Ken Borland

Lukhanyo Am will captain a shadow Springbok side dressed up as SA A against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Wednesday and the captaincy could also be on loan to him for the first Test on July 24 after director of rugby Rassie Erasmus admitted that those players who are currently Covid-positive and isolating will be in a race against time to make that match.

Regular captain Siya Kolisi is one of the players currently in quarantine.

The numerous Covid infections in the Springbok camp led to the second Test against Georgia being cancelled, and Erasmus admitted that that has forced them to pick many of the players they have pencilled in for the first Test for Wednesday night’s game.

“It depends on how the players progress through the Return-to-Play protocol and some of them will definitely be available from Wednesday and Thursday next week. Guys like Frans Steyn and Handre Pollard might make it because they tested positive really early. And some guys can just slot into the team, while others need more time to get their engines running. For them it will be touch and go.

“Losing the second Georgia Test has been massive and it would have been much easier if we had had that game and the SA A one. But we have a lot of knowledge about some of the players, we know their class and how they react under pressure, so for us, it’s not so much about gelling as about match fitness because it’s a bit of a worry for some guys how long it’s been since they last played,” Erasmus said on Monday.

Erasmus is also clearly trying to convince the British and Irish Lions to agree to Saturday’s tour match also being between them and an SA A side, instead of the Stormers. But like an over-enthusiastic puppy getting a paw to the nose, Lions coach Warren Gatland made it clear in his concurrent press conference that he was not in favour of that.

So Erasmus could well be left hoping his team has enough conditioning in the kitty from their three-week camp in Bloemfontein and the single Test against Georgia to match the Lions’ impressive build-up to the Test series.

“We had three weeks of good intensity training in Bloemfontein and the plan then was two Tests against Georgia and the SA A game to be ready and we could not have asked for more than that. So now we have lost one week of training and one match. But after seven days in their hotel rooms, the guys shouldn’t totally go to pieces and get out of shape.

“But I’m sure Warren Gatland wold like to play against the best possible Springbok team and the safest thing medically would be for SA A to play again against the Lions on Saturday. We have been in a totally hard bubble and we are all negative. I’m sure they would not be afraid to play us again and that would be the best preparation for us to provide good competition in the Tests against the Lions,” Erasmus said.

With so much uncertainty around at the moment, it is a good thing that Am has temporarily taken over the captaincy because he is a leader who provides a haven of calm.

SA A team – Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Sbu Nkosi, Morne Steyn, Faf de Klerk, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marco van Staden, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Trevor Nyakane, Joseph Dweba, Steven Kitshoff. Bench: Coenie Oosthuizen, Malcolm Marx, Vincent Koch, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Rynhardt Elstadt, Herschel Jantjies, Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse.

The Springboks returned to training on Sunday but without captain Siya Kolisi who returned a positive Covid test and there will now be a race against time to get him through the return-to-play protocols in time for the first Test against the British and Irish Lions on July 24.

While the entire Springbok squad has been isolating for the last week, the return-to-play protocols can take more than a week and in some cases players have been out of action for three-to-five weeks.

With five other positive cases amongst the players, the home team’s resources are also going to be stretched for the SA A match against the Lions that is still scheduled to happen on Wednesday night, with the squad heading off to Cape Town on Sunday afternoon. Loose forward Dan du Preez, prop Ox Nche, hookers Bongi Mbonambi and Scarra Ntubeni, and wing Makazole Mapimpi are also all in isolation.

Prop Vincent Koch, wing Sbu Nkosi, locks Marvin Orie and Lood de Jager, centre Francois Steyn, flyhalf Handre Pollard and prop Frans Malherbe have also had a brush with Covid in the last week. Bulls loosehead prop Lizo Gqoboka and Sharks hooker Fez Mbatha have been added to the squad.

Head coach Jacques Nienaber has also tested positive and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus will now take over the reins in training in Cape Town. But Nienaber refuses to be negative.

“We are delighted to be able to return to the field and resume our preparations for the Lions series. It has been a challenging week with the Test against Georgia, which was important for us with an eye on preparing to face the British & Irish Lions, cancelled and the entire squad self-isolating for a few days as a preventative measure, so the players cannot wait to get back on the park.

“But these are extraordinary times and we have to adapt as a team, and I have to commend the players and management for that. We are a tight-knit coaching team and everyone takes responsibility in their respective roles. It is also great to have Rassie steering the ship while I am away. He has been part of the system for several years and he guided these players to the Rugby World Cup title, so the team is in great hands,” Nienaber said.

South Africa have to win the second Test against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Saturday to stay in the series and the ante was raised even further by captain Siya Kolisi on Friday when he confirmed he felt disrespected by the match officials in the first Test last weekend and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said all the Springboks want is to be treated equitably by the authorities.

The now infamous hour-long video released this week by director of rugby Rassie Erasmus shows how Kolisi battled to be heard by the referee, while Lions captain Alun-Wyn Jones seemed to have a hotline to Nic Berry.

Erasmus is now reportedly going to be sanctioned by WorldRugby, but as Stick pointed out, the first person to disrespect the match officials was Lions coach Warren Gatland last week when he questioned the integrity of TMO Marius Jonker. The South African was appointed at late notice after New Zealander Brendon Pickerill was unable to fly over for the tour due to Covid travel restrictions.

