Ken Borland

You know a coach is feeling the pressure when he makes 25 excuses in a dozen minutes at his post-match press conference, but you can forgive Heyneke Meyer for being frustrated as his Springbok team have faltered at the final hurdle in successive Tests against Australia and New Zealand.

The Springboks are injury-hit and they are not getting the crucial 50/50 decisions at the moment, but the bottom line is that they have shown a disappointing lack of composure when matches reach the critical final quarter.

They are an inconsistent side and perhaps the abiding feature of the Heyneke Meyer era has been the infuriating ability of his team to play both sublime and mediocre rugby in the same match.

There are, however, enough encouraging signs for Meyer to stop playing the victim and actually start spreading some positive vibes ahead of the World Cup.

There are players of top-class quality spread throughout the team – a seasoned front row and lock Lood de Jager have been outstanding against serious opposition in the last two weeks; there is a multitude of talent at loose forward; Handre Pollard is a gifted flyhalf; a thrilling midfield pairing has come to light; and Willie le Roux and Bryan Habana are a handful for any defence.

A team has seldom dominated the All Blacks in almost every facet of play as much as the Springboks did at Ellis Park last weekend and but for a lack of finishing, they would surely have claimed a second-successive win against the world champions.

That the Springboks are a serious contender for the World Cup is a certainty. With a few experienced players coming back to bolster the team, a semi-final against New Zealand is a mouth-watering prospect (although a final would obviously be better).

A one-off encounter against the All Blacks could certainly go either way judging by their last two meetings with the Springboks.

“South Africa were pretty good today and the game could’ve gone either way. They’ve developed a style of play that is difficult to counter, they have a lot of pace in an exciting backline and brutal forwards. They may be number two in the world, but there’s nothing between number one and number two, as we saw today,” New Zealand coach Steve Hansen said after the game at Ellis Park.

But for the Springboks to have a genuine shot at winning the World Cup, they have to be able to produce their best play for 80+ minutes. They also have to be clinical in taking points from whatever opportunities are presented to them.

Going the distance is the challenge for this Springbok team and perhaps the return of experienced campaigners like Willem Alberts, Duane Vermeulen and Jean de Villiers will add the extra few percentage points they need to get over the line.

“I really thought the plan worked against the All Blacks, we were brilliant at the breakdown and we wanted to play positive rugby.

“I thought we scrummed really well, we have experienced players there, and Francois Louw was superb at the breakdown, the two opensides played really well. But when Flo went off we lost a lot of experience and they started to get quick ball.

“The difference between winning and losing in the last two weeks has been a few millimetres, so we are very close. We’ve played some great rugby and scored some great tries. There are a lot of guys coming back and we need to work really hard and I think we’ll be ready for the World Cup. This team is on the go,” Meyer said.

To prove that, I am really hoping the Springboks can produce the same level of play for 80 minutes and blow Argentina away on August 8 and 15, rather than being dragged down to their level and struggling to beat them.

I really hope we will be seeing the same intent on playing a high-tempo game and putting width on the ball, because the Pumas put enormous pressure on the breakdown, slowing down play and spoiling possession.

By using offloads and putting pace on the ball, the Springboks can avoid the ruck-bottlenecks, stretch the Argentineans and hopefully register emphatic victories, like New Zealand and Australia have done against the Rugby Championship new boys.

The Unlimited Titans arrived in Cape Town yesterday perhaps more settled and at home than the Nashua Cape Cobras ahead of their Momentum One-Day Cup final at Newlands today.

The Cobras, by thoroughly dominating the early stages of the competition, finished top of the log to host the final, but they lost two of their four games after the Christmas break and have also been disrupted by SA A call-ups and injuries. The Cobras also have not seen action in a week, while the Titans have played three games in five days and look a more settled unit.

Previous results are also in the Titans’ favour as they won both their round-robin matches against the Cobras this season.

But the past probably matters little come the day of the final and the Cobras have some terrific limited-overs players.

Coach Paul Adams told The Citizen yesterday that he was still waiting on the fitness of Justin Kemp, while the fact that Rory Kleinveldt and Dane Vilas’s wives are due to give birth any day is also causing some selectorial anxiety.

Adams stressed the need for a good start, whether with bat or ball, and he will be pleased that he has the prolific Andrew Puttick at the top of the order, as well as Stiaan van Zyl and the destructive Richard Levi.

Opening bowler Beuran Hendricks will be eager to show that he has not lost the skills that earned him an international debut last summer.

The Titans lost two games on the trot to lose home advantage for the playoff against the Dolphins but replied to that dip in form, after winning five in a row, with a devastating all-round performance to ensure a repeat of last season’s washed out final against the Cobras.

