Ken Borland

The fact that South Africa are currently enjoying a surfeit of top-class depth is a particular boon in these times of Covid restrictions because for a player to join the Springbok squad in Australia at a later stage for the Rugby Championship requires them to jump through a series of almost impenetrable hoops.

Which is why the Springboks will be leaving for Australia on Sunday, the day after their second Test against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, with a squad of 42 players and 10 others on standby who are also following strict Covid protocols.

“We are all in a very specific testing regime, so it is tough to get people from outside into the squad. All the players need to pass blood tests, PCRs and antigen tests on specific days, even our standby players, if they are to be allowed to get on the plane to Australia. A player coming in to the squad once we are there has got to follow a well-prescribed testing regime in South Africa and then isolate for 14 days in Australia.

“It’s why the whole squad of 42 will travel on Sunday because it’s almost impossible to add players later on. Argentina and us will be travelling together from Port Elizabeth on Sunday in a plane to Cape Town that will be our own bubble and then we fly together to Australia. If we lose a player to injury in the first Test then his replacement would probably only be available to play on the Tuesday before the last Test against New Zealand on October 2,” Nienaber explained on Tuesday.

The Springbok coach was forced to call into service many of his back-up players in last weekend’s first Test against Argentina and they did a superb job, notching a 32-12 bonus point win. For this Saturday’s repeat fixture, the first-choice, World Cup winning, backline, save for Cobus Reinach coming in for the injured Faf de Klerk at scrumhalf, is back in tow.

The pack is more mix-and-match with regulars Trevor Nyakane, Malcolm Marx, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi and Franco Mostert all starting, while tighthead Thomas du Toit will play his first Test since coming on against Namibia in the 2019 World Cup, lock Marvin Orie is in the run-on XV for the first time and fellow second-rower Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg is in line for his debut off the bench.

“It’s a punishing Test schedule we have with the Lions series on three successive weekends and then six matches in eight weeks in the Rugby Championship, so we are forced to make changes to look after the players’ welfare. I said last week how good Argentina are and we are not taking them lightly at all. But our selection speaks volumes for the depth we have,” Nienaber said.

Captain Phepsi Buthelezi suffered a head knock against Griquas and will miss the Sharks’ Currie Cup game against Western Province in Cape Town on Wednesday, but coach Sean Everitt is confident the eighthman will have recovered in time to join the squad in Johannesburg as they go into lockdown ahead of their match against the British and Irish Lions on July 7 at Ellis Park.

The focus of the Sharks is facing a testing time because they have the crucial match against Western Province to concentrate on, but also the excitement of the game against the British and Irish Lions and all the Covid protocol palaver that goes with that fixture.

“I presume Phepsi will be ready for the Lions, he feels 100% but just didn’t pass all his tests. So he’s nearly there and it wasn’t a serious concussion. Hopefully he’ll be able to join us on Friday when we fly to Johannesburg and go into a six-day quarantine. We are allowed to train on Friday, Monday and Tuesday, and we’ll have PCR tests on Friday, Monday and Wednesday before the game.

“We’ve had no clarification yet on our kickoff time in Cape Town, but I presume it will be moved from 7pm, but that will have no impact on our preparation. Our message to the players this morning was that we need to be squeaky clean and we would like them to treat it as if they are in self-isolation, just coming to the stadium and going home. Otherwise they could miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime against the Lions,” Everitt said on Monday.

The weather in Cape Town is expected to be poor, so it is excellent news for the Sharks that the booming boot of flyhalf Curwin Bosch is back.

“It’s great to have Curwin back. Everyone goes through disappointments in sport, it’s not the first time he’s had it and he’s over what happened with the Springboks. But he’ll want to make sure he puts in a good performance to show Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber that he can step up if needed. He has a huge boot and that could be a deciding factor.

“It’s beautiful weather in Durban today – 28⁰ – so it’s going to be a bit of a change in Cape Town. I see the Junior Boks were playing in torrential rain on a muddy pitch in Stellenbosch, but we have the game-plan for those conditions and we are able to do the kicking game if needed. But we don’t want to bring a one-dimensional approach either,” Everitt said.

Sharks team: Manie Libbok, Werner Kok, Jeremy Ward (c), Marius Louw, Thaakir Abrahams, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Mpilo Gumede, Thembelani Bholi, James Venter, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Khutha Mchunu, Fez Mbatha, Khwezi Mona. Bench – Dan Jooste, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Wiehahn Herbst, JJ van der Mescht, Reniel Hugo, Dylan Richardson, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain.

by Guest Correspondent

It seems strange to believe that the powerful 1.86m, 90kg winger Madosh Tambwe, who once scored a Vodacom Super Rugby record-equalling four tries in one match, was completely surprised when he received a phone call from Bulls coach Jake White, inviting him to join the Pretoria team.

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“Receiving a phone call from Jake was quite a surprise. I never expected a call from him, and then I also wondered how he’d even got my number,” Tambwe says with a laugh.

The reality is that Tambwe’s life has been full of surprises up to this point of joining one of world rugby’s most celebrated teams.

The 23-year-old forms part of Vodacom’s current focus on the growing crop of ‘Future Champs’ within the Bulls fold.

Born in Kinshasha during the transition of the country from Zaire to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tambwe moved to South Africa with his family and was raised in Johannesburg. In his final years as a student at Parktown Boys’ High and while playing for the Lions U19 team, Tambwe was confronted for the first time by somebody who gave him a dream to aim for.

