Ken Borland

Proteas captain Dean Elgar believes he has a great attack for Australian conditions, but at the moment the pressure is on his batsmen to put enough runs on the board for them to be effective in their three-Test series that starts on December 17.

The South Africans departed for Australia on Thursday night and Elgar admitted the focus would be on their embattled batsmen.

“The style of cricket we play is tailor-made for over there, we have great fast bowlers. It’s bad enough facing them in the nets, I’m really glad I don’t have to do it in a match,” Elgar said at the Wanderers on Thursday morning.

“But runs on the board is key in Australia and our attack needs those scores to be most effective. Our batting has not been good enough in the last year, there is no shying away from it.

“It’s up to the batsmen to take accountability and responsibility. There are a lot of guys on the fringes who are champing on the bit and eager to play,” Elgar said.

There has been some criticism aimed at the recalling of Theunis de Bruyn and Heinrich Klaasen to the squad, both of whom are over 30 and last played Test cricket on the ill-fated tour of India in October 2019. But Elgar backed them as both having the experience and ability to dominate the strong Australian attack.

“Heinrich is a good, experienced international cricketer now and he has immense ability and a lot of character,” Elgar said.

“I’ve always thought that Theunis is one of the most talented batsmen in the country, he just has that extra gear which not a lot of guys have. He can really take an attack apart.

“I think he’s also in a really good space for Test cricket now, he has come a long way as a cricketer and person since his last international encounter and he will definitely be part of the selection discussion.”

Elgar is also fully expecting the Australians to try and bait his team with verbals, but said the Proteas must not back down when things get fiery.

“Australia is a tough place to play because there are a lot of external pressures and in their home conditions they are always pretty feisty. It’s the nature of them as individuals – brash and bold and in your face.

“But we enjoy that confrontation and we’ve shown the ability to keep calm heads. I would encourage the players not to shy away from it because that’s when South Africans show their best character,” Elgar said.

Cricket South Africa’s announcement on Thursday of a partnership with global events company Roc Nation is indicative of a newly-prioritised effort to restore their relationship with their fans and ensure better engagement and experiences for them, while hopefully attracting new converts to the game.

Given Roc Nation’s understanding of creating great experiences for fans, and their already-in-place connection with South African sports fans (especially the crucial Black market) through their management deals with national captains Temba Bavuma and rugby star Siya Kolisi, they are the ideal consultants for CSA as they not only look to restore their public image but also ensure the game grows in the post-Covid world.

Roc Nation are the entertainment strategists for the NFL in the United States, tasked with enhancing the league’s live experience for fans, including the SuperBowl, which is second only to the Uefa Champions League final as the most-watched annual club sporting event worldwide. Roc Nation are also lead players in augmenting the social justice efforts of the NFL through the Inspire Change initiative, which will come in handy when CSA have to negotiate movements like Black Lives Matter.

CSA’s new management, both in terms of the board and the executive, have been frank about how they need to restore trust after the divisive battles of recent times.

As CEO Pholetsi Moseki said: “One of our big tasks is to rebuild confidence and the faith of the fans. It’s about how we enhance the brand and bridge the divide, the lack of trust, between us and our stakeholders, especially the fans.

“If we’re honest, we were struggling to attract fans back even before Covid. This partnership is about how we re-connect with our fans and get new ones.

“We are the custodians of the game, but we are also in the entertainment business and Roc Nation are the absolute best partner we can have for that. Fan experience is key whatever the sport.“

Given the dreadful mess they inherited, it is likely the new CSA executives will not err in thinking the sport is about them, because that drove the game on to the rockiest of reefs. Roc Nation are ideally placed to help restore the damage.

The Sharks have had their share of difficult times in the forward battle and it will be a tough day at the office for them if they don’t match Western Province up front in their Currie Cup semi-final at Newlands on Saturday, but skipper Lukhanyo Am says they are confident they will have put in the work required for at least parity come the weekend.

The Sharks pack showed their ability when they enjoyed the upper hand up front when ending the Bulls’ unbeaten run in mid-December, but they have also been beaten at forward by the Lions and the Free State Cheetahs. Importantly, that was when tighthead prop Thomas du Toit was not in action, and the World Cup winner is shaping to be a key player on Saturday as he takes on South Africa’s No.1 loosehead prop in Steven Kitshoff.

“We know what Western Province’s strengths are, their set-piece has been dominant and they’ve proven it right through the competition. But we are working on us mainly, to strengthen the parts of our game where we feel we are lacking. But if we can get our own set-piece and challenge them on their’s, then it’s going to be an exciting game to watch,” Am said on Tuesday.

