Ken Borland

South Africa on Thursday named 29 different players for their ODI and T20 matches against Pakistan next month, which, even taking into account the larger squads needed for bio-secure bubbles and the players released to go to the IPL, could create the dangerous impression that the selectors are ‘calling all pockets’ to an extent.

A 22-man squad for the three ODIs that kick off the series includes uncapped players in Sisanda Magala, outstanding with the white-ball for the Lions, and in-form paceman Lizaad Williams, and returns for Aiden Markram, who is in a rich vein of form in red-ball cricket, all-rounder Wiaan Mulder and fast bowler Daryn Dupavillon.

George Linde is surprisingly not named in the squad, with Warriors veteran Jon-Jon Smuts filling the spin-bowling all-rounder berth. Andile Phehlukwayo, out of form and lacking game-time due to injury, hangs on to his place in the ODI squad, but will surely be under pressure from the likes of Mulder and Magala.

For the four-match T20 series, IPL stars Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller and Kagiso Rabada will vacate their places, leading to call-ups for uncapped players in the hard-hitting Wihan Lubbe, Williams and pace bowler and lower-order hitter Migael Pretorius.

From the T20 squad that toured Pakistan last month, batsman Ryan Rickelton and fast bowlers Okuhle Cele and Nandre Burger, none of whom played a game, have been left out of the squad, while Phehlukwayo, Junior Dala, Smuts, Jacques Snyman and Glenton Stuurman all join the club as players dropped from the 17-man T20 squad.

While South Africa have traditionally viewed the T20 squad as a finishing school for new talent, a way to introduce new players to the Proteas culture, there is a World Cup coming up in just seven months time and new captain Temba Bavuma would no doubt like to start gelling his first-choice unit together.

Throwing the selection net wide is all good and well, but the selectors’ efforts will surely need to become more focused after this series.

Squads

ODI – Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Jon-Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Wiaan Mulder, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Junior Dala, Kagiso Rabada, Lutho Sipamla, Lizaad Williams, Anrich Nortje, Beuran Hendricks, Daryn Dupavillon, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.

T20 – Temba Bavuma, Janneman Malan, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Pite van Biljon, Kyle Verreynne, Heinrich Klaasen, Wihan Lubbe, Dwaine Pretorius, George Linde, Bjorn Fortuin, Sisanda Magala, Migael Pretorius, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Lizaad Williams, Tabraiz Shamsi.

There seems to have been some misinterpretation of Jurie Roux’s comments this week to the extent that the Australian Associated Press news agency claimed that the SA Rugby CEO had made the call for legal action to be taken against New Zealand Rugby for their plans to basically pull out of SuperRugby as we know it.

The truth is likely to turn out to be almost the opposite. While Roux did say “New Zealand have kicked themselves out”, he also added that they had “every right to determine their own future” and that discussions were happening with all Sanzaar partners.

You see, the Covid-19 pandemic would almost certainly qualify as a ‘force majeure’, the trendy new legal term borrowed from the French for what we used to call Acts of God. A ‘force majeure’ is an unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstance that makes it impossible to fulfil a contract.

In terms of rugby, it is clearly impossible for SuperRugby in its usual format to happen in 2021 if international travel is not yet allowed, if there are strenuous quarantine measures still in place or if the paucity of flights makes overseas trips prohibitively expensive.

Roux did say that there are Sanzaar legal agreements in place and that if anyone ignored their commitments to them then they would be liable to legal action, but with that French word coming into play, it would clearly take some pretty soulless leadership to try and sue a union that is just trying to keep themselves afloat in this time of economic catastrophe.

The shoe is on the same foot when it comes to South Africa because even if New Zealand wanted to proceed with SuperRugby as per normal next year, our franchises probably wouldn’t be allowed into the country without quarantining for two weeks and the costs of travel would be unaffordable.

Roux is a shrewd man as well and, although he has never publicly dissed the brand, he would have been well aware that the current SuperRugby format had lost the support of the general rugby-loving public and was busy pushing SA Rugby into poverty. He admitted this week that for more than a year he has been looking at additional options for SA Rugby and said “we are a long way down that road already and some of those options probably suit us better”.
This surely means a move into the lucrative Northern Hemisphere market. The Springboks and our top four franchises have plenty to offer European competitions as well – it is not as if we are the peasants of the game, we are the world champions and one of the biggest broadcast markets for rugby in the world.

But while SuperRugby may well be discarded like the old, worn out pair of boots it is, there is no doubt South Africa want to maintain a good relationship with New Zealand, traditionally their greatest rivals. Roux spoke about how the Rugby Championship is not only a significant revenue-earner for SA Rugby but it also enables them to cross-subsidise so many of their other competitions.

Those Sanzaar legal agreements are going to force New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, and Argentina, to the negotiating table to thrash out whatever win-win-win solution they can come up with. Leverage is always the name of the game when it comes to negotiation and while South Africa have the numbers and therefore the money to bring to the table in a big duffel bag, and New Zealand also have a large bag based on their historical record as having the best teams in southern hemisphere competition and therefore the biggest drawcard, it would seem Australia and Argentina only have sachets to barter with.

Nobody would want Australian rugby to be isolated like their country was before James Cook arrived with his cutlass, but the fact is they are not in a position of strength when it comes to negotiating the future of Sanzaar.

It is not too surprising that New Zealand do not want to accommodate all five Australian franchises, but if allegations that they have been in clandestine contact with a couple of them are true then that would be as offsides as the former SA Rugby president who fired the Springbok coach by fax.

Whatever comes of the negotiations, though, it would seem South African rugby fans can look forward to a stronger Currie Cup-type tournament locally, a refreshed, shorter, crossover event with the other Sanzaar teams and more of our franchises dunking their toes into European competition.

With the British and Irish Lions touring here next year, the stars of the UK game could become the same sort of attractions/nemeses as the likes of Dan Carter, Christian Cullen, Richie McCaw and Stephen Larkham.

And given the time zone, watching our teams playing in Europe will be much easier for those of us who tend to suffer from moderate dysania.