Ken Borland

The last remaining players coming out of Covid isolation, including Siya Kolisi and Makazole Mapimpi, will undergo testing and get their results on Monday evening, but assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said on Monday he is not worried about any Springboks having suddenly become unfit while in quarantine because it’s not as if they’ve been sitting on the beach for the last six weeks.

“We’re in a good space, we’ve got almost everyone back and the last guys should be joining us today. So we are almost 100% back to the way we wanted things. Siya and Makazole still have to go see the specialist and will have their final tests and results today. But all the players have had two to three weeks of conditioning camp so we are in a good space, you don’t get unfit in one week.

“By tonight we will know who will be fit to play in the first Test and the team announced on Wednesday will be the final squad. But we won’t do anything stupid and rush players back, we hope it’s good news for them later today, but we have great players in the squad who we trust can do the job. If Siya is not fit then we have Rynhardt Elstadt who has been winning everything, Marco van Staden was very solid for SA A and there’s Jasper Wiese,” Stick said on Monday.

And because physically dominating the British and Irish Lions is going to be such an important part of the Test series, the Springboks need their big breakers up front to be in peak conditioning.

“We’re coming up against the very best of the best in the Northern Hemisphere, so we have to be at our best in all departments. Credit to the Bulls because they were well-prepared and they gave us a big challenge in the set-pieces, they really climbed into us physically. That match showed us what will happen if we don’t pitch up, and we expect the Lions to come hard at us at the wide breakdowns.

“So we have to make sure that we are prepared for it. We are grateful for the experience of Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi and Steven Kitshoff up front, so we are not worried at all, we have got the players to do the job. That’s the honest truth, even if one or two players are not cleared, that’s the trust we have in the other players, I have no doubt they have what it takes to win the series,” Stick said.

Given the scant opportunities Janneman Malan has had to play for the Proteas, one could forgive the 25-year-old opener for being anxious when he did get the chance against Ireland. But the eventual Player of the Series just looked completely calm and in control during his two innings, and to have that sort of composure and temperament is like gold for an international batsman.

Malan top-scored in both ODI innings for South Africa, stroking 84 off 96 balls in the second game and then a magnificent 177 not out off 169 deliveries in the third and decisive match. With the first game washed out, the Proteas won the final ODI by 70 runs to level the series 1-1.

“At this level, you don’t know how many games you’re going to get, so to help myself mentally I just tell myself that if I am going to miss the next match then I must go out on my own terms. I back myself and I don’t want to play out of desperation to keep my spot. I just let go and do my best, and if that’s not good enough then I can deal with that.

“I wasn’t thinking of Gary Kirsten’s record 188 not out, I was just in the zone, in the moment. By then I was in that flow-state, just watching the ball and playing every ball on its merits. And I really enjoyed batting with Quinton de Kock, my Cape Town Blitz partner. He seems to bring out the best in me and if I’m selected going forward then he would be my ideal opening partner,” Malan said after sharing a brilliant first-wicket stand of 225 in 36 overs with the wicketkeeper/batsman.

Coach Mark Boucher agreed that batting with De Kock, who stroked a masterful 120 off 91 deliveries, would finance a great deal of learnings for young Malan, who has played just seven ODIs but has scored a world-record 483 runs in that time.

“Janneman has been waiting on the sidelines for quite some time, but now that he’s got some opportunity and a taste of international cricket, he’s really done well. So our depth pool is getting quite big and he has certainly taken his opportunity. Batting with Quinny, he would have learned a helluva lot, and in the end he was smashing it all over the park.

“He’s given the selectors a good headache, it’s a good thing. It’s tough because all the guys in contention are quality cricketers and ideally we’d want them all to play. We have thought about upskilling someone to bat outside their normal position, something Aiden Markram has done at franchise level. But the competition for places is good,” Boucher said.

Saturday’s hastily arranged match for the SA A team against the Bulls in Cape Town is the last available cab for those members of the Springbok squad who are looking to get a ride into the squad for the first Test next weekend against the British and Irish Lions, which is why coach Jacques Nienaber is expecting plenty of intensity and even desperation from his team.

Realistically, most of this SA A side have a chance of featuring in the Test 23, especially with the Springboks still waiting on several players to clear their Covid Return-to-Play protocols. Tighthead prop Vincent Koch, flank Marco van Staden and flyhalf Elton Jantjies are probably the players with the most to gain as strong performances by them could see them into the starting XV because Frans Malherbe, Siya Kolisi and Handre Pollard have Covid question marks over their names.

“The main purpose of this match is to get more game time and to get good intensity, as well as allowing the players to stake a claim, we want to give everyone fair chance. We wanted three games for all that and we’ve been lucky enough to get that thanks to the Bulls. On Wednesday the team had a different goal, but Saturday will be a big chance for guys to stake a claim for a possible Test start.

“That’s the desperation that drives this group and playing against the top franchise in South Africa should be a phenomenal test. The Bulls have an unbelievable coaching structure and we know they will leave no stone unturned to give us a proper hit out. The fact that it is a unique game – I can’t remember in my time SA A playing against a franchise – adds to how huge it will be,” Nienaber said on Friday.

The Springbok squad just keeps getting bigger as it becomes a vessel for more and more back-up players due to the number of Covid infections, and tighthead prop Wilco Louw, who last played for South Africa before the World Cup in 2019, has made his way back into the picture and will play off the bench against the Bulls.

“Wilco has joined us because of the Covid infections. When a player tests positive, they have to spend 10 days in isolation, but then there’s the Return-to-Play Protocol which has markers the player has to pass like with concussion. So it’s basically 16-17 days before they’re back in the mix, so we still have some players unavailable.

“We only had four props so if we had one more injury then we would not be able to field a front row and would have to forfeit the match. Then there are guys like Dan du Preez for example, who still have Covid and have not been able to play in any of the warm-up games. For a player like that to now make the Test side, they would have to have had extensive time in our system,” Nienaber explained.

SA A team – Aphelele Fassi, Yaw Penxe, Wandisile Simelane, Damian de Allende, Rosko Specman, Elton Jantjies, Cobus Reinach, Kwagga Smith, Rynhardt Elstadt, Marco van Staden, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Jean-Luc du Preez, Vincent Koch, Joseph Dweba, Coenie Oosthuizen. Bench: Thomas du Toit, Fez Mbatha, Wilco Louw, Jasper Wiese, Sanele Nohamba, Sbu Nkosi, Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Lizo Gqoboka.

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.