Ken Borland

The Unlimited Titans already have a franchise trophy in their cabinet and it’s not even October as they claimed the inaugural Global Softech Sixes title in a thrilling final at SuperSport Park yesterday.

The Titans, having won all three of their games on the first day, were knocked over by both the Knights and Cape Cobras yesterday and, with three teams ending on six points, they had to rely on the Highveld Lions beating the Knights in the last round-robin match in order for them to sneak into the final against the Dolphins.

The Titans batsmen were utterly clinical after being sent into bat in the final with captain Henry Davids setting the tone by hitting spinner Keshav Maharaj’s first three balls for six.

Mangaliso Mosehle then hammered off-spinner Thandi Tshabalala for four successive sixes in the second over and retired on 33 off just seven balls, with Farhaan Behardien (36 not out off 10 balls, 5x6s) and David Wiese (35 retired off seven balls, 5x6s) then picking up the cudgels as the Titans posted 126 for one, the highest total in the Franchise Challenge.

The Titans bowlers were considerably less focused, however, and the Dolphins raced to 94 for one in the first three overs of their chase, Wiese conceding 25 runs, Davids 33 and Dean Elgar 36 in an over that included six sixes and a no-ball.

Morne van Wyk, farcically omitted from the South African team to play in the Africa Challenge over the weekend because it was chosen before this tournament even started, was again the chief destroyer, belting five sixes in his 35 retired off just seven deliveries.

But left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe then produced a magnificent over, firing the ball into the blockhole, conceding just eight runs and removing Khaya Zondo and the dangerous Robbie Frylinck (28 off six balls).

That left the Dolphins with 23 to score in the final over to win and Behardien contrived to bowl them back into the game with two wides and conceding a six. With 14 needed off three balls, Sibonelo Makhanya pulled the medium-pacer to the square-leg boundary where captain Davids deliberately put down the catch to ensure Van Wyk had to stay in the dugout and could not return to the crease.

Tshabalala’s six off the last ball brought the Dolphins within a tantalising run of victory, but the clear-thinking of the Titans in the final over – as well as Van der Merwe’s brilliance – is what won them the match, with Behardien also bowling outside off stump so the batsman could not shoulder arms and be bowled.

In their first game of the day, the Titans lost by five runs to the resurgent Knights, despite Behardien taking two for eight and scoring 31 not out.

The match against the Cape Cobras was another nailbiter, with Mosehle seemingly having secured victory as his off-drive was heading for six, before it was intercepted by a leaping Stiaan van Zyl, who parried the ball back infield. The Cobras coach, Paul Adams, playing because of the injuries to Justin Ontong and Justin Kemp, dived to catch the ball one-handed to dismiss Mosehle and leave the Titans still needing four to win off the last delivery.

Wiese, who had excelled with the ball, dismissing Rory Kleinveldt and Dane Vilas with the first two deliveries of the Cobras innings, couldn’t find the boundary and the Titans lost by three runs.

But the Cobras were edged out of the final by the Lions’ victory and there was further celebration in the Titans camp when Mosehle, Wiese and Behardien, who will captain the team, were named in the South Africa squad for the weekend’s Africa Challenge.

Titans assistant coach Mandla Mashimbyi will be the head coach of the national side.

Scores in brief

Cape Cobras 91-1 (Stiaan van Zyl 32*, Dane Vilas 31*, Qaasim Adams 20*). Dolphins 96-0 (Morne van Wyk 31*, Keshav Maharaj 31*, Robbie Frylinck 31*). Dolphins won by six wickets.

Knights 99-0 (Reeza Hendricks 32*, Werner Coetsee 26*, Dillon du Preez 37*). Warriors 95-3 (Colin Ingram 42*, Jon-Jon Smuts 36*). Knights won by four runs.

Knights 102-3 (Reeza Hendricks 32*, Werner Coetsee 30, Tumelo Bodibe 33 not out; Farhaan Behardien 2-8). Titans 97-3 (Henry Davids 20, Theunis de Bruyn 28, Farhaan Behardien 31 not out; Werner Coetsee 2-16). Knights won by five runs.

Lions 78-1 (Brian Barnard 33*, Chris Morris 28, Basheer Walters 1-3). Warriors 81-2 (Colin Ingram 30, Jon-Jon Smuts 24*). Warriors won by four wickets.

Cape Cobras 97-2 (Stiaan van Zyl 32*, Qaasim Adams 32, Aviwe Mgijima 31*; David Wiese 2-6). Titans 94-2 (Farhaan Behardien 36*, Henry Davids 32*; Stiaan van Zyl 1-10). Cape Cobras won by three runs.

Warriors  112-1 (Jon-Jon Smuts 35*, Christiaan Jonker 36*, Rusty Theron 24*). Dolphins 113-0 (Morne van Wyk 31*, Robbie Frylinck 34*, Keshav Maharaj 24*, Khaya Zondo 24*). Dolphins won by six wickets.

Knights 82-1 (Reeza Hendricks 32*, Werner Coetsee 29, Dillon du Preez 20*). Highveld Lions 84-0 (Dwaine Pretorius 36*, Chris Morris 28*). Highveld Lions won by six wickets.