Dean Elgar has taken charge of the top-order batting, while Qaasim Adams, David Wiese and Albie Morkel have shown how dangerous they can be in the middle-order. Fast bowlers JP de Villiers and Junior Dala were particularly impressive in the playoff and their ability to take wickets up front could be crucial to the outcome.

Given the uncertainty around the Cobras’ batting line-up – Puttick, wicketkeeper Dane Vilas and captain Justin Ontong are probably the only certainties to play – the Titans will feel they can put the home side under pressure by getting early wickets.

Squads

Cape Cobras: Andrew Puttick, Richard Levi, Stiaan Van Zyl, Omphile Ramela, Justin Ontong, Dane Vilas, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Justin Kemp, Rory Kleinveldt, Robin Peterson, Mthokozisi Shezi, Beuran Hendricks, Dane Paterson, Mohammed Vallie.

Titans: Henry Davids, Jacques Rudolph, Theunis de Bruyn, Dean Elgar, Qaasim Adams, Albie Morkel, David Wiese, Mangaliso Mosehle, JP de Villiers, Tabraiz Shamsi, Junior Dala, Grant Thomson, Heino Kuhn.

Dean Elgar produced an innings of enormous class as he scored a century to lead the Unlimited Titans into the Momentum One-Day Cup final with a 58-run victory over the Sunfoil Dolphins in the playoff at Kingsmead on Tuesday night.

Elgar came to the crease in the third over with the Titans in trouble on eight for two, and he mastered a poor pitch as he batted through to the final over, scoring a priceless 100 off 130 balls, with eight fours and a six.

The left-hander spent most of the innings just keeping the Dolphins attack at bay, as their attack made use of a deteriorating pitch that not only provided sharp turn, but also grip and uneven bounce for the seamers, but he received tremendous support from David Wiese, the Titans blazing 109 runs in the last 10 overs.

Chasing 268 batting second was always going to be a tall order for the Dolphins, who paid the price for gambling on a pitch that was more suited to the final day of a Test than a limited-overs knockout game.

The Titans, combining aggressive pace bowling with cunning seam and spin, performed brilliantly in the field, bowling the Dolphins out for 209 in the 45^th over.

The Titans had earlier won the toss and elected to bat first, and the nature of the pitch was shown when the Dolphins used spinner Keshav Maharaj to bowl the second over.

The left-armer removed the Titans captain, Henry Davids (2), with his fifth ball, the batsman failing to clear the infield with a lofted drive.

The other opening bowler, Robbie Frylinck, then had Theunis de Bruyn (4) caught in the slips in the next over, bringing Elgar to the crease.

The Dolphins soon suffered a couple of killer blows with all-rounder Ryan McLaren, who passed a fitness test on the morning of the game, re-injuring his hamstring and having to leave the field in his fourth over, and Elgar then being dropped on 18 as an off-balance Cameron Delport put down a relatively straightforward chance at backward point off Andile Phehlukwayo.

Despite a poor fielding effort – four catches went down in all – the Dolphins bowlers were not relaxing the pressure they exerted and Jacques Rudolph and Elgar had to work exceptionally hard to add 78 for the fourth wicket in 19.4 overs.

Batting was not a simple task with the ball seaming, turning sharply, sometimes bouncing, sometimes keeping low and often stopping in the pitch.

Rudolph scored 39 off 69 balls before Maharaj claimed a superb return catch to dismiss him, but Elgar is one of the most determined cricketers in the country and one could almost sense him vowing not to get out before the Titans had a decent total on the board.

Qaasim Adams was trapped lbw for 11 by Maharaj and Albie Morkel (24) was just getting into his stride when he was dismissed by Andile Phehlukwayo during an impressive spell by the 18-year-old.

But Elgar and Wiese then added 92 runs during a match-changing 54-ball spell which saw the Dolphins fielders wilting and the bowlers pitching too full on a wicket which rewarded balls that were banged into the surface.

The powerful Wiese was dropped before he got off the mark by Daryn Smit at slip off the aggressive Phehlukwayo, and the Dolphins paid heavily for that as the all-rounder blasted five fours and five sixes in an explosive 71 not out off just 33 balls.

The late assault rather ruined the figures of Phehlukwayo (10-0-64-1), Maharaj (10-0-50-3) and Frylinck (10-1-45-2), but they were the best of the Dolphins bowlers.

Chasing such a large score batting second was always going to be a daunting task for the Dolphins, but truth be told, they made life harder for themselves through poor shot-selection.

Playing cross-batted shots on a pitch with inconsistent bounce is always risky, and Morne van Wyk (12), Cameron Delport (0), Khaya Zondo (72) and Phehlukwayo (2) were all caught pulling or cutting.

