Ken Borland

Former Springbok World Cup winning captain John Smit has advised fiery Stormers eighthman Evan Roos to find a way to keep his passion on the field, but stay close to the line without overstepping it when it comes to ill-discipline.

Roos, who made his Springbok debut against Wales this year, was yellow-carded last weekend for an off-the-ball tussle, that saw him lean his elbow on his opposite number’s neck, in the 52^nd minute of the Stormers’ win over Edinburgh.  It came at a bad time when the Stormers were under pressure, and it allowed the Scottish team to close the gap to 13-17.

Overseas critics have accused the 22-year-old of being unnecessarily confrontational, some calling his play dangerous and thuggish.

“Evan is a player who is really driven internally and he needs to find a way to control that emotion,” Smit said when asked at a Vodacom United Rugby Championship media call how he would handle a player like Roos if he were captain.

“Players get away with absolutely nothing these days, the most aggressive thing you’ll see on a field now is someone grabbing a collar and looking angry.

“Eben Etzebeth does it very well, controlling his passion right up to the end point of not getting in trouble. Evan needs to somehow know how to bottle that passion, and you don’t want to temper his enthusiasm.

“He just needs to be told though that losing control won’t just cost him but the team too. I would tell him that the angrier he gets, the more the team’s ability to succeed is diminished,” Smit said.

Smit of course had arguably rugby’s hardest ever enforcer to rely on to lay down the law in Bakkies Botha. But sometimes it took all of Smit’s considerable leadership wisdom to keep the legendary lock on the field.

“I had a few players in the Springbok team who sometimes suffered from over-stimulation!” Smit laughed. “Take Bakkies. Whenever I wanted to try gee up the team in the changeroom, I would wait for Bakkies to go to the toilet or get his knee strapped, otherwise my team talk would make him a bit over-zealous in the first five minutes! And that would be to our detriment.”

Re: The matter between Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and all the former national team coaches and players who have come out to criticise his selection for the second Test against Wales in Bloemfontein, which led to an historic first loss to the men from Cymru on home turf.

The defeat, following a fortuitous last-minute win in the first Test against a team that had been reduced to 12 men for some of the last 10 minutes, has put Nienaber and the Springboks in a concerning position – another loss in Cape Town on Saturday would give Wales the series and would be the first time South Africa have lost the majority of their mid-winter Tests at home since losing to the British and Irish Lions in 1997.

Losing the series to Wales would also put Nienaber under pressure to start anew, but then we have seen the next tier of players is not yet ready to take over judging by the way they let the Test in Bloemfontein slip. So in many ways, Nienaber really is between a rock and a hard place, with only a good victory in Cape Town on Saturday allowing him to wriggle into some breathing space.

The problem with being world champions is not only that you are the team with the biggest target on your backs, but that four years can be a long time in rugby and a side that won the previous World Cup might be just that little bit over the hill at the next showpiece tournament. It is the major reason why the defending champions have only retained their title once – the All Blacks going back-to-back in 2011 and 2015.

Coaches will naturally want to stick with the players they trust, the ones who won them the greatest prize in the sport. But they will also recognise the need to rejuvenate, to refresh their squad with new blood where necessary.

Thanks partly to the weakness of the rand and the number of foreign clubs eager to embrace South African talent, there is no doubt a fresh generation of exciting talent is starting to emerge at home, helped by the move into European competition.

Nienaber does need to look at them in the pressure of international rugby because some of them could well be key to defending the World Cup crown next year. But it is a balancing act and ideally you would want to introduce three or four players at a time with plenty of experienced, first-choice campaigners around them.

Perhaps Jake White is right and the fact that Nienaber has limited experience of being the head coach of a team led to him naively thinking that a squad with 19 changes to the 23 would be able to beat Wales.

I’m sure the number crunchers in the Randburg TV studios will know the answer, but I do wonder whether more people will watch the Springboks this weekend because the Test is a series decider or whether they prefer to watch a South African team sweeping all before them?

One thing is certain and White also made this point. The Springboks cannot rely on what won them the World Cup in 2019 working again next year. As we have seen with Wales, the opposition is getting better and better at countering the Erasmus/Nienaber game plan.

The Springboks need to grow, they need to change and evolve. I am sure Nienaber had this in mind with his selection for last weekend. It was a gamble that did not come off, much like playing the undercooked Elton Jantjies at flyhalf in the first Test. Sometimes the Springboks brains trust just try to be a little bit too clever.

Providing the first-choice players do the business on Saturday, it may just turn out to be a small step backwards, a valuable lesson, on the path to the 2023 World Cup.

The relationship between new CSA Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe and Proteas head coach Mark Boucher has been an obvious point of discussion since the former national team assistant coach’s ascension to the lead administrative role, but Nkwe himself assured on Friday that they are eager to get “the best out of each other”.

