Ken Borland

Given that many of the Griquas players have come through the junior ranks at Loftus Versfeld, last weekend’s Currie Cup clash against the Bulls in Kimberley had all the hallmarks of a sibling rivalry – the big brother from Pretoria trying to quell the upstart youngsters.

Except that the Bulls have been a meek facsimile of their former fearsome selves this season and the quarterfinal exit, via another heavy defeat at the hands of the Stormers, caused much soul-searching at Loftus Versfeld.

The Currie Cup is now their last chance to pull together and try and get something meaningful out of their troubled season. Which makes them dangerous, desperate adversaries, and Griquas had their hands full against a near URC-strength team, going down 40-20. That Bulls side, when on-song, was good enough to finish sixth in the URC and make the last 16 of the Champions Cup.

The fact that the Bulls churn out so many talented youngsters year-after-year, and have dominated recent age-group rugby in South Africa, has caused speculation that director of rugby and head coach Jake White should ditch the players that have misfired this year and embark on a youth policy.

White himself almost bristled at the suggestion, saying the inevitable change that was needed at Loftus was a tricky balancing act between utilising exciting new talent but also ensuring that an experienced core is there to complement them.

“There needs to be change, that’s inevitable, and we also need some fresh energy,” White said. “Some guys have fallen behind and some players are finishing their contracts anyway. Some have said they might want to move elsewhere in South Africa or overseas.

“We are still negotiating with SAREO [South African Rugby Employers’ Organisation] and SA Rugby as to how many contracts we can have. This year we have used nearly sixty players, but we are limited to 55 contracts.

“So it’s a work in progress, it’s very fluid. And you can’t give guys one-year deals because they need stability. There are spaces available in our squad, but then you also need the right players to complement the guys you bring in.

“I would love to keep everyone coming through our system. In the last three years we have had the strongest junior age-groups in the country. But we need 55 players to leave to put all of them into the senior squad and that’s not possible. Not every guy in the junior ranks at Loftus is going to make it in professional rugby. There are only 23 places in the senior team.

“Which is why probably 60% of the Griquas and Pumas teams have come through the Bulls junior system. And those two teams were the Currie Cup finalists last year, which shows the talent we produce.

“We don’t need more juniors in the team and it’s impossible to win anything big when two-thirds of your team are under 24-years-old. We’ve already gone through that at the Bulls.

“Just using players from the junior system is not the solution to the problem, we need to complement them with players from outside. We need to be proactive, not reactive; we need to look for good players with speed and skill and the ability to change the game whatever their position, and more coaches to make the Bulls stronger. As Director of Rugby, I’m very lucky that the Board, the CEO and our owners say we need to compete with the top sides in Europe,” White said.

While there will clearly be changes in playing personnel for the Bulls, White was bullish in terms of his own management, although he did admit that they probably should have planned differently for the Currie Cup. The 59-year-old is confident that with a productive off-season in terms of structural work, the Bulls will return to their efficient selves and meet the ambitious goals of his bosses and the fans.

“Things have been working, I don’t know why some people think I would walk away. We have not done as well as we could, but it has not been a failure of a season and it has not been all bad. No-one from South Africa was able to get through the playoffs of the Champions Cup and we finished sixth in the URC. If that’s a bad year, then we are in a very good position at the Bulls because things will change drastically next season.

“We could have structured the Currie Cup campaign differently, but we take the Currie Cup very seriously and that’s not going to change,” White said.

Sporting success is never an exact science otherwise everyone would have the same winning formula. But something about the mix at Loftus Versfeld, which produced such potent rugby in the last couple of years, is now off. Plus good old-fashioned bad luck and things beyond their control have gone against them.

With all his experience and rugby wisdom, it would be foolish to bet against White ensuring the Bulls make full use of their resources next season to return to a position of dominance in South African rugby.

The Bulls, with half of their URC side in tow, overwhelmed Griquas with seven tries to win their Currie Cup match 53-27 in Kimberley on Saturday.

Playing with high tempo, plenty of intent to get the ball wide and some excellent handling, the Bulls were just too slick on attack for a typically willing Griquas side.

But with the home side flagging in the second half and giving the Bulls plenty of territory through conceding back-to-back penalties, the defending champions were able to convert a 22-15 halftime lead into a comprehensive victory.

The Bulls were also playing with the wind in the second half and flyhalf Chris Smith controlled the game with aplomb, succeeding with a couple of 50/22 kicks.

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee said “all credit to Griquas for stretching us and they played some terrific rugby”, while also praising veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis for “inspiring us every day”.

The Springbok great’s lineout work was precise and he provided plenty of running metres gained down the tramlines, as well as showcasing nifty handling skills.