Zondo showed what an exciting talent he is with his wonderful innings of 72 off 87 balls and while he was at the crease, there was still danger for the Titans.

But JP de Villiers is bowling with increasing confidence and good pace these days and he bounced out both Zondo and Phehlukwayo in the batting powerplay and there was little hope for the Dolphins after that.

While De Villiers finished with three for 34 in nine overs, there was an equally impressive return of three for 35 in eight from Junior Dala and Morkel was also very handy, taking three for 33 with his seamers and cutters.

The spin bowling for the Titans was left in the hands of Tabraiz Shamsi and Elgar and they both went for a run-a-ball.

Every chance is precious in a knockout game and Davids took an exceptional one-handed reflex catch at slip, with wicketkeeper Mangaliso Mosehle diving in front of him, to remove the in-form Vaughn van Jaarsveld for 15 off the bowling of Dala.

http://citizen.co.za/324296/titans-dominate-dolphins/

The South Africa A bowlers still occasionally sprayed the ball around like confetti, but their overall performance was much better as they bowled the England Lions out for 209 to clinch a 78-run victory in the final limited-overs international at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Thursday night.

After Reeza Hendricks’ century had carried SA A to 287 for six, just two English batsmen really troubled the home bowlers, with Jonny Bairstow scoring 64 and Samit Patel 55 as they added 76 for the fifth wicket.

Kagiso Rabada was the most successful SA A bowler with four for 51 (and one just had to love the way he kept bouncing back from being belted for a boundary by invariably dismissing his tormentor), but Chris Morris was the best of the attack with an outstanding two for 23 in eight overs.

SA A captain Dean Elgar called on him to bowl the first batting powerplay over with the England Lions still very much in contention on 180 for five, needing 108 runs off 90 balls to complete a 4-0 series triumph, and Morris delivered a superb spell, conceding just four runs in three overs and claiming the wickets of Adil Rashid (8) and Tim Bresnan (1).

It was a super evening all round for him as he had earlier made a vital contribution with the bat, lashing 35 not out off 20 balls to boost SA A after a middle-order collapse saw them lose four wickets for 37 runs.

The start of the England Lions run-chase was delayed for 35 minutes because the floodlights were not working to full capacity and they were quickly under pressure as Marchant de Lange and Beuran Hendricks each took a wicket with the new ball.

Captain James Vince looked threatening as he scored 23 before Rabada had him caught at cover-point, but it was Elgar who showed he’s an under-rated bowler when he claimed the key scalp of Bairstow, trapped lbw with a straight, full delivery, as he delivered an excellent spell of one for 16 in five overs just before the powerplay.

Hendricks stamped himself as a new contender for the national team’s opening berth as his splendid century carried South Africa A to 287 for six.

Hendricks and Elgar formed a wonderful partnership up front as they added 149 for the first wicket in 28 overs after SA A were sent in to bat.

What was most impressive about their stand was the way they married watchfulness with an ability to work the ball around and keep the scoreboard ticking over.

While Elgar fell for a determined 66 off 74 balls, Hendricks went on to score 107 off 128 deliveries, with 10 fours and a six, before being bowled by Bresnan with the total on 210 in the 39^th over.

The England Lions were on top from that moment on, claiming three more wickets and it was only thanks to a fiery late burst from Morris that SA A were able to post 287, when something over 300 was certainly on the cards.

Hendricks went to his half-century first – his third of the year – off just 59 balls with seven fours.

Elgar reached his half-century six overs later, although he took two fewer deliveries, but his demise came when he tried to slog-sweep leg-spinner Rashid, but could only top-edge a catch to deep midwicket.

Hendricks brought up his second century of the series in the batting powerplay with a beautifully balanced and controlled flick off his pads off left-arm seamer Harry Gurney for his 11^th four, but an over later, SA A lost their second wicket.

Theunis de Bruyn had breezed to 29 off 25 balls, as he and Hendricks added a run-a-ball 53, but then chanced his arm once too often against the impressive Jack Brooks and was bowled.

Brooks was the golden arm for the England Lions on Thursday as he also bowled Stiaan van Zyl for 21 and then claimed a return catch off Khaya Zondo (7) as the SA A innings just faded away.

Bresnan claimed the wicket of Hendricks in the 39^th over, hitting the middle stump as the 25-year-old tried to drive through the on-side.

Gurney added the soft wicket of Dane Vilas (8), cutting to point, and it was only the big–hitting Morris, smiting three fours and clearing the boundary twice, that lifted SA A in the last handful of overs.

Brooks was the best of the touring bowlers, finishing with three for 55, including two for 18 in his last three overs at the death.

http://citizen.co.za/321616/south-african-clinch-victory/