“I didn’t feel respected, I didn’t feel like I got a fair opportunity to talk to the referee. I wasn’t given the same access to the referee. The man must give a fair opportunity to both captains, that’s all I’ve asked for. But I’m looking forward to a new game and I trust Ben O’Keeffe [Saturday’s referee] will be well-prepared,” Kolisi said on Friday.

Stick went further and said the integrity of both the series and WorldRugby had been ‘destroyed’ by Gatland’s actions last week, which had the predictable outcome of putting Jonker in an impossible position.

“The challenge came when Marius Jonker was appointed because the original TMO could not travel because of Covid. We did not appoint him, that was out of our control. But first things first, when the Lions started questioning the appointment made by WorldRugby, that’s when the problems started.

“No apology was made for questioning his integrity and then everyone goes crazy when we ask questions about decisions that were made on the field. What is right for one side must be the same for the other team, otherwise one team is playing on grass and the other is on mud.

“We would not love it if the series, which only happens once every 12 years, was all about the decisions of the officials. We just want fairness, if Rassie is in trouble then the person who challenged the integrity of the TMO, who destroyed the integrity of the series and WorldRugby, must also be,” Stick fumed.

In terms of what the players will be focusing on on the field of play, Stick said they expect the Lions to once again lean on the kicking game that served them so well in the second half of the first Test, while the Springboks will again be trusting their physicality.

“We think the Lions will come again with a massive kicking game and I must compliment them because things weren’t working for them in the first half last week, so they decided to not play much rugby and instead challenge us in the aerial contest. The first half was going well for us, we had the clinical kicking game, but then in the second half, whatever the Lions coaches said at halftime, it worked for them.

“We know the set-pieces are also crucial at this level and Northern Hemisphere sides are always very physical. The scrums and lineouts are still key because that gives you a platform to attack from. The Lions also scored one try from the driving maul, but we did not get much opportunity to drive. But it’s going to be tough and physical again on Saturday and if we can execute our plan very well then we will have a chance to win,” Stick said.

“We are not doing anything different, we have prepared the same way and we will play the same rugby as last week but better. We need to make sure we maul better and handle their kicks better. There’s a lot of pressure, but we are focused on what we can control and that’s making sure we fixed the mistakes we made. We’ve worked hard on where the Lions attacked us and gained the most benefit,” Kolisi added.

 Teams

Springboks: 15-Willie le Roux, 14-Cheslin Kolbe, 13-Lukhanyo Am, 12-Damian de Allende, 11-Makazole Mapimpi, 10-Handré Pollard (vice-captain), 9-Faf de Klerk, 8-Jasper Wiese, 7-Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6-Siya Kolisi (captain), 5-Franco Mostert, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Frans Malherbe, 2-Bongi Mbonambi, 1-Steven Kitshoff. Replacements– 16-Malcolm Marx, 17-Trevor Nyakane, 18-Vincent Koch, 19-Lood de Jager, 20-Marco van Staden, 21-Kwagga Smith, 22-Herschel Jantjies, 23-Damian Willemse.

British & Irish Lions: 15-Stuart Hogg, 14-Anthony Watson, 13-Chris Harris, 12-Robbie Henshaw, 11-Duhan van der Merwe, 10-Dan Biggar, 9-Conor Murray, 8-Jack Conan, 7-Tom Curry, 6- Courtney Lawes, 5-Alun Wyn Jones, 4-Maro Itoje, 3-Tadhg Furlong, 2-Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1-Mako Vunipola. Replacements -16-Ken Owens, 17-Rory Sutherland, 18-Kyle Sinckler, 19-Tadhg Beirne, 20-Taulupe Faletau, 21-Ali Price, 22-Owen Farrell, 23-Elliot Daly.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber was a bit crabby over the ill-discipline his team showed in the first half, but otherwise he pronounced himself satisfied with the way they had gone in the first Test against Georgia at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

A string of penalties in the first quarter allowed Georgia to lead 9-5 and denied the Springboks much momentum. But once they gave themselves a foothold in the game with two tries in the last five minutes of the first half, they took a firm grip on the game in a rock-solid second half that saw South Africa ultimately win 40-9.

“The discipline was poor in the first half, but you have to credit Georgia as well because they put us under pressure until the back end of the first half. We all knew they would bring physicality but they caught us a little bit in the first 20 minutes. But that’s exactly why we were desperate to play a Test, we wanted a nice physical battle and we couldn’t have asked for better opposition for that.

“With no marker because we haven’t played for 20 months, it was difficult to know where we are at, but now we have a starting point. I don’t have worries but obviously we will work on the things that aren’t good and we probably have to improve in everything. We saw a notable change, what we wanted to see, in the second half when we imposed our game-plan on them more,” Nienaber said after his debut Test as head coach.

It was the Springbok forwards who bore the brunt of the responsibility for softening up the Georgians and captain Siya Kolisi said he was happy with the way his team responded.

“We didn’t hold back but we did not start as well as we wanted, we couldn’t get our maul and scrum going at the start, which is most important for us, we will never hide away from the set-pieces being important for us. Our discipline let us down too. But we wanted the same 2019 physicality and to be the Warriors, do the things that don’t require talent, that’s what we wanted to see today.

“We knew what Georgia are capable of and it was most important that we beat them and we responded well in the second half. But we need better discipline and we want to impose ourselves on the opposition more as individuals. We responded well but we still left a couple of opportunities out there,” Kolisi said.