Ken Borland

Winning competitions is your measure of success and the South African Shield is just a “nice-to-have”, former Stormers great Jean de Villiers said ahead of their United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against Edinburgh in Cape Town on Saturday.

While the Stormers finished second on the overall URC log and were the top South African team, they have a history of playoff disappointments in Super Rugby to overcome. In 10 Super Rugby playoffs, they only won one – winning the 2010 semifinal against the NSW Waratahs at Newlands. They then lost the final away to the Bulls.

“The Stormers have won a few shields, I should know, but they mean nothing, apart from being a nice-to-have,” De Villiers said. “It’s very important for the team to go all the way.

“Winning tournaments is your measure of success, even though I’m sure the supporters are pleased that results have been so good on the field with so much bad stuff happening off it.

“I’m really enjoying their more freer approach on the field and I like Damian Willemse at 12. It’s a new position for him, but I think it’s probably his best at this stage, it brings a better balance to the Stormers game,” De Villiers, who started 95 of his 109 Tests for the Springboks at centre, said.

While it would appear on face value that Edinburgh’s best chance of victory will be to turn the quarterfinal into a tight, tactical battle, De Villiers said one should never ever underestimate the Scottish team’s ability to play dazzling rugby as well.

“Edinburgh can be very dangerous as well with ball-in-hand. Blake Kinghorn at flyhalf has brought a different dimension and he can vary his play. They have a strong South African contingent as well.

“But you don’t ever look only at your opposition, the Stormers will be focused on getting their approach right. If they execute their attacking game well, then I believe they are the better team at that type of rugby.

“When it comes to finals rugby, you sometimes are tempted to change your approach, but the Stormers should stick to what has worked, but maybe just be a bit more conservative, add some management to their game.

“Manie Libbok and Herschel Jantjies always look at running options first, but maybe on Saturday they should first look for space at the back too and kick when they’re in their own half,” De Villiers said.

Sport being big business these days, it stands to reason that administrators believe that the more content they can provide in terms of matches, the better it is for the game and the players just need to avail themselves of these increased opportunities.

But what administrators forget, as their eyes are distracted by shiny piles of cash, is that they are in the entertainment business and quality of performance is more important to the consumer than quantity. As more and more sport is played, we see more and more jaded athletes, especially in these tough days of Covid restrictions, unable to reach their previous heights.

As former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers said this week: “For too long administrators have thought that more is more, but actually less is more. That way you get a high-quality product that people look forward to and don’t want to miss out on watching. The players are the main assets of the game and we have to make sure they are looked after.”

While I would not go as far as former Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula – that’s actually probably a good rule for life – in describing our sports stars as soldiers doing battle for South Africa, there is no doubt they are still representing our country and often providing great joy to a land that has known more misery than most in recent years.

Form is a fickle thing at the best of times – I was chatting to a former Proteas batsman recently and he told me of the time he came off a great century and then in his next innings he could barely get bat to ball – but a relentless schedule of games and travel will eventually wear down even the best.

Just look at former India captain Virat Kohli, who a couple of years ago was trumpeted as the best batsman in the world. And then came Covid with bio-bubbles and severe restrictions added to the grind of playing and captaining in all three formats for the richest and most scrutinised team on the planet.

Little wonder then that Kohli has now gone 100 innings across formats without scoring a century and his former India coach, Ravi Shastri, is in no doubt that too much cricket is to blame.

Shastri was quoted this week as calling Kohli “overcooked” and he implored Indian cricket to have the empathy to give their star player six months away from the game otherwise he will end up with “a fried brain”.

Amongst the fans, too, there is an air of indifference to the wellbeing of our sports stars, with the expectation being that they must bring their A-game every time they compete. The old chestnut of “I pitch up to the office every day and give my best otherwise I’ll be fired” is often heard. But not many of us have jobs that require intense physical training every week and then an opposition hellbent on making sure you cannot do your job.

This is not, however, a call for sponsors and equity partners in sport to be sent packing like witches on their broomsticks.

Professional sport needs money to flourish and the best-performing teams are more often than not those with the deepest pockets. But there needs to be a balance between commercial demands and player welfare.

The best way to handle that balancing act is probably by ensuring there is greater depth in playing squads.

I know fielding second-string outfits does not fly well with fans, but if a team has sufficient depth and has looked after their pipeline properly, then rotating players should ensure improved performance and give exposure to potential new heroes.

United Rugby Championship frontrunners Leinster are a club that does this very well, and I look forward to seeing how they do, without 10 first-choice players, against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday night.

