Ken Borland

Everyone can see that the Springboks are not getting the results for the amount of effort they are putting in, but there is real pressure on them against France at the Stade de France. If they lose this weekend then that will be three defeats on the bounce which is not a good return.

Coach Rassie Erasmus will only have a 41% winning record if the Springboks lose to France, but we can see progress in their performances this year.

Last weekend against England was another Test that got away from Rassie and the Springboks though, who simply made too many mistakes.

In terms of Owen Farrell’s controversial last tackle, it was definitely, according to the laws, a clear penalty and yellow card. It was certainly a big shot, with the defender just trying to get his body in the way of the carrier, he made good shoulder contact but there were no arms involved. In fact, it is very hard to get the arms around when you are making that sort of tackle. The height as well was definitely penalisable.

The Springboks’ error-rate was particularly costly at lineout time and there were two main functions responsible for that – their alignment and the timing between the jumper and Malcolm Marx, who was having a technical issue with his throwing.

Having worked with Malcolm on his throwing between the ages of 18 and 21, plus being head-on with hookers throwing to the lollipop for 20 years, I can see exactly what went wrong. It’s like a golf swing and I can see if the shoulders, fingers or hips are wrong when he throws.

The Springboks used the middle pod a lot in their phase play, they play a 1-3-2-2, but after playing across the field you always eventually end up on the edge. Both teams tried to put the middle pod under pressure, but England did it better, making good reads with their defensive rush getting on top. The Springboks needed to play out the back more, while England did look to use their second line on attack and enjoyed a lot of success with that in the second half.

The Springboks were able to get tremendous field position in the first half through their scrum and maul, but the problem was, when you maul a lot, it means you get slow ball afterwards with forwards behind forwards latchers.

South Africa’s kicking game was good and with a few better bounces they would have had England under real pressure. They played two phases and kicked as they have done in their last six Tests, and found good space behind the England wingers. Scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl’s box-kicking was good, and it was a real war of the boot between him and Ben Youngs.

England regained the ball well though in the second half and they had the Springboks under pressure. In a gainline battle like last weekend’s Test, those aerial duels are crucial.

Damian de Allende found areas in which he was able to get outside the rush defence from behind the middle pod, he was able to find space, getting over the advantage line with good footwork, and he really gave the Springboks go-forward. Damian is now a regular in the team and he should consistently be putting in performances like that.

The Springboks used Warren Whiteley more in the wide channels, on the edge of the attack a lot, and Duane Vermeulen was under a lot of high balls, so they were a good loose-forward combination.

It was a very tactical game at Twickenham, with a lot of mauls, but England just had a bit more fluidity. The one real positive for the Springboks was the scrummaging, they absolutely destroyed England and got two tightheads, which is quite something at that level. The one crucial scrum penalty against them at the end was a 50/50 call though.

I’m really looking forward to this weekend’s game, I’ve gained a great respect for French rugby over the last four months. It’s going to be a big midfield battle against the two powerhouse French centres, Gael Fickou and Mathieu Basteraud. Flyhalf Camille Lopez is a great tactician and has a good kicking game, and plays flat on the gainline.

And the French forward pack is never poor.

Sbu Nkosi and Aphiwe Dyantyi were very good for the Springboks against England, but I’m looking forward to Willie le Roux and Faf de Klerk adding a bit more spark.

Stade Francais assistant coach John McFarland 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. From 2001 to 2012 he won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 09, 10) with the Bulls and five Currie Cup crowns with the Blue Bulls. McFarland enjoyed three years with the Kubota Spears in Tokyo from 2016-18.

Q: What were the reasons for your decision to join Bayonne on a two-year contract?

TvJ – It was a good opportunity for me to get a start in France and I’m looking forward to learning a lot there, especially with Yannick Bru, the former France hooker who has been coaching at Toulose, now in charge at Bayonne. We learn from each other in this game and in France there are different focus points, like the scrum and set-pieces, they are more technical there, while in South Africa we are concentrating more on playing quicker rugby. The biggest thing is that you still need the hard buggers up front to do the hard work in France, and that’s what makes their rugby so competitive. I’m definitely looking at really improving my play as a tight forward over there.