The Lions U19 coach, Joey Mongalo (who has since also joined the Vodacom Bulls’ senior coaching staff), asked him what he planned to do with his life. It was the spark that put him on his journey to a career as a professional rugby player, and which has seen him play for the Lions, Sharks and now the Vodacom Bulls before the age of 23.

“Being asked what you want to do with your life is a very tricky question because everybody is on a different journey in their lives. But now I’ve been blessed to have played for three great South African franchises. Right now, I’m focused on settling in at the Vodacom Bulls and focusing on my rugby. That’s where my mind is at the moment,” he says.

Tambwe identified himself as a clear ‘Future Champ’ when he equalled the record of four Vodacom Super Rugby tries which he scored in a 2018 match for the Lions against the Stormers. It is this early success in the game that he wants to keep building on as he now pulls on the famed blue jersey of the Bulls.

“I’m privileged to play for the Vodacom Bulls. As I’ve approached everything in my life, I’ll embrace the moment and take it one step at a time and not think too far ahead.”

Tambwe admits he’s already being challenged to grow at the Vodacom Bulls and is relishing this new environment.

“The coaching staff is challenging me quite a bit. Coach Jake wants me to stretch my wings a bit in terms of my positions, and he’s asked me to study fullback as well so I can act as cover for the team in this position. That’s a challenge, and I like that. I’m kept on my toes here, and I’m not being allowed to get too comfortable in just one position.”

And as much as he feels privileged to pull on a Vodacom Bulls jersey, Tambwe is also adamant that he isn’t thinking too far into the future in terms of what it means to play for a union that has produced some of the greatest players in the history of the game.

“It will always be a great responsibility when you put on that Bulls jersey. There’s such a rich history here. But first and foremost, I want to earn my stripes at this union. Only then can I start thinking about the future. Sure, in the back of my mind there is the thought that I want to carry on where some of the greats have left off and I want to also leave something for the next generation of Vodacom Bulls players to build on. But for now, I just want to be the best I can and focus on the next game in front of me.”

His focus matches the entire ethos about what it means to be identified as a Vodacom Future Champ and represent the future of the Bulls.

“I’ve got a great hunger to learn and be better, and I strive to be the best I can be. I’m doing what I love, and every weekend I am able to showcase my talent for people to enjoy. I want to keep getting better so I can add to the proud legacy of this team,” Tambwe says.

Boland and North-West are the two teams that will join the six franchise centres in the new eight-team provincial-based Division I that will be introduced as part of the restructuring of the domestic game, Cricket South Africa announced on Monday.

Eastern Province (Port Elizabeth), Free State (Bloemfontein), Central Gauteng Lions (Johannesburg), KwaZulu-Natal Coastal (Durban), Northerns (Centurion) and Western Province (Cape Town) will be the other teams in Division I, while Limpopo and Mpumalanga gain first-class status and join South-Western Districts, Easterns, Border, KZN Inland and Northern Cape in Division II. The new system features automatic promotion/relegation between the divisions, but this will only kick in after the 2022/23 season.

The changes are based on the recommendations of the independent task team chaired by former Protea and ICC chief executive David Richardson, who explained the reasons for the ‘promotion’ of Boland and North-West to the top table.

“Boland have a tremendous fan base, especially amongst the coloured community, and there is a true love for the game and cricket culture around Paarl. Their stadium is of very good quality and they are very ambitious. They have excellent development pathways and they have contributed several players to the franchise system, while their provincial team has done consistently well.

“North-West are well-administered, they have done some tremendous infrastructure development in Potchefstroom and the university provides them with a huge opportunity to attract, develop and retain players. What I like the most about the new system is that there is no room for complacency; one of the biggest challenges of the franchise system was that there were no consequences for finishing sixth,” Richardson said on Monday.

Dr Stavros Nicolaou, the chairman of the CSA Interim Board, said the directors were confident the new structure would result in a stronger Proteas team out on the park.

“The recommendations of the Dave Richardson task team have been fully supported and endorsed by the board. We need domestic cricket to be a springboard for international excellence, that was a key consideration. We believe the new structure will give us a cutting edge in terms of competitiveness and more sustainability. It will optimise our potential in terms of the development of players and talent,” Nicolaou said.

Andrew Breetzke, the CEO of SACA, said it was a relief that the players could now have some certainty and they could move on from the restructuring issue.

“There’s almost been restructuring fatigue in our offices because we have been speaking abut this for five years, we just needed to get it done and move on. The positive is that we now have some finality because the uncertainty is not good for the game. We respect CSA have the right to make changes to the structure, and we have had extensive consultations with them,” Breetzke said.

“The move has triggered a number of issues with our current Memorandum of Understanding in terms of contracting of players. And 75 players are now out of the system. The end of the franchises will require new contracts and different allocations, and if teams are relegated then there needs to be a way for players to exit their contract. We’ve been focused on the cricket imperatives.”

Richardson said they had learnt from the past when the number of teams in South Africa’s premier domestic competitions had almost doubled from five to nine during his playing days in the 1980s and 90s.

“We started with five sides in the A Section and then teams were added so we went to nine in quite a short space of time. But there was no relegation so the teams at the bottom lose enthusiasm and focus and it just brings the whole quality of the competition down. Now there is opportunity across the board, but it depends on how well you play.

“Having promotion/relegation is probably the biggest lesson we learned from the past. The teams coming up to Division I will face a huge challenge because they will not be used to playing such high-quality cricket, but hopefully they will be able to best equip themselves for that. What I like most about the new system is that there is no room for complacency,” Richardson said.