Ken Borland

Jasper Wiese will now be the man the Springboks turn to to wear the No.8 jersey and try and make up for the much-mourned absence of Duane Vermeulen, while the much-criticised replacement of prop Ox Nche for the second half of the first Test against the British and Irish Lions has now officially been confirmed as being due to injury.

Nche, who held his own against highly-rated Lions tighthead Tadhg Furlong and was typically impactful in open play, will sadly miss the second Test on Saturday due to a neck injury he picked up towards the end of the first half. It has forced a rejigging of the Springboks’ front-row plans, with Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe now the starting props. Trevor Nyakane, who also did well last weekend, will now cover loosehead from the bench, with Vincent Koch brought in as the tighthead reserve.

But scrummaging was not the Springboks’ major issue in the first Test defeat. In the second half they were exposed in the aerial battle and there was little explosive gainline work either. Wiese, who has been a superb offensive ball-carrier for Leicester Tigers, will hopefully be able to bring some improvement in both problem areas.

“Jasper has been part of our plans and he could form a nice combination with Kwagga Smith coming off the bench too and able to play to his strengths. His main role will be the same as Kwagga’s last week – to get and stop momentum and he was Player 24 last weekend. He’ll have another week of preparation now to get used to how we do things.

“He did very well in the Premiership, his carries were so dominant. Tactically I was probably not sharp enough last weekend to protect Kwagga on the high balls, he was hung out to dry a bit. So we have changed things around there and we want to see from Jasper what got him into the squad. We just needed to improve on how we handled the contestable kicks in the second half,” Nienaber said at the team announcement on Monday.

Smith and Marco van Staden both coming off the bench are certainly two high-energy players and the Springboks have returned to the 6/2 split on the replacements bench they used so successfully in winning the World Cup. That makes Damian Willemse the key backline substitute, fulfilling the role of the veteran Francois Steyn in Japan in 2019.

“Damian has participated in all of the warm-up games and has had time at 12, 15 and 10, similar to what Frans Steyn gave us. He’s versatile and we’ve introduced him into the various roles. We’re comfortable that he can slot into all three of centre, fullback and flyhalf. We’re comfortable the backs can now all handle a full 80 minutes, after a couple of guys had been in isolation for 10 days before the first Test.

“We knew it was going to be tough last week, which is why we didn’t go for the 6/2 split, guys had just not been exposed enough to training, someone like Handre Pollard started cramping. Now they have all been exposed to high-intensity rugby, they are topped up and the muscle memory will still be there having dropped off after isolation,” Nienaber said.

Springbok team: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handré Pollard (vice-captain), Faf de Klerk, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff. Bench – Malcolm Marx, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, Lood de Jager, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies, Damian Willemse.

It’s always sad when the captain of the opposing team misses the tour due to injury before it has even started, especially when it is a classy rugby player such as Alun-Wyn Jones. I was curious about the veteran Welsh lock’s second British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa because his 2009 venture ended in rather inelegant fashion.

The last time I saw Jones in the flesh – and it was a lot of flesh – was when he was running around butt naked in the Sandton Convention Centre and then proceeded to urinate under one of the banquet tables. It was the final night of the tour and there had been an official farewell function, after which the Lions retired to their own after-party.

Certain members of the media had their own ‘little’ shindig after the formalities as well, and I was wandering back out of the building when I heard noise coming from one of the halls, poked my head through the door and saw the unforgettable sight of Jones letting loose.

It was one of the abiding memories of the five weeks I spent covering that Lions tour, from the sea to the Highveld, and what an experience it was.

The tour kicked off on May 30 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg as the Lions played against a Highveld XV, made up of players from the central unions excluding the Gauteng Lions and the Bulls. After playing the Golden Lions and the Free State Cheetahs in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein respectively, the Lions then decamped to the coast for a string of three matches in Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth before the first Test at Kings Park on June 20.

The Lions had to return to a sodden Newlands three days later to draw 13-13 with the Emerging Springboks and then the last two Tests were played at Loftus Versfeld and Ellis Park.

There was always a sea of red spectators in the stadiums and most of those jolly travellers then drank their fill in whatever establishments were nearby the match venues. I remember after the Lions beat the Southern Kings 20-8, all the pubs along the beachfront in Port Elizabeth ran dry. Even the Boardwalk Casino ran out of stock.

The wonderful thing about a Lions tour is that when your national team is done facing the best of Great Britain and Ireland on the field, there is always tremendous camaraderie after the game. What could be better than talking rugby with like-minded revellers?

One such occasion did lead to me losing face, however, and I felt as embarrassed as I hope Jones did the next morning.

It was after the Western Province match at Newlands on June 13 and the Cape Town weather was foul on that night too. But nevertheless all the drinking holes along Main Road were packed to the rafters as a crowd of 34 000 poured out of the stadium.

I found myself deep in discussion with a group of people and, pride always coming before a fall, I was very up front that I was covering the entire tour for international news agency Reuters. What an expert I was.

