Ken Borland

 

 

Nollis Marais could be forgiven for shouting “Woe is me!” from the top of the Loftus Versfeld grandstand given the way injuries have hampered his pre-season preparation and the Bulls coach suffered another blow on Wednesday when highly-rated prop Lizo Gqoboka went down with a groin injury.

Following hot on the heels of the devastating news that flyhalf playmaker Handre Pollard has been ruled out for the season with ruptured knee ligaments, Gqoboka pulled out of this weekend’s warm-up match against the Lions in Polokwane with a groin strain an hour after being named in the squad.

Gqoboka will be out of action for a couple of weeks, joining senior loose forwards Lappies Labuschagne and Deon Stegmann, as well as youthful flank Roelof Smit, on the sidelines.

“You nurse Handre Pollard for weeks with his shoulder injury and then in a normal passing drill he hurts his leg. He was obviously a huge part of our plans, and Lizo too, plus Lappies and Steggies are out too. But the other guys must now step up. It’s a mind switch and the other guys must just get on with it,” Marais said at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday.

Marais announced his best available team for Saturday’s match against the Lions with Springbok hooker Adriaan Strauss, named as the Super Rugby captain, set to lead the franchise for the first time.

“It’s a great privilege for me and I seem to play better when responsibility is on my shoulders. We’ve lost Handre and Deon, who are both great leaders, but Rudi Paige has made a massive step up in terms of leadership. The team has a lot of respect for him, he has a lot of authority and he makes great calls,” Strauss said.

Jesse Kriel, who played fullback when he announced himself to the world stage in last year’s Super Rugby competition, has been named at outside centre by Marais, with the exciting Warrick Gelant in the number 15 jersey.

“I see Jesse as a number 13, he played there when I coached the U21s, and he is the Springbok outside centre, so that was the easiest position to slot in, he understands what we’re trying to do. I’m not too keen on him at fullback. Bjorn Basson is also an option at 15, and Jamba Ulengo could move into 11. Maybe we’ll do that for the last 15 minutes on Saturday,” Marais said.

When Francois Brummer returned to Loftus Versfeld in November for the first time since 2010 on loan from the Pumas, the 26-year-old could not have foreseen how vital he would be for the Bulls’ Super Rugby plans. But the former Waterkloof High School star is now the starting flyhalf with Tian Schoeman on the bench.

Team – Warrick Gelant, Travis Ismaiel, Jesse Kriel, Jan Serfontein, Bjorn Basson, Francois Brummer, Rudy Paige, Arno Botha, Hanro Liebenberg, Nic de Jager, Grant Hattingh, RG Snyman, Marcel van der Merwe, Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane. Replacements: Jaco Visagie, Lizo Gqoboka, Jason Jenkins, Jannes Kirsten, Piet van Zyl, Tian Schoeman, Burger Odendaal, Werner Kruger, Pierre Schoeman, Jamba Ulengo, Jade Stighling.

 

 

ANDY SULLIVAN

 

The former Walker Cup representative first sprang to prominence in 2014 with five top-10 finishes to end 33^rd in the Race to Dubai. His successful year included a hole-in-one at the KLM Open, which won him a trip to space.

2015 has been a glorious year for him, beating home favourite Charl Schwartzel in a playoff, thanks to a superb approach shot from the Glendower rough, to win the SA Open, and then triumphing in the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington on a tense final day.

 

BORN – 19 May 1986

COUNTRY – England

TURNED PRO – 2011

RACE TO DUBAI RANKING – 7th

2015 RESULTS – 2 wins in Johannesburg at the SA Open & Joburg Open; T4 at Dubai Desert Classic

CAREER WINS –  2015 SA Open; 2015 Joburg Open

 

 

ALEX NOREN

 

His career has been hampered by injuries and he is currently on a medical extension having missed all but two events of the 2014 season due to tendonitis in both wrists. He won twice in 2011 and had seven top-10s in 2012.

