Ken Borland

Having come a cropper last weekend in Bloemfontein, Bulls Currie Cup coach Gert Smal is hoping for a more cohesive, disciplined display as a side boasting some additional players with URC experience was named for their semifinal against Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

The Bulls went to Bloemfontein last weekend to try and finish top of the log, but they were heavily beaten. Needing just two bonus points to clinch No.1 spot, they were demolished 35-5.

But for the semi-final, inspirational captain Lizo Gqoboka is back after his father’s sad passing and funeral, and he will join a powerful front row alongside the exciting Jan-Hendrik Wessels and the seasoned Jacques van Rooyen.

There is some real quality in the backline as well, with Springbok Lionel Mapoe now joined by Marco Jansen van Vuren in midfield and the elusive Stedman Gans on the wing.

“It’s very important to have that extra experience in the playoffs and we expect them to bring their best in the heat of the battle,” Smal said on Thursday.

“A game like the one in Bloem shows you a lot. But it was that team’s first time playing together and there were a lot of youngsters. We have put that match behind us, and the second time they play together will hopefully be much better.

“No matter how young you are, these are the type of matches you work so hard for, and the players are very hungry, both the youngsters and the seniors.

“We obviously missed Lizo, he was at his Dad’s funeral and we commiserate with him. But he has had a good week now, he’s very inspirational and it’s nice to have him back,” Smal said.

Griquas have had an uncanny ability this season to shock teams by coming back from large deficits, and Smal knows the Bulls have an 80-minute tussle on their hands.

“Griquas are well-coached and they will throw their maul at us, it is something we have worked hard on because we were not good there last weekend,” Smal said.

“Once they set the lineout, they either maul or the ball comes out from their hooker or No.6 to the scrumhalf and they play from there. We have a really good idea of how they play.

“But they also play for the full 80 minutes, so we have to really play for the full duration of the match. Good defence wins you trophies, so we have to get that right.

“Griquas can also pick up the tempo, especially in the last part of the game, so that’s another challenge. We will have to be accurate in everything we do,” Smal said.

Bulls team:Richard Kriel, Tharquinn Manuel, Lionel Mapoe, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Stedman Gans, Juan Mostert, Keagan Johannes, Muller Uys, Ruan Delport, Jaco Labuschagne, Reinhardt Ludwig, Raynard Roets, Jacques van Rooyen, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Lizo Gqoboka. Impact -Sidney Tobias, Dylan Smith, Francois Klopper, Willie Potgieter, Stephan Smit, Bernard van der Linde, Niel Beukes, Quewin Nortje.

Kick-off: 7pm.

IRENE, City of Tshwane – Dylan Mostert showed great mental composure and produced a bogey-free back nine for his maiden Sunshine Tour title on Sunday, as he won the KitKat Group ProAm at Irene Country Club by three strokes.

Mostert shot a fantastic 68 in the final round for a 17-under-par total of 199, three clear of MJ Viljoen (67), to become the fourth first-time winner on tour this season.

A bogey on the par-five second hole made for a nervous start for the left-handed Mostert, but he showed he was up for the challenge when he chipped in for birdie on the third in superb fashion on the undulating green.

Malcolm Mitchell went out in three-under 33 to make for an exciting challenge for Mostert, but the 23-year-old from Modderfontein Golf Club birdied the ninth and then produced a fabulous hybrid approach shot from under the trees, in the dirt, finding the middle of the 10^th green and then sinking the putt for birdie for some breathing space.

“I hit some great shots that were really important for me to change the momentum,” Mostert said. “I had just made bogey on two and I was not in a great spot next to the third green, I was just hoping for an up-and-down at best. And then on 10, that was like a one-out-of-10 shot to pull off.             

“A whole bunch of things came together, but it’s definitely my mental game that made the most difference, my main focus was on staying neutral upstairs. Since finishing second in the Blue Label Challenge at Sun City last year, I’ve been working on that with Theo Bezuidenhout.

“I now have a different mindset because before I was up and down with birdies and bogeys. Now it’s about making good decisions and good swings. That builds confidence and belief.

“I probably hit the ball 10 times better when I finished second, but now I know where to miss,” Mostert said.

Further birdies at the 12^th and 17^th holes meant he was partitioned by three shots from Viljoen, five clear of the dangerous Louis Albertse (70) and half-a-dozen strokes ahead of Kyle Barker (67) and Ryan van Velzen (71) by the end of the R1 million tournament.