Nkwe resigned as South Africa’s assistant coach last August, stating concerns over the team culture, and said he had not seen Boucher since then. During the period when Boucher was under disciplinary investigation by CSA, much was made of Nkwe’s departure from the Proteas and he was expected to testify against his former boss.

Nkwe declined to do so and the roles are now reversed with Boucher reporting to him. The new Director of Cricket said he had the pleasure of a clear-the-air meeting with Boucher and the Proteas team on Thursday, on the eve of their departure for England.

“It was a bit strange at first because we have not engaged in person since August, but it ended up being a great meeting,” Nkwe said at his introductory press conference at CSA headquarters on Friday.

“I know a whole lot has been spoken about there being deeper-level issues, but it was nothing personal and Mark and I do have a good relationship. The meeting ended with us laughing and I know he is excited to work with me too.

“We now feel that we are in the best positions to get the best out of each other. I’m glad we were able to meet in person before they left for England and we all walked away with smiles after 40 minutes.

“There’s a lot more clarity between us now and being Director of Cricket does not mean I am director of the Proteas. I am director of cricket in totality. Mark and the team leadership are in a very good space,” Nkwe said.

Apart from finding the squad in good humour, Nkwe said he was also impressed by the vibe, which had improved since he was last with the Proteas.

“I could feel the positive energy and also in the way the team engaged with the Board as well. It’s actually been a great week for South African cricket and it’s important that we restore our positive image.

“That’s a part of my 18-month plan and I will be giving as much support as possible to the national coaches, to allow the head coach to focus on his role because his hands are quite full.

“It was quite an emotional moment at the start of the meeting with the team yesterday [Thursday]. This role is very close to my heart, it’s what I have strived for. It’s a massive honour and privilege.

“It’s a position in which I can actually make a difference to South African cricket, which I am very passionate about. There will be a lot of pressure, but pressure is a privilege,” Nkwe said.

Saturday is the day when South African rugby returns to, as the Spanish would say, La Vida Normal (the normal life) as the former national sport can once again be played in front of full stadiums of spectators.

Although, seeing as though it is Griquas and the Pumas who will contest the Currie Cup final in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon, we might be heading into a new normal for rugby. Griquas have actually won the Currie Cup three times, although the last time they did it was in 1970, which was also their last appearance in the final.

The Pumas, or South-Eastern Transvaal as they were then known, only came into being a year earlier, in 1969. This is their first ever appearance in the final, having been well-beaten by Northern Transvaal in the semi-finals in 1980, their previous best showing in the famous tournament.

It will be a massive day for two unions, their players and coaches, who don’t usually get to shine in the spotlight. Such occurrences are what makes sport so utterly charming at times.

But there is no denying the defending champion Bulls, who were desperate to become the first team to win a hat-trick of titles since the Free State Cheetahs did it between 2005 and 2007, are less than charmed about their exit from the Currie Cup at the semifinal stage at the hands of Griquas.

There is growing dissatisfaction amongst the country’s four international franchises that play in the United Rugby Championship that trying to contend in the Currie Cup at the same time is a bit like tilting at windmills. And next year will be even worse as they also have European cup tournaments to play in.

The sponsors, Carling Black Label, have also expressed their concern over the famous event continuing to lose prestige, and it is important SA Rugby lance this festering boil of malcontent over the Currie Cup.

As admirable as the campaigns mounted by the Griquas and Pumas have been, it has been unfortunate for the tournament that of the so-called Test unions, only the Bulls fielded anything resembling a top side and even they had to give in to the realities of fighting on two fronts in the closing stages.

Moving the Currie Cup until after the end of the European season seems the best way to go. Of course it will then clash with the international season of the Springboks, but that cavalry has long since departed the Currie Cup and fans and sponsors have become accustomed to them not featuring in the premier domestic tournament.

Speaking of the Springboks, there was certainly an air of great excitement in their camp this week as they gathered in Pretoria.

Eight new faces will always bring an injection of fresh energy and the URC has certainly unveiled some exciting new talent that deserves exposure at the highest level.

But without deflating fans too much, they should not expect the starting XV to pay Wales at Loftus Versfeld on July 2 to differ much from the team that last appeared in the UK at the end of last year.

Duane Vermeulen will need to be replaced at eighthman and Evan Roos and Elrigh Louw, who announced themselves in such incredible fashion in the URC, will be in the forefront of most fans’ thinking. But Jasper Wiese is the incumbent back-up No.8 and, after his inspirational display in the English Premiership final for Leicester, he is probably the favourite to come in for Vermeulen.

Key stars such as Cheslin Kolbe, Faf de Klerk and Pieter-Steph du Toit should also be back in action, and I look forward to Damian Willemse playing the Frans Steyn role of utility back on the bench. Hopefully there is space for one of Roos or Louw alongside him on the wood, and maybe even Marcell Coetzee.