He has a degree in Business Marketing from Oklahoma State University.

 

BORN – 12 July 1982

COUNTRY – Sweden

TURNED PRO – 2005

RACE TO DUBAI RANKING – 10th

2015 RESULTS – 2^nd at Dubai Desert Classic, 9^th at Qatar Masters & T11 at Thailand Classic

CAREER WINS – 2009 European Masters; 2011 Wales Open; 2011 Nordea Masters

 

 

ANDREW DODT

 

The winner of the inaugural Thailand Classic and the 2010 Avantha Masters in New Delhi, he is obviously comfortable in Asia having played there throughout 2014.

A native of Brisbane in north-eastern Australia, he started playing golf when he was four, at the local Gatton Golf Club.

 

BORN – 26 January 1986

COUNTRY – Australia

TURNED PRO – 2007

RACE TO DUBAI RANKING – 14th

2015 RESULTS – 1^st at Thailand Classic; T36 at Malaysian Open

CAREER WINS – 2010 Avantha Masters; 2015 Thailand Classic

 

 

GREGORY BOURDY

 

Coming from a golf-loving family, he started played the game when he was four.

His Hong Kong Open triumph came when held off a charging Rory McIlroy and he also won the Wales Open with a hat-trick of birdies.

A keen visitor to South Africa.

 

BORN – 25 April 1982

COUNTRY – France

TURNED PRO – 2003

RACE TO DUBAI RANKING – 22nd

2015 RESULTS – T5 at Qatar Masters & Malaysian Open; T13 at Dubai Desert Classic

CAREER WINS – 2007 Mallorca Classic; 2008 Portugal Open; 2009 Hong Kong Open; 2013 Wales Open

 

 

THOMAS PIETERS

 

There are lofty expectations for the lanky Belgian after he won the NCAA Golf Championship while at college in the United States.

Lost to Miguel Angel Jimenez in a playoff at the Spanish Open in his rookie season last year, finishing 83^rd in the Race to Dubai. Since then his ranking has risen into the top 25 on the order of merit.

Took up golf along with his whole family when they played when on holiday in South Africa in 1997.

 

BORN – 27 January 1992

COUNTRY – Belgium

TURNED PRO – 2013

RACE TO DUBAI RANKING – 24th

2015 RESULTS – T4 at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship; T8 at Alfred Dunhill Championship; T16 Malaysian Open

CAREER WINS – 0

 

 

BYEONG-HUN AN

 

The son of two Olympic table tennis medalists, Jiao Zhimin and Ahn Jae-Hyung (she represented China and his father South Korea), An has been based in the United States for more than six years.

The youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship when he triumphed in 2009, he followed another winner into Europe in Peter Uihlein.

 

BORN – 17 September 1991

COUNTRY – South Korea

TURNED PRO – 2011

RACE TO DUBAI RANKING – 27th

2015 RESULTS – T5 at Qatar Masters; T7 at Joburg Open; T12 at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship; T13 at Dubai Desert Classic

CAREER WINS – 0

 

 

MORTEN ORUM MADSEN

 

Told the media after his memorable SA Open triumph at Glendower that his maiden win had given him more hunger but also greater calmness and no fear on the golf course.

Had seven top-20 finishes in his rookie season on tour, including a T4 finish at the Nelson Mandela Championship.

He comes from the same club, Silkeborg GK, as Thomas Bjorn, who he considers a role-model. Wanted to be a footballer, but his father finally managed to win him over to golf when he was 12.

 

BORN – 9 April 1988

COUNTRY – Denmark

TURNED PRO – 2011

RACE TO DUBAI RANKING – 29th

2015 RESULTS – T4 at Dubai Desert Classic; T12 at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship; T16 at Alfred Dunhill Championship

CAREER WINS – 2014 South African Open

 

 

ANDREW JOHNSTON

 

Finished on top of the Challenge Tour rankings in 2014 and began this season on a high with a third-placed finish at Leopard Creek.

