Ken Borland

Far from having to be dragged to Ellis Park like it is a chore, the All Blacks are pretty much unanimous that they love playing at the stadium that is like the brutal heartland of Springbok rugby, hooker Codie Taylor saying on Thursday that it is his favourite place to play.

New Zealand were greeted by a hostile cacophony last weekend at the Mbombela Stadium, but Ellis Park will see nearly 20 000 more near-rabid supporters crammed in and boiling over with passion.

“The first 10 minutes you’ll be absolutely heaving because of the altitude and the arena,” Taylor said on Thursday at the All Blacks’ shiny Sandton hotel when asked what awaited the players in the grubby decay of Doornfontein.

“It’s a very intense place to play, but it’s also the best place to play rugby. I definitely have fond memories of running around there. It’s two proud nations going head-to-head.

“There’s a mutual respect and there have been some good relationships built, but it’s all-go once you’re out there,” Taylor said.

The 31-year-old has been recalled to the bench for probably his 70^th Test appearance, replacing another veteran in Dane Coles.

“You always want to be out there, so there’s a bit of energy and I’m fresh after missing out last weekend,” Taylor said.

The Crusaders star played in a Super Rugby quarterfinal (2016) and final (2017) against the Lions at Ellis Park, so he has an idea of what to expect in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash.

All Blacks coach Ian Foster said you expect to do a lot of running around at Ellis Park.

“I think it’s going to be a game of endurance, generally you do a lot of running around at Ellis Park. South Africa like to move you around early, we saw that last week.

“It challenges your fitness, but we very much look forward to playing on Ellis Park, and we know the Springboks do too. Ellis Park is pretty special,” Foster said.

Bulls coach Jake White is not even waiting for the outcome of Bismarck du Plessis’ disciplinary hearing later on Friday and has declared himself “100% sure” that the veteran Springbok hooker will run out at some stage on Saturday at the Cape Town Stadium to take on the Stormers in their crunch United Rugby Championship match.

The Western Cape has been in uproar since Du Plessis appeared to slap Western Province lock Ben-Jason Dixon, who was illegally holding on to his leg as he tried to leave a ruck, in their midweek Currie Cup match, with captain Nama Xaba calling it a “strike to the face” and the local media describing it as a punch.

Western Province went ahead and cited Du Plessis, no doubt looking to disrupt the Bulls as much as possible ahead of the vital URC clash in Cape Town. White said it was a great sign of how much is at stake on Saturday and how desperate the home side are for any possible edge.

“I’m 100% sure Bismarck will run out and play,” White said on Friday after naming Du Plessis on his replacements bench. “I see a Western Province player thinks Bismarck slapped him.

“I didn’t realise you could be cited for someone thinking you had slapped him. Bongi Mbonambi punched Bismarck recently and there was no citing. But there has been massive publicity over Bismarck.

“It’s wonderful that the classic North/South derby has such spice, my reserve hooker is getting more air-time than the actual game itself. I hope they have spent the whole week looking on social media for a video.

“But it’s fantastic, it’s going to be like when I was a kid, Gerhard Viviers and Chick Henderson talking about the game, a bit of banter flying around, lots of hype, Naas Botha versus Hennie Bekker,” White grinned.

With the Stormers topping the South African conference of the URC on 43 points and the Bulls just one point behind them, the match is vital for both sides as they aim for a guaranteed place in the playoffs. White said he also hoped it was a tremendous afternoon for South African rugby in general.

“I hope there’s a massive crowd and it’s an unbelievable game. Like Doc Craven always said, South African rugby is strong when Northern Transvaal and Western Province are strong, and hopefully we can showcase that.”

For White, the key area for the Bulls to focus on is to take their chances.

“We will get chances, both teams will, and we have to make sure our experience comes through then. We just need to be good enough to take our opportunities,” White said.

Sharks hooker Bongi Mbonambi said not allowing outside influences to affect the inside of the team, and pulling together to make sure there were consistent energy levels between the forwards and backs, were the main things they needed to improve on from their loss to the Stormers if they are to beat the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship match in Pretoria on Saturday.

