Ken Borland

When Herschel Jantjies said returning to the Springbok team that played against Wales on Saturday in Durban “felt like my debut”, it was not the throwaway line it often is when players want to express their gratitude for another chance at international level.

And Jantjies took advantage of the opportunity, coming off the bench in the 51st minute and scoring a try in the 63^rd minute as South Africa won 43-0 at Kings Park.

The 30-year-old scrumhalf last played for South Africa on August 5, 2023, coming off the bench against Argentina in Buenos Aires as the Springboks won 24-13 in their first warm-up match for the World Cup.

In what Jantjies admitted was a “heartbreaking” call, he did not, however, make the World Cup squad and has been in the wilderness up until this year’s Nations Championship. Little wonder then that he likened his absence to being deprived of life-giving food.

“It’s like I’ve been starved for three years and it feels like my debut all over again this weekend,” Jantjies said during the week. “It’s been an amazing up-and-down journey since that last game against Argentina, and I also moved clubs from the Stormers to Bayonne, which was a hard decision.

“So I’m very grateful to be back. I know my game is not perfect, I know what my work-ons are, sometimes that’s even things you are good at. And the work doesn’t stop now because I am back here with the Springboks. It means I do even more work, I need to work harder to stay here and make sure I’m in contention for the Greatest Rivalry Tour against the All Blacks.

“It was unbelievably heartbreaking to miss out on the 2023 World Cup and I still remember the squad announcement when coach Rassie put the names on a board in the team room. Obviously it wasn’t lekker to not be on the list, but the guys who were in the group were next level. The guys chosen as scrumhalves were all amazing players – Faf de Klerk, Grant Williams, who can cover wing as well, Cobus Reinach and Jaden Hendrikse.

“Rassie did come to me afterwards and said I mustn’t think it’s the end of the world. I allowed myself time to grieve – but not too long – and later I understood that he meant I must work harder to bring my game and myself to the pitch,” the 2019 World Cup winner said.

Fellow scrumhalf Embrose Papier has been out of the Springbok picture for even longer and Jantjies said the Bulls star, who returned to the Green and Gold in last weekend’s win over Scotland, has been an inspiration.

“Embrose last played for the Springboks eight years ago, so he has been an inspiration – he didn’t give up, so why should I? And then to play the way he did, he had a really good game. Imagine the nerves he had, it just makes me want it even more.

“It’s about making sure I make the right decisions. It’s up to myself to make it work and there are no guarantees. But being back in the Springbok squad has reignited the spark. I’m not personally competing with Embrose because I can’t just beat one guy. There’s still scrumhalves like Morne van den Berg and Jaden Hendrikse who aren’t even here. I can’t spend time worrying too much about the competition, I just need to focus on myself,” Jantjies said.

So how have the Springboks changed in Jantjies’ time out of the picture?

“From the outside, you can tell the Springboks have become an all-court team. In 2019, people would say South Africa just kicked and mauled and used their scrum. But now, if I had to play against the Springboks, I wouldn’t know where to focus to stop them. Coaches like Jerry Flannery, Tony Brown, Felix Jones, Rassie Erasmus and Mzwandile Stick are all megaminds.

“And the depth is incredible, and not just at scrumhalf, it’s in any position. I’ve been amazed to see the growth and evolution in the team since 2019. There’s tight competition for places, so you can’t take any single moment for granted,” Jantjies said.

Given New Zealand’s recent struggles and Ireland’s waning, unconvincing performances, France is shaping as the biggest threat in next year’s World Cup. Jantjies said part of the reason for that is the rude health of the French domestic game.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to leave the Stormers because that is home. I left on 98 caps as well, so hopefully one day I can come back and complete the one-hundred. But from a personal point of view, it has definitely helped my game, as well as allowing myself and my family to explore a different part of the world.

“It’s a different system of rugby over there and I’ve been able to pick the brains of international veterans at Bayonne like Manu Tuilagi and Maxime Machenaud. I’ve really learnt the French way of playing. The way they play speaks to me, it brings out the best in me, I’m able to display myself.

“You always play well off confidence and preparation creates that. After one or two good games in France I was able to remind myself of that. They’ve all been so welcoming at Bayonne and I can just play my game.

“French rugby is a different league and I really feel my game has improved. The season is so long and you are thrown in the deep end when you play away from home with the Academy boys. But it teaches you to adapt and learn on the fly. A scrumhalf like Maxime, adding to what is already in his arsenal at the age of 37, just shows amazing mindset,” Jantjies said.

A quickfire half-century from Sherfane Rutherford and the express pace of Gideon Peters sent the Pretoria Capitals surging to the top of the SA20 standings on Monday night with their bonus point victory over a subdued MI Cape Town at SuperSport Park.

