Ken Borland

South Africa are bringing in Ryan Rickelton for the injured Rassie van der Dussen for the third and decisive Test against England at The Oval from Thursday, but they are considering other changes as well as captain Dean Elgar continued to express his disappointment with the batting.

The 26-year-old Rickelton will win his third Test cap after scoring 114 runs in two Tests against Bangladesh at the end of last summer. He played four first-class matches for Northamptonshire in June/July and collected two centuries and four fifties.

The other changes the Proteas are expected to think long and hard about are whether to continue playing a second frontline spinner in Simon Harmer or recall Marco Jansen, and whether to make a second change to the batting line-up by leaving out the struggling Aiden Markram and bringing in Khaya Zondo or all-rounder Wiaan Mulder.

“Ryan is in and we’re pretty confident about him after he had a decent stint in the UK playing county cricket, it’s his chance to hopefully shine,” Elgar said on Wednesday.

“But we’ve done a lot of thinking and spoken about tough decisions, and I’m sure there might be one or two extra changes. I know how much top-order runs mean to set up victory for a team.

“We’ve spoken at length about that and now it’s time to walk the talk. Our batting at Old Trafford was not our proudest moment, but you’ve got to go through the grief and then crack on and focus on what’s next.

“We’ve had a few rough matches in the past and at the end of the day we have come out okay. I like to think that past experience will play a part and we can stand up and bring our best game,” Elgar said.

Test aficionados will be delighted that the series is coming down to a decider in the last match and Elgar said the third Test would be his biggest game since taking over the captaincy.

“This is the biggest Test so far in my captaincy period, it’s like a World Cup final for us, that’s the way I view it, and the players know and sense that. It’s one of those Tests you play as if it is your last.

“We need to empty the tank and leave everything on the field. It’s going to be huge, it’s a massive game for us. I’ve never experienced a series win against England, so that’s in 10 years.

“So it would be massive for me if we win, but also for the youngsters in the team. We are going in with real confidence. We may be in the World Test Championship final later because we are in a really good spot – if we manage to win this Test then we’ll be back at number one,” Elgar said.

A big season looms for the Lions’ exciting young flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse and for the 21-year-old, the 2022/23 season will be all about consistency.

Hendrikse fractured his ankle in just the second game of last season’s United Rugby Championship, and his return to the side in February coincided with a turnaround in fortunes for the Lions, who surprised many by finishing 12^th in the final standings. He played 12 URC games for the Lions and started in 11 of them.

“Our focus as a team is to improve and make the top-10 this time. Of course the ultimate goal is to win the competition, but as players we also want to see development and improvement as individuals, and as a team and union,” Hendrikse told The Citizen.

“Towards the end of the competition we were able to get into the swing of things and adapted very well. We had a four-game winning streak at home and we finished well.

“I definitely enjoyed the competition, it was a very nice experience, my first senior tournament. It was fantastic to experience the atmosphere in all sorts of stadiums, with fans back, and to play against world-class players.

“Injury is always a part of rugby, but it knocked me off-course a bit last season. For me, this coming season is all about being consistent, I just want to get better than the season before in all the things I do.

“I will push my positives to the limit and pick up where I need to in terms of negatives. I’m going to be chasing those one-percenters,” Hendrikse said.

As the current Rugby Championship has shown with an off-form Handre Pollard and an underdone Elton Jantjies both injured, Damian Willemse being inexperienced at No.10 and largely playing inside centre at the Stormers, and Johan Goosen just making his way back from serious injury, South Africa’s pool at flyhalf is not exactly extensive.

But the way Hendrikse was thrown in the deep end by the Lions and certainly did not sink, says much for the former Junior Springbok’s ability and temperament. He has also shown a maturity beyond his years in his all-round game.

“I would definitely say my kicking game is my greatest strength, although it gets hard sometimes in certain conditions and pitches. Defensively, I think I’m strong, I bring physicality at flyhalf.

“I’m a 10 that loves to take the ball to the line, I’m not scared to get my hands dirty. I’ll get in the rucks or beat players with ball-in-hand, I don’t mind.

“But I would like to read the game better. Playing flyhalf is all about being in control, being in charge and having that aura for the team.

“I’d like to bring my positive mindset and calmness under pressure to the team,” the 1.86m tall youngster said.

As they say, you cannot buy experience in the shop and Hendrikse has been forewarned and forearmed when it comes to playing in Europe again in the coming season.

“We had to tour overseas first last season and it was a positive experience for when we go back this winter [northern hemisphere]. They are tough conditions, some places are very windy, others are cold and wet.

“We’re also playing on different fields – 4G pitches – which we are not used to. We’re used to it being dry inland and moist on the coast. So it’s a massive change.

“And we’re up against world-class players who have different styles of playing rugby. Ireland are very attacking, Wales and Italy are more physical.

“And now that we’ll be playing in the EPCR Challenge Cup, we’ll be coming up against French teams, who play more physical and slower rugby.

“We had new coaches come in just a month before leaving for overseas last season, and it takes time and patience before things started clicking. Their teams struggled coming over here too,” Hendrikse pointed out.

The bakery at Ellis Park in Doornfontein is trying to produce a quality product using some fairly raw ingredients and they need to get the texture and taste of their rugby, and those all-important finishes, just right.

There will be a familiar face back in former Springbok fullback Andries Coetzee, and the likes of Ruan Dreyer and Jaco Kriel are still around up front. Lions fans will be hoping the gifted Hendrikse can bring something more exotic as a playmaker, especially since his taste of Sevens rugby with the Blitzboks earlier this year.