Titans 126-1 (Mangaliso Mosehle 33*, Farhaan Behardien 36*, David Wiese 35*). Dolphins 125-3 (Morne van Wyk 35*, Keshav Maharaj 29, Robbie Frylinck 28; Roelof van der Merwe 2-8). Titans won by one run.

South Africa team: Chris Morris (Highveld Lions), Mangaliso Mosehle (Titans), Khaya Zondi (Dolphins), Robbie Frylinck (Dolphins), Cameron Delport (Dolphins), David Wiese (Titans), Farhaan Behardien (Titans).

Weekend fixtures

Saturday: 10h00 Kenya v Namibia; 10h50 Uganda v Tanzania; 11h40 South Africa v Zimbabwe; 12h30 Tanzania v Kenya; 13h20 Zimbabwe v Uganda; 14h10 Namibia v South Africa; 15h00 Kenya v Zimbabwe; 15h50 Uganda v South Africa.

Sunday: 10h00 Tanzania v Namibia; 10h50 South Africa v Kenya;11h40 Namibia v Uganda; 12h30 Tanzania v Zimbabwe; 13h20 Uganda v Kenya; 14h10 Tanzania v South Africa; 15h00 Namibia v Zimbabwe; 16h10 Africa Sixes final.

Assupol Tuks coach Pierre de Bruyn was a satisfied man yesterday evening after his team beat NMMU George by seven wickets to seal their place in today’s Momentum National Club Championships final at SuperSport Park.

The victory left two-time defending champions Tuks unbeaten and at the top of Section Two, meaning they will take on the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Madibaz, the students from the Port Elizabeth campus, who came through Section One with a similar record, in today’s final.

“We set ourselves the tremendously high goal going in of achieving a hat-trick of titles and we said we had to go through the first five days unbeaten to do that.

“We are unbeaten, which makes it 17 games in a row at club champs, and now there’s the big one to go tomorrow,” De Bruyn told The Pretoria News yesterday.

“We probably had the easier pool, but there were areas in which we were tested and I was happy to see how we responded.”

Tuks lost the toss yesterday against NMMU George and had to bowl first, and this time leg-spinner Tertius Gouws was the man to shine as he took four for 27 in 10 excellent overs to limit the South-Western Districts champions to 171.

Neil Hornbuckle (36), Tyron Walsh (36) and Hendrik Kotze (33) provided islands of resistance, but no-one else reached double figures as the George students were bowled out in 45.2 overs.

Paceman Gerhard Linde claimed an impressive three for 23 in 8.2 overs, but Graeme van Buuren (8-1-27-0), Ruben Claasen (7-1-14-1) and Johan Wessels (5-0-18-1) were also effective.

Wessels then also starred with the bat as he safely steered Tuks to their target in just the 35^th over with a swift 69.

Captain Heinrich Klaasen applied the finishing touches with 53 not out and he hit the winning runs that put Tuks into their third successive final, and a repeat of last year’s title decider against the Port Elizabeth students.

The NMMU Madibaz outfit is a potent one, with their spin bowlers – Simon Harmer and Brad and Josh Dolley – a real threat.

Opening batsman David White is one of the most exciting young players in the country, while his partner Ed Moore is once again in fine form at this tournament.

The University of Pretoria students are going to be under increased pressure today, but then again they came through a tough situation on Saturday in their crunch game against Maties.

Chasing 207, they had crashed to 107 for five, but Sean Dickson anchored the innings with a determined, match-winning 74 and there were important contributions too from Tian Koekemoer (29) and Sean Nowak (19*), who had earlier been the best bowler with three for 20 in 10 overs.

“We were tested the whole game against Maties, but we’ve trained those situations, like chasing 20 off 20, and we stood up and really believed we could do it,” De Bruyn said.

Results

Yesterday: Section One – University of Free State Kovsies 307-5 (Jacobus Dreyer 120, Dirk Bruwer 49 not out) Crusaders 246 (Michael Alexander 70, Robbie Clift 68, Jason Biddulph 40; Leonard Killeen 4-61) University of Free State Kovsies won by 61 runs. University of Jhb 73 (Brad Dolley 5-11) NMMU PE Madibaz 75-0 NMMU PE Madibaz won by 10 wickets. NWU Pukke 370-7 (Grant Mokoena 105, Righardt Frenz 81, Wihan Lubbe 57; Gerhardt Abrahams 4-51) West End 274-6 (Xander Pitchers 62, Roche Rossouw 47, Gerhardt Abrahams 76) NWU Pukke won by 96 runs. Section Two – NMMU George 171 (Tertius Gouws 4-27) Tuks 173-3 (Johan Wessels 69, Heinrich Klaasen 53 not out) Tuks won by 7 wickets. Kempton Park 67 (Dewald Botha 5-10) Maties 70-3 Maties won by 7 wickets. United CC 112 (Romano Esau 53) Cape Town CC 113-4 Cape Town CC won by 6 wickets.