Standing next to me was an interesting fellow who had an unusual accent – either Australian or Kiwi (it was getting late and I wasn’t sure) – for someone watching a British and Irish Lions tour. So I asked hm what an Antipodean was doing following the tour and the words were no sooner out of my mouth when I realised what a complete idiot I was.

Standing next to me was Riki Flutey, the New Zealand-born centre, who had played for the Lions in that very match that night. Fortunately there were some sturdy pillars in this bar/restaurant and I rapidly slid behind the one next to me.

What an expert I was.

Despite that one humiliating moment, it is going to be utterly frustrating not having those crowds on this tour. But we will roar the Springboks along nevertheless, knowing that there will be many thousands of others roaring along the Lions in front of their screens on the other side of the equator.

It should still be a rollicking five weeks of rugby.

Loosehead prop Simphiwe Matanzima has always been considered a top-class prospect by the Bulls, ever since their scouts lured him from Queens College in the Eastern Cape to Pretoria, but a devastating double injury blow has prevented him from making a mark in the new Jake White era.

Now 23 years old, Matanzima made his Bulls senior debut in a Super Rugby derby against the Stormers in 2019. But in the opening round of the 2020 southern hemisphere competition he suffered a dislocated shoulder and then, when he made his return to training, he tore his achilles tendon last July.

So it has been a long way back for Matanzima and he finally got back on the field for the Bulls in their Currie Cup match against Western Province last weekend, putting in a lively display.

“I was out for 15 months and I’m just glad I’m done with rehab. I played one club game for Naka Bulle and I’m pleased that my first game back for the Bulls is now out the way. I was a bit rusty although I’ve been scrumming for the last couple of months, but I felt like myself and now I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season.

“Coming back was more of a mental challenge than physical because there’s a lot you can’t do and you’re alone a lot of the time. And it was a very serious injury so you worry that things might go wrong. You’ve just got to allow yourself to work through those emotions.

“It’s just a different level playing for the Bulls and it was against a good Western Province pack. With one squad in Italy and us only training together for a week, it was always going to be tough for us but we fought well. Jake White and Russell Winter have had a massive impact and it’s great learning from them. It’s never nice watching from the outside and it’s awesome to be back in the team now,” Matanzima said on Wednesday.

Since he suffered those injuries, the Bulls have signed Jacques van Rooyen, an old bull who has done really well on both sides of the scrum, and Gerhard Steenekamp has also made a big impact. Plus there is Lizo Gqoboka, snapping on the heels of the Springbok looseheads and clearly a force to be reckoned with.

“The more competition the better, that’s how you build squad depth, it’s healthy. It’s nice to challenge yourself and to scrum against strong packs, I relish the opportunity and the Pumas on Friday night will have a good pack. They are a strong side, they always play a physical game, they bring it, and they love to maul. So we know what to expect.

“But we also know what we can do if we play as a team. It’s going to be a tough battle,” Matanzima said.

Temba Bavuma already missed the T20 series against Pakistan this year through injury and now the middle-order batsman might be forced to take a short sabbatical from Test cricket as well, with Proteas captain Dean Elgar confirming on Wednesday that his vice-captain is in doubt for the first Test against the West Indies which starts at St Lucia on Thursday.

Bavuma strained his hamstring in the last ODI against Pakistan in early April and had to miss the four T20s that followed, but his current injury is a problem with his left hip.

“Temba is a bit of a concern, yesterday was a big day when he pushed his body and today he’ll have to go and prove his fitness,” Elgar said on Wednesday morning in the Caribbean. “We’re obviously banking on him being fit, but Kyle Verreynne is definitely in position to take his place, he’s best suited to No.5, which is where Temba would slot in, he’s accustomed to that.

“That means we’ll possibly have two guys making their debut [Keegan Petersen is set to replace the retired Faf du Plessis], but we don’t have other options really. All our back-up batsmen haven’t played Test cricket yet. But it’s not bad to have young guys coming in, they’re very hungry. I’m sure Kyle will be champing at the bit if Temba is not fit,” Elgar added.

Conditions at St Lucia at this time of year would seem to be very different to what South African teams have previously encountered in the West Indies, but Elgar said they had garnered plenty of info from a two-day practice game they played that turned into a pretty intense contest.

“We’ve been thrown into the deep end a lot recently, but we played a two-day game and it was two tough days of cricket. The first day was very tough batting conditions, playing on a side-pitch with a slope, it was overcast and we’re using the Dukes ball we’re not so used to. And then the second day was an extremely competitive battle between bat and ball.

“Historically this is a very seam-friendly pitch, but if you apply yourself as a batsman you can get in and score runs. We are aware of our limitations and failures, but preparation is one thing we can control, although it is no guarantee of success. We’ve lost a lot of experience in the batting, but it’s time for guys to put their hands up, there are opportunities there now,” Elgar said.