“Playing Sevens was definitely an eye-opener and an immense experience,” Hendrikse said. “Just the skill level and small details, it will definitely benefit me in XVs and I would certainly look forward to the opportunity to play Sevens again if it arises.”

On Saturday, Hendrikse was watching his older, by 15 months, brother Jaden playing for the Springboks in Sydney.

The scrumhalf is producing his own deli of special goods down in Durban with the Sharks, but Jordan hopes one day the two brothers from King William’s Town and then Glenwood High School will be able to play together as a halfback pairing.

“I’m immensely proud of Jaden and I love him to bits. We were very competitive growing up, we would keep pushing ourselves. But we watch each other’s games and give each other input.

“We’re just grateful for what we have and definitely, in the future, the plan is to play together. We have that bond, call it instinct, but we see eye-to-eye and we share vision. But it’s all up to God’s will and plan,” Hendrikse Junior said.

DULLSTROOM, Mpumalanga – Heinrich Bruiners praised his amateur partner Anton Botha for the way he rose to the occasion on their closing holes to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series ProAm at Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate on Wednesday.

Bruiners and Botha won by three points in the end, but they were closely pursued by James Hart du Preez and Navin Maharaj, and needed a birdie at their final hole, the par-four 10^th, to get them over the line.

“It was really fun and to have a competitive event before our Sunshine Tour tournament is nice,” Bruiners said. “We were in the lead from yesterday and I just said to Anton down the stretch that we needed to be a bit more aggressive and go for the win.

“We had such a good partnership and I thought birdie at the last would be enough. Anton sank his putt for birdie and then I made one too just for a nice finish.

“But I really needed him on the last few holes and he pulled through on four or five holes,” Bruiners said.

With the ProAm now done, the 34-year-old Bruiners will turn his focus to the R1.15 million Vodacom Origins of Golf Sunshine Tour event starting at the mountainous Highland Gate course on Thursday.

“It’s a good omen to win the ProAm and now it’s down to business from tomorrow. I’m swinging well and I finished 11^th last week in Pretoria, a bogey at the last cost me a lot, including a top-10 place.

“But it was still a decent performance and now I go into this tournament after playing good golf for two days. Every time I come Mpumalanga or Limpopo side, I seem to play well – it must be something in the air!” the George product said.

He has also been won over by the Highland Gate course.

“When I came four or five years ago, I didn’t enjoy the course so much. I must have been in a very bad mental space though because this course is unbelievable, one of my favourites, definitely in the top-10.

“I’ve got a different perspective now. It’s such a quiet environment out on the course, there’s not so much going on and you feel excluded from all the hustle and bustle,” Bruiners said.

For eight-handicapper Botha, a production manager for Schoeman Boerdery in Groblersdal, his maiden Vodacom Origins of Golf ProAm will give him a lifetime of memories, as well as a place in the final at Pinnacle Point from October 24-27.

“It was just unbelievable, the whole estate and Vodacom’s organisation was amazing. My highlight was the final hole when things were still tight. We both made birdies, I had a three-metre putt, but the monster drive I hit was my best shot of the tournament!” Botha said.

Fast bowler Anrich Nortje says his role is to provide energy for the team and his high-octane burst of three wickets in two overs certainly vitalised the Proteas on their way to their fabulous innings win over England at Lord’s, completed in just three days.

Given that Nortje was consistently around the 150km/h mark, and according to some analysts produced the fastest bowling seen in England for a decade, there must have been a temptation for him to launch a fearsome bouncer barrage on the batsmen. But where the home side erred in bowling too short to the lower-order, Nortje can credit a much fuller length for his success.

“I’m very happy with the way things happened, I didn’t come here expecting that,” Nortje said. “I was just really happy to be bowling with the red ball again, it was so nice, having seen a lot of the Test team on TV.

“We have an unbelievable attack, we all cover different aspects. So well done to all the bowlers, especially KG Rabada, who bowled unbelievably well and got himself on the honours board, so that must be a great feeling.

“My job is to just try and get some energy and momentum on our side when things are tough. It’s about the conditions on the day and what they allow. If things are more spicy, then I just try to hit a length.

“But generally I just try and bring some energy, generally later on in the innings. You need to get yourself up at the right stages and I just try to execute as much as possible,” Nortje said.

While Nortje said he would spend his two days off “doing a bit of exploring London”, he was also not worried about travelling a bit on the field either, given his role as a strike bowler. The 28-year-old’s three wickets on the final day came at a cost of 47 runs in just seven overs, and his 3/63 in the first innings came in 13 overs. So overall he conceded 110 runs in 20 overs, a rate of 5.5 runs-per-over, but the six wickets are what is important.

“I wasn’t happy at the start, so I tried to rev myself up, which took two or three overs. Fortunately I got a nick and then you just try and run with it,” Nortje said.

“Stuart Broad smashed a few around and sometimes the right ball still goes to the boundary, and then the captain is in your ear saying ‘it was a good ball, don’t worry, keep going.’

“You have to just think on the spot, read the situation. But Dean Elgar is quite straightforward, if you’re not bringing your A-game then he will tell you. We need that, he doesn’t beat around the bush.

“At stages he tells us it’s not good enough, but he obviously encourages us as well. He allows me to be myself and express myself, and I really enjoy having him as captain and his honesty,” Nortje said.