The rampant form of two South African centres based overseas has not gone unnoticed by one of the Springboks’ most celebrated midfielders, with Jean de Villiers this week heaping praise on Damian de Allende and Andre Esterhuizen.

De Allende is the incumbent Springbok No.12 and still a crucial part of the Munster side that is in the European Champions Cup quarterfinals and in fourth place in the United Rugby Championship, while

Esterhuizen has been a roaring success at Harlequins. The former Sharks player is very much a specialist inside centre though, so in terms of the Springboks, he is only likely to get called up if De Allende is injured.

“Damian has been crucified at times for the way he plays and some people only see him as an abrasive midfielder,” De Villiers told a URC media briefing. “He was getting boxed into that role over here.

“But Damian has been phenomenal the way he plays for Munster and the Springboks, the value he brings is massive. He was probably one of South Africa’s top three performers at the last World Cup.

“His distribution skills are fantastic and his defence is aggressive, it’s like having another loose forward in the midfield. He’s also so good at competing on the ground, him slowing the ball down makes it easier for the rest of the defence.

“And there’s no reason to think he’s slowing down, he gave another great performance on the weekend when Munster beat Exeter. Damian is critical for the Springboks and his partnership with Lukhanyo Am is phenomenal,” De Villiers said.

The former Springbok captain, speaking in his capacity as a SuperSport analyst, was also full of praise for Esterhuizen and said his departure from the Sharks has been the reason for many of their attacking frustrations.

“Andre has been a big loss for the Sharks and has been fantastic for Harlequins, his partnership with flyhalf Marcus Smith really just works for both of them.’

“The Sharks have lost both him and Lukhanyo Am and they are lacking in midfield. And with Aphelele Fassi out injured too, they are not able to fire the way they were when those two were available.

“I think Makazole Mapimpi has been affected as well. He and Lukhanyo are just on the same wave-length and the Sharks have missed Mapimpi’s X-factor with Am,” De Villiers said.

Former Scotland lock Jim Hamilton, another URC analyst and someone well acquainted with barging over the opposition during his 63 Tests, is also a big Esterhuizen fan.

“Esterhuizen has been carving it up over here, I can’t believe what a signing he’s been for Quins. He would be one of the first names on my team-sheet,” Hamilton said.

Bulls coach Jake White says critics have a tendency to be suspicious about players changing position, but the incredible success story of Cornal Hendricks moving from wing to inside centre and being man of the match in the Currie Cup final shows the tremendous benefits that can be gleaned from such bold decisions.

The 32-year-old Hendricks, barring a couple of seasons in midfield in the early stages of his career at Boland, had played all his rugby before 2020 and all 12 of his Tests for the Springboks on the wing, but White raised eyebrows when he moved the popular Paarl product to centre before his first game in charge at Loftus Versfeld. On Saturday night, after the Bulls’ triumph in the Currie Cup final, White pronounced Hendricks as probably his player of the season.

“Cornal has been phenomenal, probably our best player this season. A lot of guys in that No.12 jersey started on the wing – Ma’a Nonu, Tana Umaga and Caleb Clarke is now establishing himself there as well. It’s about his appreciation for space and it helps having Morne Steyn and Ivan van Zyl inside him. The youngsters have also learnt a lot from Cornal because he is very professional and so dedicated, and a great communicator.

“I started coaching in 1982 and for me it has always been about putting combinations together. Bryan Habana started at centre and became one of the best wings ever, Jean de Villiers played wing and centre, Beauden Barrett plays flyhalf and fullback. One needs to trust the coaching staff and the player. Who knows, one these guys playing wing today might end up at centre as well,” White said.

While Hendricks’ mien is always one of cheerfulness, he has come through numerous tough times in his career, most notably when a heart defect was discovered and he was told n 2015 that he would have to give up rugby. Springbok legend De Villiers, who was Hendricks’ captain in the national team, has high praise for the tenacity of the man.

“When you take Cornal’s whole career in consideration, he’s always been fighting adversity and having to prove himself – from the Sevens circuit to playing for the Cheetahs and then the whole heart thing when no-one wanted to take a risk on him. But he has always adapted and when he moved to centre I almost just expected him to make a success of it.

“And the position has fit like a glove for him, he gets go-forward with the ball and his defence has been very astute. Maybe he doesn’t quite have the pace anymore of his Sevens days, but he still has plenty for an inside centre,” De Villiers told The Citizen.