Ken Borland

Given the great rivalry that exists between the two teams, it would be stupid not to expect the Springboks to find some extra motivation against the All Blacks in Townsville on Saturday, especially since it is the 100^th Test between the only two sides to have won the World Cup three times, but South Africa’s veteran eighthman Duane Vermeulen said on Tuesday that he was approaching the milestone fixture as just another international.

Given their unfocused displays in the last two matches against the Wallabies and Vermeulen’s slow return to full fitness after ankle surgery, it is understandable that the 35-year-old does not want to be distracted by any of the fanfare this week.

“We will take it as just another Test match; yes, it’s the 100^th match against the All Blacks, but we want to compete in the Rugby Championship and try and still win that competition. We are playing New Zealand and we will go out and give it our best whatever the occasion; the fact that it is the 100^th Test is for the people who write books.

“We can only talk about the ‘now’, the past has gone but we just want to improve on last week. New Zealand play a whole different style of rugby to Australia and we have got to prepare accordingly,” Vermeulen said.

Since the first Test between the teams – coincidentally also 100 years ago on 13 August 1921 in Dunedin (NZ won 13-5), the All Blacks have won 59 times and South Africa have 36 wins, with four matches drawn. But since the return from isolation in 1992, the Springboks have only won 16 of 62 Tests.

Nevertheless, South Africa are still New Zealand’s greatest rivals with the highest winning percentage (36.4%) against them of all opposition. Due to the travel restrictions imposed by Covid, this match is being played in north-eastern Queensland. The Springboks and All Blacks have met at a neutral venue on four occasions, all of them during World Cups, and South Africa’s only win came in Cardiff in 1999, 22-18.

South Africa need to beat New Zealand in successive matches for the first time since winning three in a row in 2009 to regain the Freedom Cup, which the All Blacks took off them in 2010.

Brodie Retallick, the talismanic New Zealand second-rower who has never lost to the Springboks, said his team are certainly embracing the history of the occasion.

“You can’t underestimate them. We’ve talked about the fact that it’s the 100^th Test between the two nations and they are the World Cup champions, it’s the first time the All Blacks have played a World Cup champion in a long time. So we’re going out there to give it our best shot and hopefully take it to them.

“Where they’ve caught us the last couple of times, when they did, was through their line-speed defensively. They’ve outmuscled us and we haven’t been able to break them down through our attack and then they’ve punished us. So physically, you’ve always got the set-piece battle but you also have to deal with their line-speed,” Retallick said.

Tabraiz Shamsi has exploded on to international T20 cricket a bit like a stealth bomb over the last couple of years but he says there is no big secret to his success – just more regular playing time.

Shamsi produced yet another outstanding display on Monday evening in Dublin, taking four for 27 in his four overs to help South Africa to a 33-run win over Ireland. He was the No.1 bowler in the ICC T20 Rankings before the match, with a lead of 102 points over the much-lauded Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, so that gap is only going to grow after the 31-year-old yet again produced the goods.

Since the start of 2019, Shamsi has played 29 T20 Internationals and taken 36 wickets at an average of 20.05 and with an economy rate of 6.44. They are phenomenal figures and they reflect how crafty the left-arm wrist-spinner has become in being able to both take wickets and stem the run-flow.

“Playing regularly, I am gaining so much more experience. I have learnt that there are more ways to skin the cat, there are two ways for me to win games for the Proteas: I can take wickets or I can keep the batsmen quiet. As I’ve got older, I’ve realised that taking wickets is not everything, I’ve become more flexible. But it’s also the first time I’m getting regular game time and that’s why you see the consistency.

“For obvious reasons, I didn’t get that before and I’m not disputing selection at all [Imran Tahir stood in his way]. But playing regularly, you get to learn quickly from your mistakes and you can implement the good things more. And when things don’t go well, you stay positive through those patches and try and contribute to the team in other ways,” Shamsi said.

The inspirational man of the moment has always got as excited as a puppy whenever he takes a wicket, but he has also added a steelier edge now, working on intimidating batsmen. Shamsi admitted that it is a case of being a fast bowler trapped in a spinner’s body.

“From a young age I was a seam bowler, but I was told I was not fast enough so I switched to spin. But my early heroes were guys like Andre Nel, Dale Steyn and Allan Donald. That sort of aggression can disrupt the batsmen and I’m one of the guys in charge of making sure we have a presence on the field and that we never back down.