Q: Having been born in Namibia and playing most of your rugby with the Mpumalanga Pumas and the Free State Cheetahs, are you looking forward to the change of culture that you will experience in south-west France?

TvJ – Yes, my parents still farm in Namibia and it’s obviously a very different lifestyle there. But I’m looking forward to living in France, I’m going to learn the language and it’s a new culture. I love a good braai [barbecue] and my Namibia team-mate PJ van Lill tells me that they still do a lot of braaing in Bayonne! That’s how you bond, especially as tight forwards. So I’m looking forward to socialising, having a few beers with mates, and hopefully doing a bit of hunting as well.

Q: Although you were born in Namibia, your education was in South Africa. Tell us about your journey as a professional rugby player?

TvJ – After school in Pretoria, I was at the academy at the University of Pretoria for one-and-a-half years, playing for the first XV and studying sports science, but then I got into pro rugby with the Pumas. That was hard graft because they are a small union, and now I’ve had five good years at the Free State Cheetahs. They have treated me really well but now it is time to move on to my next chapter.

Q: Having impressed in South African rugby and playing for a South African Barbarians side, were you tempted to try and play for the Springboks rather than your native Namibia?

TvJ – It’s always a difficult decision whether to play for Namibia or wait for South Africa to select you, which you can never be sure is going to happen. I felt I was banging on the door for four or five years but I was never invited to any Springbok camp or anything. So in 2014 I accepted a call-up from Namibia and it was an amazing experience to play for them in the 2015 World Cup, especially to play against the All Blacks. Just to gain that experience at that level was fantastic.

Q: How are Namibia’s prospects looking going into the build-up for the Gold Cup, which is Africa’s qualifier for the 2019 World Cup in Japan?

TvJ – The boys are looking really well, there are more and more Namibian-born players in the Varsity Cup, so things are brewing there. We’re definitely able to qualify for the World Cup again, if we work hard and have our best talent available. We’re looking strong. Unfortunately I won’t be playing in the Gold Cup because I have a lot of admin to do for my move to France and I’ve also been playing one-and-a-half years of continuous, extremely tough rugby, so I need a break before I start in France in July. But I will be available for the two Namibia Tests in August.

Q: Your one-and-a-half years of continuous rugby is because the Free State Cheetahs went straight from SuperRugby into the Currie Cup and then into the Pro14; how different is the Pro14 to playing in SuperRugby?

TvJ – The Pro14 is more technical, there’s a lot more focus on your exit game. It’s more like Test rugby in terms of structure and teams don’t take so many risks, you don’t see sides running the ball out of their 22 as an exit play so often, they would much rather kick. So there’s more of a Test mindset in Pro14 and sometimes the weather plays a role in that as well. But it’s been fun, even getting stuck in the mud sometimes!

Q: That sounds like the sort of rugby made for big, heavy tight forwards but do you think being a mobile hooker who has also played flank will be an advantage for you?

TvJ – Yes, I also had offers from Scotland but I believe playing in France will be a bigger grower of my career. It will be good to play in wet weather, in France they have very big packs and heavy runners and it will be good to see if I can play against that. PJ van Lill is also a heavyweight and he’s done okay!

The Bulls did well to win so convincingly in Durban last weekend, their display was really something special, especially after the Sharks had put in good performances in New Zealand.

I really thought that the Sharks would put up more of a fight though, but it seemed like they just weren’t there. The Bulls exposed a few things in their side tactically, which wasn’t great. Warrick Gelant scored his three tries from kicks through so you have to ask ‘where was the sweeper?’, ‘where were the wings?’ and ‘where was Curwin Bosch?’