Mitchell fell away with a horrible double-bogey at the 14^th followed by bogeys on the next two holes as well, finishing on nine-under-par.

In the separate pro-am competition, Viljoen’s joint-best round of the day of 67 allowed himself and Japie Holtzhausen to claim the title on 19-under-par, two ahead of Madalitso Muthiya and Nash Soni, and Hennie O’Kennedy and Moe Mitha, on 17-under.

The Central Gauteng Lions endured a tough 2021/22 season with Proteas and SA A call-ups decimating their line-up, and one could only feel sympathy for Malusi Siboto, their stalwart seam bowler who had to carry the attack when so many bowlers were missing.

Across the four-day competition, the triumphant 50-over One-Day Cup campaign and the two T20 tournaments, the Lions played 24 matches last season and Siboto played in every one of them. He bowled the most overs in the four-day tournament, 151.4, and took 24 wickets at an average of just 14, spearheading a challenge for the title that only faltered in the final round.

The 34-year-old Siboto was also their leading T20 wicket-taker, while conceding runs at just 7.39 per over. So it was a fitting act of appreciation when he was crowned as the CGL Player of the Year at the weekend.

For his part, Siboto admitted that he was “very tired” but he said the responsibility of being a senior player had carried him through.

“For me, the big key was that element of making sure the younger players were ready. As a senior player, you have to step up and make sure the others follow you and that you play as a team.

“The stats are not important for me and I didn’t feel more pressure out on the field. It was more about mindset, being aware of the smaller things, those situations that can be game-changing.

“Whatever happens, you have to trust all the players to execute. So I didn’t feel there was any pressure on me to perform, it was more about making sure all the players are on the same page.

“At times it seems like you’re bowling for someone else. And then you just have to make sure they’re aware, someone like Codi Yusuf had Sisanda Magala and I always in his ear,” Siboto told The Citizen.

Siboto has now played 244 matches across the formats in domestic first division cricket. He moved from the Knights to the Titans in 2016/17 and then to the Lions in 2018/19. He has never failed to be a consistent, skilful performer at that level, certainly one of the most effective bowlers in the local game.

Although his only taste of international cricket came with eight matches for SA A between 2016 and 2019, he is not going to give up on his dream of playing for the Proteas.

“I am ready to play for the Proteas, I’ve been bringing it year-in, year-out and my SA A games were a long time ago. I am fit and working hard and always growing. I’m learning something new every season.

“Next season again, I will just try to be consistent, do the basics right, that’s all I can control.

“At the Titans, there was an element of there being no comfort zone, we were all working hard to win trophies and build a legacy.

“At the Lions, it’s a different ball-game because half the team is so young and new. So it’s a matter of also making sure those younger guys flourish,” Siboto said.

Not for the first time this season, the Sharks passed their test in terms of determination and effort, but failed when it came to execution and taking chances, their 24-21 defeat at the hands of Ulster allowing the Bulls to overtake them on the final United Rugby Championship log and snatch a home quarterfinal.

And, with the Sharks finishing fifth and the Bulls’ fourth, it means the KwaZulu-Natalians will have to travel to Pretoria to take on the Currie Cup champions at Loftus Versfeld on the weekend of June 4 to try and keep their URC hopes alive.

Given what was at stake in Belfast, it was a poor display by the Sharks. Soft defensive moments cost them in the first half as Ulster rattled up a 17-0 lead, and then, although they dominated most of the second half, the Sharks were not accurate enough to turn that into tries. Until the last five minutes, when they scored twice to lend respectability to the scoreline.

“The guys played with a lot of energy, they played their hearts out and I’m very proud of the guys for the courage they showed,” coach Sean Everitt said. “The way they fought back justifies that.

“But our first half was not great, our defence was not sharp enough and we gave Ulster two tries they really did not have to work for.

“The second half was a different story and we had opportunities. We played some really good rugby to get into good positions. But unfortunately we lost the breakdown battle, Ulster put a lot of pressure on us there and they defended really well.

“But we played some of the best ball-in-hand rugby we’ve produced this season, we had good territory and field position, and credit to the bench for the huge impact they made,” Everitt said.

It was always going to be a tough test playing one of the Irish powerhouses away, and the Sharks now need to find a way to win at Loftus Versfeld, where they have not enjoyed a good time in recent knockout matches.

“Coming to the Kingspan Stadium was tough, it’s not an easy ground to play at. Ulster are a big and physical side.

“Big lessons were learned, but we are still very disappointed, it was a game that got away from us. We could have … ,“ Everitt mused without finishing his sentence.