Known as “Beef”, he is a powerful driver of the ball.

 

BORN – 18 February 1989

COUNTRY – England

TURNED PRO – 2009

RACE TO DUBAI RANKING – 33rd

2015 RESULTS – 3rd at Alfred Dunhill Championship; T35 at Dubai Desert Classic

CAREER WINS – 0

 

The Knights batsmen are being hampered by the weather in Johannesburg as they dominated the Highveld Lions on the second day of their domestic four-day series match at the Wanderers on Friday.

Having seen the entire first day lost due to a wet pitch, play only started at 12.20pm on Friday with the Knights being sent in to bat.

They cruised to 193 for two before bad light stopped play at 4.50pm with 20.2 overs still scheduled to be bowled on the second day.

The Lions attack are being punished for wayward bowling as the Knights put together solid partnerships of 58, 88 and 47 runs unbeaten, to grab control of the clash between the teams that are second and third on the log.

Opener Reeza Hendricks made 62 before he drove a Hardus Viljoen half-volley straight to extra cover and Rilee Rossouw rammed home the Knights’ advantage in the late afternoon with 67 not out off 130 balls.

Medium-pacer Brett Pelser made the other breakthrough for the Lions on a disappointing day for them, ending an opening stand of 58 between Hendricks and Gihahn Cloete by having the latter caught behind for 33.

Rudi Second is with Rossouw at the crease on 28 not out and the pair have added 47 runs for the third wicket in 77 minutes.

The Dolphins are in control of their match against the Warriors in East London after bowling the home side out for 240.

The Dolphins made 339 in their first innings for a lead of 99 runs, which they stretched to 133 by stumps as they reached 34 for one in their second innings.

Unorthodox left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, brought in for his first match of the campaign, was the chief destroyer for the Dolphins, claiming five for 68 in 21 overs, while young Daryn Dupavillon took three for 43.

The Warriors innings started solidly with Michael Price (28) and the in-form David White (35) adding 54 for the first wicket.

But White was then bowled by the orthodox left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj and the Warriors only had one other partnership of significance as captain Ashwell Prince (36) and Colin Ingram (54*) added 65 for the fourth wicket.

But Shamsi made the breakthrough and then he and Dupavillon ran through the lower-order, leaving Ingram as the last man standing.

The Titans were kept afloat in their first innings of their match against the Cape Cobras at Boland Park in Paarl by Graeme van Buuren, the diminutive 23-year-old scoring 83 not out to lead them to 183 for four at stumps.

Replying to the Cobras’ first innings of 429, the Titans were in early trouble as they slipped to 21 for two, but Van Buuren united with skipper Henry Davids (41) and then Qaasim Adams (32) to dig the visitors out of trouble.

The Titans bowlers had been in all sorts of states of disarray on the first day, as shown by the 43 extras they conceded as the Cobras reached 345 for five, but they fought back well on Friday to claim the last five wickets for 84 runs.

Junior Dala rebounded well from a horrible first day as he took two wickets, and leg-spinner Shaun von Berg ran through the tail to take four for 102 in 30 overs.

The highly-rated Vincent Moore took three for 67, knocking over three of the top four batsmen.

Dane Vilas (77) and Justin Kemp (42) took their overnight stand to 53 on Friday morning, but the Cobras would have wanted more runs from the lower-order.

Rory Kleinveldt asked plenty of questions with the ball for the Cobras and Heino Kuhn, bowled for a duck by the fifth ball of the innings, and Davids, trapped lbw, did not have the answers.

The Cobras have picked up 6.08 bonus points so far, stretching their lead on the log to nearly 10 points over the Knights.

The Cobras are on 81.10 points, the Knights on 71.22 and the third-placed Dolphins are on 66.86 points.

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/domestic/weather-hampers-dominant-knights-1.1658235