“It always helps me if the fast bowlers have taken wickets up front, my job is a lot more difficult when they don’t, and whenever I’ve done well, you often see the other bowlers have too, and George Linde too. I just try to bowl in the areas I want to and wickets are not guaranteed because it depends on how the batsman plays the ball,” Shamsi said.

Given the scant opportunities Janneman Malan has had to play for the Proteas, one could forgive the 25-year-old opener for being anxious when he did get the chance against Ireland. But the eventual Player of the Series just looked completely calm and in control during his two innings, and to have that sort of composure and temperament is like gold for an international batsman.

Malan top-scored in both ODI innings for South Africa, stroking 84 off 96 balls in the second game and then a magnificent 177 not out off 169 deliveries in the third and decisive match. With the first game washed out, the Proteas won the final ODI by 70 runs to level the series 1-1.

“At this level, you don’t know how many games you’re going to get, so to help myself mentally I just tell myself that if I am going to miss the next match then I must go out on my own terms. I back myself and I don’t want to play out of desperation to keep my spot. I just let go and do my best, and if that’s not good enough then I can deal with that.

“I wasn’t thinking of Gary Kirsten’s record 188 not out, I was just in the zone, in the moment. By then I was in that flow-state, just watching the ball and playing every ball on its merits. And I really enjoyed batting with Quinton de Kock, my Cape Town Blitz partner. He seems to bring out the best in me and if I’m selected going forward then he would be my ideal opening partner,” Malan said after sharing a brilliant first-wicket stand of 225 in 36 overs with the wicketkeeper/batsman.

Coach Mark Boucher agreed that batting with De Kock, who stroked a masterful 120 off 91 deliveries, would finance a great deal of learnings for young Malan, who has played just seven ODIs but has scored a world-record 483 runs in that time.

“Janneman has been waiting on the sidelines for quite some time, but now that he’s got some opportunity and a taste of international cricket, he’s really done well. So our depth pool is getting quite big and he has certainly taken his opportunity. Batting with Quinny, he would have learned a helluva lot, and in the end he was smashing it all over the park.

“He’s given the selectors a good headache, it’s a good thing. It’s tough because all the guys in contention are quality cricketers and ideally we’d want them all to play. We have thought about upskilling someone to bat outside their normal position, something Aiden Markram has done at franchise level. But the competition for places is good,” Boucher said.

Debutant Springbok wing Aphelele Fassi has spent the last couple of weeks fielding congratulatory phone calls from King Williams Town and Dale College wishing him good luck for the start of his international career.

The Eastern Cape has been very proud of the 23-year-old ever since he started making waves at the Sharks, and many observers believe he is a unique talent, with a combination of physical attributes that is seldom seen.

And Lady Luck certainly had her eyes on the prodigious young talent as he scored with his first touch in Test rugby in the first Test against Georgia. Not that luck had too much to do with it though as Fassi showed, while galloping down the touchline, the many attributes he has – good hands to take the pass slightly behind him, a massive stride, great feet, searing pace and clinical finishing ability. Just before halftime, he set up the Springboks’ third try with his clever chip infield just to showcase a kicking game befitting a former schoolboy flyhalf star.

“When I first got the ball, I just saw space in front of me and my first instinct was to just back myself and go for the try. Mzwandile Stick [backline coach] gave me the confidence during the week to back myself and just finish off whatever opportunities I get. I’m very proud to represent my country and I’ve had people from back at school and home phoning me to wish me good luck, including the principal.

“In my first Currie Cup game, I did the same thing. And I did visualise it again on my bed in the hotel this week, but you don’t really think it’s going to happen. And then it all happened so quickly. It’s a moment I will cherish for a long time,” Fassi said after the Test.

The lanky [1.89m] athlete has usually played at fullback in senior rugby but he also made his Currie Cup debut for the Sharks on the wing back in 2018 and also scored an impressive counter-attacking try, following a mistake by the Bulls.

The Springbok family looks to have welcomed a new star, one that will hopefully follow in the footsteps of all-time leading try-scorer Bryan Habana, who also scored with his first touch in Test rugby, against England in 2004.

“It’s been fantastic being part of the Springbok environment and the senior guys have obviously given me plenty of guidance. I feel very comfortable in this set-up,” Fassi said.

And he certainly looked very comfortable out on the field as well.