The in-form Rutherford struck a pugnacious but classy 53 off just 27 balls to lift Pretoria Capitals to 185 for six after they had been sent in to bat, providing a fabulous late boost to an innings that was restrained in a first 15 overs in which they could only score 101 for four.

Peters then took three wickets in his first two overs, prompting a dramatic collapse that saw MI Cape Town lose four wickets for nine runs between the powerplay and the halfway mark of their innings. MI Cape Town eventually limped to 132 for seven, losing by 53 runs.

Reeza Hendricks scored 68 not out off 50 deliveries, but he struggled to bat with any freedom, his first 30 runs coming off 35 balls before a late flurry saw him collect four sixes which really were too little too late.

The rest of the MI Cape Town batsmen did not cover themselves in glory either. Openers Rassie van der Dussen (15) and Ryan Rickelton (7) both fell to boundary catches inside the powerplay, while Nicholas Pooran lashed 17 off five deliveries and then promptly cut Andre Russell straight to short third man.

Corbin Bosch (2), Karim Janat (0) and George Linde (0) proved to be a very fragile middle-order, and even the big-hitting Jason Smith could only score 13 off 17 balls as he and Hendricks meandered to a 34-run partnership between the 10^th and 15^th overs.

On paper, the team from the Western Cape should be playing beautiful T20 cricket; the defending champions boast the most successful opening pair in SA20 history in Van der Dussen and Rickelton, and Pooran, Linde and Smith are feared boundary-hitters. A bowling attack of Boult, Rabada, Bosch, Rashid and Linde is a coach’s dream for T20 cricket.

But MI Cape Town have been as fragile as the delicate Disa orchids that are the emblem of the Western Cape, showing none of the resilience this summer of the Proteas which that area is also famous for. They are now at the bottom of the log, five points behind the Paarl Royals in the fourth and final playoff place, with the Boland team having two games in hand.

Their highly-rated bowling attack was also disassembled by the Capitals, as their poor death bowling once again reared its ugly head.

Rutherford and Dewald Brevis (34 off 19) lashed 84 runs off the last five overs to give the home side an above-par total on a tricky pitch for batting. It was a two-paced surface with variable bounce and all bowlers needed was basic discipline in sticking to lines and lengths to make life hard for the batsmen.

That’s where Peters excelled as he took three for 32, brilliantly supported by Lungi Ngidi (4-0-29-1), Lizaad Williams (4-0-27-1), Russell (4-0-20-1) and spinner Keshav Maharaj (4-0-19-1).

“We just tried to do the basics better tonight. Sometimes you just try to do so much as batters that you get bowled out inside 20 overs or as bowlers you get whacked around. I was just trying to hit the top of off-stump,” Peters said.

The Pretoria Capitals certainly gave the defending champions an education in how to play on pitches with a bit of spice, keeping resources in hand for a late surge but also ensuring the platform was laid with positive intent.

Being able to bowl consistently at speeds in excess of 140km/h is obviously a great asset in Test cricket and South Africa have had two of their prime express pace options in Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee removed from the equation, but the Proteas are content they have all their bowling bases covered for the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s next month.

South Africa announced their 15-man squad for the showpiece final on Tuesday and Nortje and Coetzee were both excluded based on concerns over their match fitness and their ability to last all the days of what could be a six-day Test. Nortje has played just once for Kolkata Knight Riders in this year’s Indian Premier League, while Coetzee returned to action this month and has played twice for Gujarat Titans. But four-over spells are hardly a base in terms of conditioning for the demands of Test cricket and coach Shukri Conrad has wisely left both out of the final squad, however much he would have wanted them there.

Dane Paterson and Lungi Ngidi have been called up instead and both have the experience to deal with the pressures of a final and the skills to bowl effectively at Lord’s. And Corbin Bosch, the most like-for-like bowler to Nortje and Coetzee, has also been named in the squad.

“We all enjoy sheer pace, but unfortunately Anrich’s return to the Test squad just did not pan out the way we hoped. He was due to play in the Centurion Test against Pakistan but then suffered a broken toe and is now in no position to play a Test match,” Conrad said at Cricket South Africa headquarters in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

“Gerald has been able to make his way back on to the field as well, but he’s in a similar boat as Anrich when it comes to bowling loads. But if you look at what Corbin has done against Pakistan, then you’ll know he’ll provide really good cover and could even make the starting XI depending on conditions.

“Corbin certainly doesn’t lack pace, so we are not too compromised on that front, he brings really good balance to the squad. The medical staff have been in touch with all the bowlers since the IPL started. They might not get the necessary workloads in the matches, but they are at the nets and we are all very happy that they’re doing the necessary work, they report regularly to us and we are very comfortable with where we are at. And Australia are in a similar position to us,” Conrad said.

