Ken Borland

It is not often that one can say a tour of Europe with a 50% winning record is a resounding success, but it is a fair evaluation that the Springboks have ended up hitting their targets for 2022.

It was after the Rugby Championship that I wrote a column saying we still did not know whether the Springboks would be genuine World Cup contenders next year as they were simply not clinical nor ruthless enough in finishing second to the All Blacks in a southern hemisphere competition that is no longer the gold standard for the global game.

There also did not seem to be much growth to their game and I ended with the hope that they would express themselves more in Europe.

It is with delight that I can now write that the Springboks have answered my questions in the affirmative.

That is despite losing to both Ireland and France. But both those defeats were by desperately narrow margins and it is fair to say that Ireland would have been beaten if South Africa had fielded a proper goalkicker, and France would surely have been seen off if Pieter-Steph du Toit had not received his unfortunate red card.

The Springboks played superbly in Marseille to dominate the World Cup favourites, and it was great to see the same ambition bear fruit the following weekend when they hammered Italy.

Last weekend’s win over England at Fortress Twickenham must rank somewhere on the hit parade of top Springbok wins, such was the all-round quality and sheer authority of their performance.

While the Springboks’ strength still undoubtedly lies in their magnificent pack – how incredible were they in the scrums? – perhaps the biggest surprise was the wonderful attacking intent shown by a backline missing their chief offensive organiser in Lukhanyo Am and playing with a relatively new, untested flyhalf in Damian Willemse.

While opposition teams might find a way to get around the physicality, defensive steel and aerial prowess of the Springboks, having that extra string to their bow in terms of the brilliant counter-attacking ability they have shown, makes them very tough to beat.

The Springboks now seem able to not only strangle or batter their opposition into submission, but also make the sharpest, most precise of surgical incisions into the heart.

Jacques Nienaber has done all this while still ensuring that he now has quality cover in all positions.

Perhaps the only negative from the end-of-year tour was the director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, copping another ban for attacking the officiating at international level.

The Springboks’ relationship with the referees is at the lowest ebb since the dark days of the early 2000s, when they had a reputation for being the dirtiest, most ill-disciplined team in the game.

When Jake White took over the coaching reins in 2004, he knew the Springboks could only start getting fair treatment from the referees if they fixed that perception. The World Cup would never have been won in 2007 were it not for the hard work captain John Smit put in to win the referees over. Nowadays, charming the referee is considered one of the staple jobs of the captain.

The smart-arse in Erasmus may be entertaining the social media hordes and he is probably enjoying the cult status he is growing there. But the continual haranguing of the referees is hurting his team.

The saying goes that nobody ever ended a war by lifting up a sword. The talk of there being a conspiracy against the Springboks may or may not be justified, but railing against the officials is only going to make it worse.

As director of rugby, Erasmus needs to put personal desires aside and make sure the Springboks take the high road. The World Cup defence could depend on it.

Quinton de Kock put on the most grand display of boundary hitting, but not even his brilliance could beat the rain as South Africa’s opening T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe ended in No Result at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Monday.

The rain was always going to be a threat in Tasmania, with the start of play delayed by more than two-and-a-half hours after Zimbabwe had won the toss and elected to bat first.

The match was reduced to nine overs a side and Zimbabwe posted 79/5.

Thanks to De Kock blazing Tendai Chatara’s first five balls for 4-4-4-6-4, South Africa made a rollicking start. Rain then forced the players from the field, but fortunately only two overs were lost and the Proteas were set a revised target of 64 in seven overs.

De Kock was unstoppable, plundering 47 not out off 18 balls, with eight fours and a six, as South Africa reached 51/0 after three overs.

But the umpires then, like concerned parents looking after their children, decided to take the players off the field. Having tried their utmost to get a game in, one could sympathise with their decision because the Zimbabwe players were slipping all over the place in the steady drizzle and bowler Richard Ngarava had already left the field after slipping and probably twisting his ankle.

Zimbabwe had manfully got on with the job, but to be fair to all the teams, the umpires had little choice but to go off the field.

Zimbabwe had begun their innings in pell-mell fashion, and very quickly found themselves 19/4, as Wayne Parnell bowled well up front and Lungi Ngidi effected a double strike in the third over, removing Regis Chakabva (8) and Sikandar Raza (0).

There was also a run out amidst the chaotic start, David Miller scoring a fine direct hit from cover to remove the experienced Sean Williams (1).