Saturday: Section One – Crusaders 218-9 University of Jhb 203 (Umar Asad 57 not out, Harry van Straaten 42, Neels Bergh 41; Jared van Heerden 4-47) Crusaders won by 15 runs. West End 139 (Gihahn Cloete 40 not out; Brad Dolley 4-35) NMMU PE Madibaz 141-4 (Lloyd Brown 51 not out) NMMU PE Madibaz won by 6 wickets. NWU Pukke 332-7 (Ludwig Roos 103, Grant Mokoena 82, Righardt Frenz 74) University of Free State Kovsies 243 (PJ Jansen 101; Bjorn Fortuin 4-56) NWU Pukke won by 89 runs. Section Two – Maties 206-9 (Dewald Botha 58) Tuks 207-7 (Sean Dickson 74) Tuks won by 3 wickets. United CC 182 (Romano Esau 64, Marco Marais 53; Lance Roelfse 5-47, Bronwell Goeda 4-35) NMMU George 183-6 (Tyron Walsh 68 not out) NMMU George won by 4 wickets. Kempton Park 179-9. Cape Town CC 162 (Marc de Beer 40; Jurie Snyman 4-33) Kempton Park won by 17 runs.

While the Sharks may be overwhelming favourites for Saturday’s Currie Cup final against Western Province in Durban, the memory of silly lapses that have cost them past finals in similar positions at the same venue will still be on the minds of the KwaZulu-Natal faithful.

The most famous of those was in the 2007 Super Rugby final against the Bulls, when a repeated failure to kick the ball out and a defence that was caught flatfooted allowed Bryan Habana to score one of his most celebrated tries and bring the Sanzar trophy to Pretoria for the first time. The deafening silence at King’s Park after victory was snatched from the Sharks at the death was something for the ears to behold.

Western Province will be hoping for similar magic from Habana on Saturday, as well as that other marvellous game-breaker Gio Aplon, while coach Allister Coetzee has also gambled by choosing the penetrative Damian de Allende alongside Juan de Jongh for his first Currie Cup start.

With the Sharks undoubted favourites on paper – Coetzee has had to call up six players from the U21s to cover for injuries – Western Province will almost certainly be trusting in their celebrated defence to ensure the Natalians do not get too far away from them, and then try to strike in the final quarter as they did against the Lions in the semi-final.

While many are predicting the star-studded Sharks squad, with a dozen Springboks, will simply swat Western Province aside, finals are not often like that and expected rainy weather in Durban may also be a leveller.

The visitors, denied a major cup for 11 years, are certainly going to be up for the game and nothing fuels motivation quite like being written-off as no-hopers.

But common sense suggests the Sharks should have too much power, skill and experience and only mental errors can deny them their seventh Currie Cup title.

Up front, Western Province have two animals (in an entirely complimentary sense) in Eben Etzebeth and Duane Vermeulen, but for the rest, the Sharks should have the edge in the forwards.

The Sharks’ Beast Mtawarira and Jannie du Plessis anchor the Springbok scrum, while the loose trio have all played for South Africa this year. Willem Alberts is the type of hard man who sends players to hospital, Marcell Coetzee is everywhere on the field at once and Keegan Daniel has the uncanny ability to pop up exactly where needed at the right time, as well as being a pinpoint link with his backs.

The second row is an area where Western Province may enjoy more parity, although Steven Sykes has functioned at a high level for several years for the Sharks and Anton Bresler is increasingly coming into his own as well.

Sharks half-backs Cobus Reinach and Pat Lambie may be small, but they can cause as much damage as those little Gremlins in the famous 1984 horror comedy film. Lambie, in particular, is a very clever player, using his boot well but also having sleight of hand and deceptive ability running with the ball.

He will be the home side’s general on Saturday and was instrumental in the Sharks’ 2010 Currie Cup triumph, scoring 25 points, including two tries, against the same opposition. It was probably the most complete performance by a fly-half in a Currie Cup final since Naas Botha’s heyday.

The rest of the backlines are fairly evenly matched, but Coach Coetzee was revealing his knowledge that Western Province will need something special to win the final by choosing De Allende, who was impressive at the end of the semi-final, instead of Marcel Brache, who was one of their stars through the Currie Cup campaign.

The entire Sharks back three of JP Pietersen, Lwazi Mvovo and Louis Ludik deserve to be part of Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s end-of-year touring squad and their ability to both dictate with the boot as well as counter-attack is an obvious strength.

In fact, the Sharks as a whole are the one team who seem to have perfected the art of mixing a territory-based game with one that demands a greater proportion of possession being kept in hand.

The all-round skills of the Sharks team, including the forwards, are also a notch above the rest of the teams in the Currie Cup.

The final might have come a year or two too early for what is undoubtedly a highly promising Western Province team, but on the day, with the pressure of finals rugby and the expectation of the crowd, the Sharks might, just maybe, toss it away. Especially if Western Province can summon the same sheer bloody-minded refusal to lose they showed in the semi-final against the Lions and earlier this year, as the Stormers, in the Super Rugby match against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

The smart money is surely, however, on the Sharks having the skills to turn the same amount of dominance as the Lions and Bulls enjoyed into the points that will clinch the oldest trophy in provincial rugby anywhere in the world.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-10-27-shark-attack-currie-cup-preview