the poles by replacement flyhalf Shaun Reynolds, that snatched the victory for the Lions.

Having a player like Kwagga Smith performing heroics alongside you can only be inspirational and front-rankers Johannes Jonker, Dylan Smith and Malcolm Marx, and replacement flank Marnus Schoeman all stepped up in that final quarter and flexed their not inconsiderable muscle as well. Some massive scrums and sheer physicality in the collisions won the day.

The Waratahs will certainly be of the view that they gave away a much-needed victory, having led 28-26 with 12 minutes remaining. But to be fair, all three of the visitors’ tries in the first half were rather gifted to them by poor exits by the Lions, who kept putting in silly little chip-kicks from their own 22 and were duly punished.

The first try came as early as the fourth-minute, with Lions coach Swys de Bruin admitting afterwards he had been worried by the start his team made after a torrid tour and a bye week. The vision of fullback Kurtley Beale allowed him to launch a counter-attack into Lions’ territory, but the home side managed to steal the Waratahs’ lineout throw.

Only to give the ball straight back as wing Alex Newsome claimed the chip, Beale and centre Karmichael Hunt put in good runs, before flyhalf Bernard Foley found scrumhalf Nick Phipps dashing up to score the try.

The response of the Lions, seven minutes later, was a repeat of the astounding intercept try scored against the Waratahs by Bulls eighthman Duane Vermeulen last weekend. Hooker Marx intercepted Phipps’s pass off a lineout around halfway and did enough to force a penalty. The Lions kicked to touch, set the maul and then rumbled forward through a couple of pick-and-goes, before flyhalf Elton Jantjies found Aphiwe Dyantyi racing through on an inside-ball, the wing stretching over to score.

Marx may not quite have had the pace to complete the try, but his more obvious strengths came to the fore in the crucial final stages, when he was a dominating figure.

The charity of the Lions continued from the restart though, the ding-dong battle repeating as another silly chip-kick out of their 22 was snapped up by the Waratahs. The Lions defence was then all over the place as flank Michael Hooper weaved his way through for their second try.

The Lions’ response took five minutes this time as the prominent figure of lock Stephan Lewies went over from close range after the rolling maul had been well-defended, levelling the scores at 14-14 after the first quarter.

The to-and-fro pattern of scoring continued as another poor exit by Jantjies led to Rob Simmons, the Waratahs lock, bursting through the yawning gap in the defensive line and scoring.

But the Lions had the final say of the first half as the outstanding inside centre Harold Vorster shaped to pass but then went on a fabulous, arcing run, beating two pairs of tacklers and then putting the grubber through. That man Kwagga Smith showed his pace to get on the end of it and dot down, leaving the Lions two points adrift (19-21) at the break.

The Lions began the second half in spectacular fashion with a try that should make the global highlights of rugby played this weekend, Swys de Bruin later describing it as “one of outstanding beauty that lifted our spirits”.

It started with the Smith turnover in his own 22 and another great run by Vorster started the counter-attack. Eighthman Warren Whiteley then linked up with Lewies, who got the offload away to Marx (although there was a hint of it going forward), and the hooker freed wing Courtnall Skosan to go speeding over for the try and the lead for the first time.

The Waratahs regained the lead in the 57th minute, a flamboyant long pass from Hunt to Rona sending the wing flying down the line. He was stopped just short of the line, but replacement prop Tom Robertson cashed in on quickly recycled ball and crashed over for the try, Foley converting for a 28-26 lead.

To the Waratahs’ credit, they did not suddenly become all economical in their approach, and they kept probing as they rapidly moved the ball through the hands.

But this was a game ultimately won by muscle, with the Lions’ forwards gaining the momentum, this led to penalties that allowed the home side to dictate territory.

With this win, the Lions have climbed into the playoff places in eighth spot, but they are just three points off the conference-leading Sharks and fifth place overall.

The country’s wing stocks look very exciting at the moment what with Aphiwe Dyantyi’s heroics in Green and Gold and the likes of Makazole Mapimpi and Sbu Nkosi just waiting to recover from their injuries before exploding on to the international stage once again. But there is another hugely talented winger coming through in Aphelele Fassi, who just happens to be a team-mate of Nkosi and Mapimpi at the Sharks.

The 20-year-old Fassi has burst on to the scene in this year’s Currie Cup and he says the key to his breakthrough has been learning from more experienced players like Nkosi, Lwazi Mvovo and Mapimpi, all of whom are Springboks.

“It’s been a great year for me and the one thing I keep telling myself is that I need to learn more. The likes of Sbu have been there at the highest level and playing with guys like him, Lwazi and Makazole, they have guided me as seniors. It’s all about learning and I’m here now because of that.

“So I plan to learn even more and the coaching staff have given me all the support I need, they back me and I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given. As a player you intend to improve every time you run on the field and the Currie Cup is no different to the SuperSport Rugby Challenge in terms of speed and physicality, so I’ve set my game there, I’ve reached those levels,” Fassi said.