Bavuma said he was very happy to have Ngidi and Paterson, both more fast-medium practitioners but with plenty of seam-bowling skills that will suit English conditions very well, in his attack. Especially Ngidi, even though the 29-year-old has not played a Test since last August in the West Indies.

“Playing in Australia or South Africa, the conversation about extra pace is definitely bigger, but there’s a different view for fixtures elsewhere. Control and skill is a lot more of a thing in England and having Lungi and Dane will definitely benefit the team.

“With Lungi, if he’s fit and motivated then you know what you’re going to get, whether he’s been playing for six months or not. So there’s no massive risk with him, I know what I’m going to get and he’s a senior player. The team listen to what he has to say and there’s a lot of backing and confidence in him in the team,” Bavuma said.

While the coach conceded that Australia were probably favourites for the one-off final, he and captain Temba Bavuma were still full of fighting talk about their prospects.

“We probably go in as underdogs, not in terms of ability but experience. But I’m very confident that if we play to our best then we have every chance of beating them. We never just want to compete and, while reaching the final was a goal, so was winning it. That was the goal Temba and I set out once the Test side started to get some momentum.

“We have very good players, our bowling attack is always a threat and we have batsmen who have the ability to put the Australians under pressure. Every Test for us lately has almost been a must-win and the players have shown they can deal with those pressures.

“And it’s great that the final is against Australia because we haven’t played them for a while and they are the one side we always want to topple and show the world that we belong at the top table. Test cricket is the lifeblood of the game around the world, the other formats rely on it and the ICC need to take it in hand and look after it rather than the whims and fancies of a few nations,” Conrad said.

Bavuma said another opportunity to secure some long-awaited ICC silverware should not be seen as added pressure, but rather a reward for playing very good cricket in the World Test Championship.

“We have some experience in knockout games now and getting into these positions shows that we have been playing very good cricket, playing well enough to get into those matches. Now it’s about what we need to do to get over the line, what exactly do we need to do differently? Or, what happens to us emotionally that we do something different when we should just stick to what we’ve been doing.

“But we are not really feeling any extra pressure, we have a 50/50 chance and we will make sure it stays that way by preparing as well as we can and making sure we leave no stone unturned. We have found ways to be successful and we take confidence from that. We respect Australia, but we have certainly earned our place in the final,” Bavuma said.

WTC Final squad: Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Ryan Rickelton, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada,  Dane Paterson, Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder.

South Africa are bringing in Ryan Rickelton for the injured Rassie van der Dussen for the third and decisive Test against England at The Oval from Thursday, but they are considering other changes as well as captain Dean Elgar continued to express his disappointment with the batting.

The 26-year-old Rickelton will win his third Test cap after scoring 114 runs in two Tests against Bangladesh at the end of last summer. He played four first-class matches for Northamptonshire in June/July and collected two centuries and four fifties.

The other changes the Proteas are expected to think long and hard about are whether to continue playing a second frontline spinner in Simon Harmer or recall Marco Jansen, and whether to make a second change to the batting line-up by leaving out the struggling Aiden Markram and bringing in Khaya Zondo or all-rounder Wiaan Mulder.

“Ryan is in and we’re pretty confident about him after he had a decent stint in the UK playing county cricket, it’s his chance to hopefully shine,” Elgar said on Wednesday.

“But we’ve done a lot of thinking and spoken about tough decisions, and I’m sure there might be one or two extra changes. I know how much top-order runs mean to set up victory for a team.

“We’ve spoken at length about that and now it’s time to walk the talk. Our batting at Old Trafford was not our proudest moment, but you’ve got to go through the grief and then crack on and focus on what’s next.

“We’ve had a few rough matches in the past and at the end of the day we have come out okay. I like to think that past experience will play a part and we can stand up and bring our best game,” Elgar said.

Test aficionados will be delighted that the series is coming down to a decider in the last match and Elgar said the third Test would be his biggest game since taking over the captaincy.

“This is the biggest Test so far in my captaincy period, it’s like a World Cup final for us, that’s the way I view it, and the players know and sense that. It’s one of those Tests you play as if it is your last.

“We need to empty the tank and leave everything on the field. It’s going to be huge, it’s a massive game for us. I’ve never experienced a series win against England, so that’s in 10 years.

“So it would be massive for me if we win, but also for the youngsters in the team. We are going in with real confidence. We may be in the World Test Championship final later because we are in a really good spot – if we manage to win this Test then we’ll be back at number one,” Elgar said.