Lock Ruben van Heerden was also painting a picture of how determined the Sharks are to match Western Province, and their all-Springbok front row, up front.

“Western Province have a very strong lineout, scrum and maul, we know what they will bring, but we are very well prepared and up to the challenge. At this level, everyone is strong and shows up on the day really wanting to play, so it comes down to technique to nullify what gives them their strength – momentum in the lineout, scrums and mauls. But we are very confident we can nullify that,” Van Heerden said.

And if the Sharks pack can gain parity up front, then they have the backline to take advantage and a general at flyhalf in Curwin Bosch who can move them around the park most efficiently. While the 23-year-old Springbok is indisputably KwaZulu-Natal’s No.1 flyhalf, Western Province have shuffled from Damian Willemse to Tim Swiel as their pivot this season.

“Curwin is incredibly influential for us, he’s our playmaker and crucial to the way we want to play. As a forward, it makes your job so much easier when you have a flyhalf who can put you on the front foot and put the ball in the right areas. I’m not sure about Western Province’s situation at flyhalf, but that’s not our problem,” Van Heerden said.

Captain Am also knows he can rely on his flyhalf.

“Curwin is a key player, our golden boot and he really puts us in the right areas. We back his kicking abilities whether in-hand or off the tee and he really gives us confidence. Our approach probably won’t be as flashy in the semi-final as it is in other games, we’ll definitely be trying to put the ball in the right areas, and knowing he can slot whatever penalties we get means we are in a good place,” Am said.

It was probably a good thing for the Lions that their SuperRugby quarterfinal against the Sharks was so close because it was a good wake-up call for them.

Nevertheless, the Lions extended their record to not having lost to a South African franchise to 17 matches, dating back to their loss to the Bulls on May 2, 2015, in Pretoria, which is a phenomenal record.

It’s always difficult playing against a team back-to-back and sometimes you’re just not that mentally sharp. The Sharks certainly had more desperation about them, especially in the first half, which translated into a 14-3 halftime lead.

The key in the second half was the yellow cards and the one-man advantage they created, and the Lions took advantage of their numerical superiority.

I’m sure the Lions will be far more alert against the Hurricanes in their semi-final this weekend, especially since the defending champions gave them a good touch-up at Ellis Park and in the final last year.

The pressure game of the Hurricanes, especially their rush-defence, is hard to deal with, even though they do concede a lot of line-breaks. But they also force a lot of turnovers and there’s a big risk/reward factor in their play.

It’s going to be really interesting though how long they can keep rushing at altitude; it certainly gets harder after 30 minutes of line-speed at altitude with your tongue hanging out!

The Lions have to score points and make a statement in the first 20 minutes, and when they have enjoyed success in the last two years in the playoff games against New Zealand sides, that’s what they’ve done.

The Lions certainly have the set-pieces to put big pressure on the Hurricanes, it’s going to be a fascinating battle up front. I don’t see the Hurricanes competing at the lineouts because the Lions’ mauling is so good, they’re going to prefer to stay down and compete on the ground, try and kill the drive at source.

It will be very interesting to see how the Lions deal with Elton Jantjies this week after he obviously did not have a great game against the Sharks. For the Lions to be removing a key player from the field after just more than an hour says it all.

But Elton is highly self-critical and he really thinks about the game a lot. It will be a case of going back to basics for him and the Lions coaching staff will be reminding him of how good he is, he is the starting Springbok flyhalf after all and he played every minute of the series against France, which shows how great his season has been. There will be an honest video review and feedback and the player will roll up his sleeves, but he will be supported by everyone in the Lions camp.

I’m sure the other players will be 100% behind him in every aspect, because they know how important he is to the team on attack.

The Lions will not train very much this week because they need to be super-fresh for the semi-final. By now everybody knows the game-plan and it will be all about execution and accuracy. Short, sharp sessions will hopefully bring reward on the weekend with the Lions at their best.

I think the Lions will come through against the Hurricanes, especially since last weekend’s game was just what they needed.

In the other semi-final, I think the Crusaders will beat the Chiefs, they will just be too good for them.

But everyone starts at zero again in the semi-finals, previous results and form don’t matter!

John McFarland is the assistant coach of the Kubota Spears in Japan and was the Springbok defence coach from 2012 through to the 2015 World Cup, where they conceded the least line-breaks in the tournament and an average of just one try per game. Before that, McFarland won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 09, 10) with the Bulls and five Currie Cup crowns with the Blue Bulls. In all, he won 28 trophies during his 12 years at Loftus Versfeld.