For Gelant’s first try, Bosch sprinted all the way from the left-hand side of the field to the right, but he never looked at the ball! He never clocked on to what Handre Pollard was doing. It was a middle ruck and Gelant was on the inside of the flyhalf, but the Sharks still had plenty of time to get to the kick. The Sharks were just not good enough in terms of covering kicks.

The Bulls also scored two tries from mauls, and that’s against a very strong, experienced pack of forwards including Springbok back-rowers. You would have expected them to stop the drive much better than they did and there are obviously issues with the Sharks pack. You know that if you are five metres from your line, the Bulls will maul, that is very predictable.

Gelant really took his opportunity on the day and he is an exciting talent. He’s been in the Bulls system since 2014, after being spotted by Heyneke Meyer at Outeniqua High School in George.

He has really great feet and it is very rare for a fullback to be able to kick with both feet as easily as he can. He has certainly nudged the Springbok selectors in the right direction and his tactical kicking was also good.

But it was Pollard who really directed the game and you have to credit him for seeing the space and executing so well. He has been a Springbok for four years, so even though he is just 24 he is experienced and one can see that he is definitely better in terms of his tactical appreciation of where the space is and how to find it. He was able to put the ball behind the Sharks back three quite easily.

Since Adriaan Strauss has moved back to starting hooker, the Bulls have changed their lineout defence and their maul and their forwards just look much better. They even earned some scrum penalties against the Sharks, so it was a special performance by the pack.

There is now a mountain of pressure on Sharks coach Robert du Preez and their match against the Stormers this weekend in Durban is make-or-break for both teams, who have similar records. The Sharks have 14 points but have only won two of their eight games, with one draw, while the Stormers have won three out of eight matches but have 13 points.

They can still get up to the Lions on 25 points, but they need a good run of wins at home now. The Bulls will probably target away wins against the Sunwolves and Jaguares, which will be so important for them.

The key is how the Lions do on tour – and the three other South African challengers have all toured – and if their four away games don’t go well then it will really bring them back to the pack and make the conference exciting.

I foresee the Bulls getting a good win over the Rebels at Loftus Versfeld.

The Rebels have fallen away a bit with their loss to the Jaguares last weekend and a big defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes before that, so they are not quite where they were a few weeks ago.

They do have one real quality player though in Amanaki Mafi, who is also the Japan eighthman. He is the leading ball-carrier in both Japan and SuperRugby and is one heck of a player, named the Rebels Player of the Year last season. He’s exciting, very explosive and just loves playing rugby. He doesn’t seem to suffer from fatigue and plays 15 Top League games in Japan and then the whole of SuperRugby. I think Loftus will really enjoy him.

It’s been strange to hear the Stormers camp talk about last weekend’s result making the Sharks angry because they will be up against the same team. You would expect them to come out firing at home after a loss like that, but they could also be a little bit devoid of confidence.

The Stormers, meanwhile, have to improve their away record and to do that they have to improve their defence, which has been conceding too many tries – 37, second worst behind the Sunwolves’ 40, including eight against the Lions and five against the Bulls in their last two games.

It’s been interesting to see the differentiation of roles in the Stormers set-up with two defence coaches: Paul Treu doing first-phase attack and defence and Paul Feeney doing everything after that, in other words broken play. It’s definitely a first for me and the proof of how effective it is will be how they finish the season. I do wonder who’s where during training sessions though because normally the defence coach is always behind the defensive line. I’d love to see a video of the Stormers’ training because I reckon the two Pauls are racking up plenty of miles on their GPSs running backwards and forwards!

It’s been really good to see a South African coach do well overseas and Johann van Graan’s achievement in steering Munster into the European Champions Cup semi-final against Racing 92 in Bordeaux on Sunday is fantastic. Since taking over from Rassie Erasmus in November he has had a chance to put his own stamp on the team and it is exciting to see a young (38!) South African coach doing so well overseas, it is a real feather in Johann’s cap.

Munster have certainly put on more attacking displays recently and they have scored quite a lot of tries in the Pro14, with JP Ferreira also doing well as defence coach – another young South African coach doing well.

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.

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.