For Zimbabwe to have any chance, someone had to show more composure and Wessley Madhevere proved the man for the occasion. Dropped on 11 by Ngidi off Keshav Maharaj, he provided a late boost as he belted 35 not out off just 18 deliveries.

Parnell was the pick of the bowlers, with brilliant figures of 1/6 in two overs, while Anrich Nortje (1/10 in 2 overs) bowled very well at the death.

There was a little bit of pain though for Kagiso Rabada and Ngidi, as they went for 20 runs in their two overs.

Batsmen in the current IPL have bravely gone where no batters have gone before in hitting more than one-thousand sixes in the current competition, and Proteas captain Temba Bavuma is hoping his batsmen can play with similar freedom when South Africa play a T20 series in India next month.

The one-thousand sixes barrier was broken for the first time in the IPL in the final league stage match of 2022 on May 22, the previous most maximums in a season being the 872 scored in 2018.

“I’ve really enjoyed being off from cricket for the last four weeks, so I have not watched all the IPL, but the one thing I have seen is that there have been a lot more sixes hit – more than a thousand,” Bavuma said at a Castle Lager launch in Tembisa on Wednesday.

“As a bowler, you’re probably scared to see that, but you’re smiling as a batsman. It means our bowlers will need to be a lot smarter, but for the batsmen, the pitches are good.

“Our batsmen can really go out and express themselves. Our game doesn’t need to change too much, but to have power-hitters like David Miller and Tristan Stubbs teaming up together in the middle would be incredible.

“They could be a potent partnership. David smashed the lights out yesterday to get Gujarat Titans in the final, Quinton de Kock bashed it around the other night and Kagiso Rabada has been brilliant as well,” Bavuma said.

While Stubbs will be fighting with the likes of Heinrich Klaasen and Reeza Hendricks for the one batting spot that could be open, Bavuma is backing the 21-year-old to make his mark on his first call-up to the Proteas squad.

“It’s nice to see young new faces in the team and we’ve been on the receiving end of Tristan’s batting a number of times at the Lions. We’ll try to make the environment as comfortable as we can for him.

“He’s a young guy so he also has the opportunity to learn a lot from the older guys in the team. He’ll have guys around him to make his transition to international cricket as smooth as possible.

“Hopefully he can soak it all in because international cricket is different to the IPL or domestic T20. Hopefully he can really take his career forward.

“We have a couple of guys in really good form from the IPL, but we expect it to be a tough series. India are always very competitive and we’ve seen some of their guys have a very good IPL as well,” Bavuma said.

Thriston Lawrence was only nine years old at the time, but he remembers when Tiger Woods won the Open Championship at St Andrews in 2005 that the greatest golfer of his generation said before the Major that the key to winning would be not hitting any of the bunkers at the home of golf.

The 24-year-old South African will follow the same tactic when he tees it up for the 150^th edition of the great tournament on the legendary course, having qualified for the Open thanks to his breakthrough victory at the Joburg Open at Randpark Golf Club on Saturday.

The top three previously unqualified finishers at the Joburg Open gain berths to the Open Championship, with Lawrence leading the way thanks to being given the title in the rain-shortened event due to his four-stroke lead after 36 holes. Compatriot Zander Lombard is also off to St Andrews in July after finishing second, with Englishman Ashley Chesters taking the last qualifying spot as he shared third place with South African Shaun Norris, who has already qualified.

“It’s going to be a lifelong dream come true because I’ve never played in a Major and for my first one ever to be at St Andrew’s, and the 150^th celebration, is going to be unbelievable,” Lawrence said.

“I’m so excited, I can’t wait for July. It’s going to be the best feeling in the world to play my first Major at the home of golf.

“I have fond memories of watching on TV and Tiger Woods, when he won at St Andrews, saying his plan would be to avoid all the bunkers. He was able to not hit a single bunker, which obviously I’ll try to do as well.

“Louis Oosthuizen’s win in 2010 was also very special. So I have a lot of memories of the Open,” Lawrence said.

Lombard was no doubt disappointed that the Joburg Open final round on Saturday was washed out because he would have backed himself to catch his younger countryman, but a spot in the Open Championship was a great consolation prize for the 26-year-old.

“It’s a pity this tournament finished the way it did, but to have the opportunity to play in the 150^th Open and at the home of golf is incredible, you can’t dream of anything bigger. And I’ve played well on that St Andrews course before … ” Lombard said.