But are there any other things the Sharks need to do to make sure they do the business against the Bulls?

1. They need to start much better.

Especially playing away from home, as they were last weekend and will be at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, they cannot afford to allow the home team to settle and dictate the run of play. But the Sharks seemed somehow distracted and not fully focused on the task at hand against a fired-up Stormers side. The Sharks lacked energy and intensity in the opening exchanges, which perhaps contributed to several handling errors. It meant they struggled to gain any momentum.

2. They need secure, more consistent set-pieces.

Solid set-piece displays were a feature of the Sharks’ impressive win in Johannesburg a fortnight ago and their scrummaging was outstanding against the Stormers in Durban, although they still allowed their opponents to sneak the draw. But in Cape Town, they gave away crucial scrum penalties and were untidy at key moments in the lineouts. Their woes in Pretoria recently have started up front and they cannot afford to give the Bulls an advantage in the set-pieces.

3. They need to fix their breakdown work.

You can tell the opposition have enjoyed a field day at the rucks when their openside flank gets man of the match as Deon Fourie did in Cape Town. The Sharks conceded turnovers and penalties at the breakdown at vital moments, which needs to be rectified. Their lack of organisation and/or accuracy at the breakdown is also having a telling effect on their attacking efforts because they are not securing enough quick ball.

4. They need to sort out their personnel at flyhalf and inside centre.

Although he is a quality player, moving Lukhanyo Am to inside centre seems to have adulterated their backline, with his defensive organisation sorely missed at outside centre. Bringing Marius Louw back into the No.12 jersey would allow Am to have his usual impact at No.13, but flyhalf is also a troubling position for the Sharks. What Tito Bonilla brought on attack was undone by his defensive lapses.

The Stormers are likely to attack the Sharks at scrum-time in their United Rugby Championship match at Kings Park on Saturday which is why, notwithstanding newly-crowned SA Rugby Player of the Year Siya Kolisi’s return at flank, having Bongi Mbonambi back at hooker is most welcome for coach Sean Everitt.

Springbok captain Kolisi replacing James Venter and the strong-scrummaging Mbonambi coming in for Kerron van Vuuren were the only changes to the Sharks team announced by Everitt on Thursday.

“The Stormers won four scrum penalties against the Bulls last weekend, so we are wary of that and we know they will bring heat to that set-piece,” Everitt said. “It’s about nullifying that for us, because those penalties can win games.

“The Stormers have a big and well-drilled pack and having Steven Kitshoff back brings added firepower and strong leadership for them.

“But Bongi will certainly strengthen our scrum. Kerron played very well last weekend and is unlucky to be relegated to the bench, but Bongi is the best in his position in the country,” Everitt said.

And with fellow Springboks Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit at loosehead and tighthead respectively, and an encouraging scrumming display against the Lions fresh in the memory banks, the Sharks can approach that crucial set-piece with some confidence.

The Stormers are currently South Africa’s highest-placed team in the URC standings, in 11^th position, with the Sharks two places back. Both teams will be eager to become possible tenants of the top-10 with victory.

Game-management will also be crucial in the heat and humidity of Durban and both teams have young No.10s who performed with aplomb last weekend in Boeta Chamberlain and former Sharks player Manie Libbok.

The Sharks are laden with eight Springboks, but their success has been just as much due to the performances of their ‘lesser’ stars, who have been busy as ants providing key aspects of the overall performance.

Blindside flank Jeandre Labuschagne is one of those stalwarts.

“Jeandre has been in some really good form the last two games, he’s had a high tackle count and completion rate,” Everitt said. “He’s very busy around the field, attending rucks and with his ball-carries.”

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (c), Ben Tapuai, Makazole Mapimpi, Boeta Chamberlain, Grant Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jeandre Labuschagne, Siya Kolisi, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit (v/c), Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Reniel Hugo, Henco Venter, Jaden Hendrikse, Tito Bonilla, Jeremy Ward.