Perhaps the key to the great industry Fassi has shown out on the wing is that he actually prefers playing at fullback and he also excelled at flyhalf for his school, Dale College in King William’s Town.

“I prefer fullback more, but it’s about where the coach needs you. And obviously coming out of high school rugby, it’s not the same speed and physicality. So I’m working on my tackles, taking the high balls and my long clearance kicks,” Fassi, who also captained Dale at cricket and was a good enough all-rounder to earn junior provincial colours for Border, said.

Saturday’s game against the Golden Lions at Kings Park will provide another good measure of just how exciting a future Fassi has in rugby though, as he comes up against a stellar backline featuring the experienced Courtnall Skosan, Howard Mnisi, Lionel Mapoe and Andries Coetzee.

https://citizen.co.za/sport/south-african-sport/sa-rugby-sport/2011792/exciting-future-ahead-for-sharks-fassi/

A mid-winter afternoon drive in the Pilanesberg National Park might not be the time hardened twitchers are expecting to see loads of exciting birds, but it was still a very rewarding jaunt on a sunny day that quickly dropped to just 13 degrees once the sun started setting.

My route took me from the Bakgatla gate at the top of the park, a Familiar Chat giving me the familiar greeting to the Pilanesberg as it flew into a tree and began flicking its tail, and was focused on the Dithabeneng Drive and the Acacia shrubs and thickets that characterise that route and prove very attractive to birds.

As is often the case in winter, the best birding happens when you chance upon a bird party – a flock of foraging birds comprised of mixed species. I had just turned on to the Dithabaneng Drive from the Moruleng link road when I hit one of these bird parties.

A pair of Marico Flycatchers on either side of the road were the initial birds spotted, but some non-breeding Southern Masked Weavers were also hopping about, there was a Forktailed Drongo aloofly surveying proceedings higher up on the trees and the obligatory Blackeyed Bulbuls were noisily jerking around the leaves.

And then two long-tailed birds went darting into the undergrowth. Closer inspection revealed the superb colours of the beautiful Violeteared Waxbill – the blue, chestnut, violet and red contrasting spectacularly with the general drab colours of thornveld in winter.

The Dithabaneng Dam was the next stop, but it was rather dry with just a couple of muddy pools left. A pair of Blacksmith Plover and a Forktailed Drongo playing sentinel was all that was left in terms of birdlife.

Still, the Dithabaneng Drive was providing enough to keep one interested: Chestnutvented Tit Babbler, Rattling Cisticola and Sabota Lark on the bushes, while a Kalahari Scrub Robin was perched in the open and singing away cheerfully.

The Malatse Dam is also off the Dithabaneng Drive, and here at least there was more activity with African Spoonbill, Whitebreasted Cormorant, Yellowbilled Duck, Threebanded Plover and Egyptian Goose on or next to the water. The hide at Malatse is east-facing so it is an ideal spot in the afternoon, as peaceful and tranquil as can be. The dead trees rising out of the shallows complete the scenic picture and also provide useful perches for birds, with a few Rock Pigeon using them as a stopover on this occasion.

Pearlbreasted Swallows and Grey Hornbill were also hanging around in the vicinity of the dam on the way back to the Dithabaneng Drive, where a Cape Bunting was being unusually secretive lurking in the thickets and not scratching around on the open ground as it normally does.

The Salty Springs are patches of water that run between Dithabaneng Drive, the eastern border of the park and Manyane camp, and they often throw up interesting sightings; today there were Blackwinged Stilt foraging and Blue Wildebeest had come to drink.

With a bit of time in hand, I veered off back west along the Potokwane Road, where another bird was hiding in a tree instead of being in its typical place on the ground – a Groundscraper Thrush. Perhaps something had scared it up there.

Map

Sightings list

Familiar Chat

Cinnamonbreasted Rock Bunting

Grey Lourie

Natal Francolin

Blackeyed Bulbul

Southern Yellowbilled Hornbill

African Elephant

Lilacbreasted Roller

Giraffe

Redbilled Oxpecker

Blacksmith Plover

Forktailed Drongo

Marico Flycatcher

Southern Masked Weaver

Violeteared Waxbill

Chestnutvented Titbabbler

Rattling Cisticola

Sabota Lark

Impala

Kalahari Scrub Robin

Plains Zebra

Cape Turtle Dove

Greater Kudu

Crested Francolin

African Spoonbill

Whitebreasted Cormorant

Rock Pigeon

Yellowbilled Duck

Threebanded Plover

Egyptian Goose

Pearlbreasted Swallow

Grey Hornbill

Crowned Plover

Crested Barbet

Cape Bunting

Blackwinged Stilt

Blue Wildebeest

Laughing Dove

Longtailed Shrike

Groundscraper Thrush