He was rewarded with a 63^rd minute try off a rolling maul, while there were also thrilling tries scored in open play by prop Simphiwe Matanzima, centre Cornal Hendricks, lock Walt Steenkamp, flank Arno Botha, wing Canan Moodie and replacement scrumhalf Keegan Johannes.

The Bulls were particularly potent on counter-attack, with fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse making Griquas pay for kicking on them.

Scorers

Griquas – Tries: Zander du Plessis (2), Hanru Sirgel, Michael Amiras. Conversions: Du Plessis (2). Drop goal: Theo Boshoff.

Bulls – Tries: Simphiwe Matanzima, Cornal Hendricks, Walt Steenkamp, Arno Botha, Canan Moodie, Bismarck du Plessis, Keegan Johannes. Conversions: Chris Smith (6). Penalties: Smith (2).

Travelling to Kimberley and not having the right preparation, cohesion and mindset is often disastrous and that is why the Bulls on Friday named a powerful, URC-strength side for their Currie Cup match against Griquas at Tafel Lager Park on Saturday.

Eight of the starting XV who played last week in Italy have been included for Saturday’s Currie Cup encounter, and another eight who were on the bench against Zebre Parma will also be travelling to the Northern Cape.

“You can never underestimate Griquas,” Bulls Currie Cup coach Gert Smal explained, “and going to Kimberley can be really difficult if you’re not prepared. That’s why our team looks like that.

“It’s an important match for us to win and we haven’t played Currie Cup for a month, we are trying to get some rhythm and so it’s important for the team to have played together a bit.

“It’s always tough playing Griquas on their home ground but we want to see if we can beat them there. They are the giant-killers, but we will be ready for whatever is thrown at us, ready for the challenge.

“There are four areas we need to concentrate on and if we do them well then we will get the result: Griquas maul quite a lot, contestables, the breakdown and our mindset,” Smal said on Friday.

The top-of-the-log Sharks played the Pumas in Nelspruit on Friday night, going into the match with a four-point lead over the Bulls in third place, so the importance of Smal’s team getting four points in Kimberley is clear, because the last thing they want is for the KwaZulu-Natalians to open an eight-point lead on them.

“We take the Currie Cup seriously, we want to make sure we can win it,” Smal said. “We look at each game and choose the best team for that specific match, depending on how badly we feel we need the points.”

With the schedule allowing the Bulls to pick many of their best players, they will be looking to unleash their full might on Griquas.

Bulls team:Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Richard Kriel, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier; Muller Uys, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Janko Swanepoel, Walt Steenkamp, Robert Hunt, Bismarck du Plessis, Simphiwe Matanzima. IMPACT-Schalk Erasmus, Lizo Gqoboka, Kowie Roos, Reinhardt Ludwig, WJ Steenkamp, Keagan Johannes, Juan Mostert, Lionel Mapoe.

The Free State Knights’ impressive pace attack neutered the KZN Dolphins batsmen and clinched a seven-run victory in the CSA Provincial T20 Knockout final in Kimberley on Friday.

Having been sent in to bat, Free State posted a strong total of 176 for five thanks to opener Patrick Kruger’s anchoring half-century and the powerful strokeplay of Pite van Biljon, Farhaan Behardien and Rilee Rossouw.

The Knights pacemen then took regular wickets as they restricted KZN to 169 for six.

Fast bowler Migael Pretorius (4-0-30-3) struck in the first over by bowling Protea Keegan Petersen for two and he then removed Bryce Parsons (35) and Ruan de Swardt first ball in the penultimate over to all but seal victory for Allan Donald’s team.

Alfred Mothoa (4-1-27-2) provided superb support as he trapped Marques Ackerman lbw for 11 in the third over and then claimed the big wicket of Sarel Erwee for 27 midway through the innings.

Khaya Zondo teared his way to 43 off 28 balls but was then caught behind off seamer Neulan van Heerden, a new face to top-level domestic cricket who nevertheless stepped up in the final with one for 24 in his four overs.

Jason Smith (36* off 23) launched a last-ditch effort to get KZN over the line, but had too much to do.

The Knights struggled to 37 for two inside the powerplay, the imposing figure of Rossouw, very much the alpha male in the Free State batting line-up, departing off the last ball of the sixth over for 28 off 18 balls.

But skipper Van Biljon stepped up with a commanding 42 off 25 balls, clearing the boundary three times, and Kruger played sensibly as he batted through to the penultimate over, scoring a vital 61 off 53 deliveries.

Behardien delivered his usual finishing brilliance with 29 not out off 18 balls.

The Dolphins attack were too dependent on their two fast bowlers – Daryn Dupavillon (4-0-24-2) and Ottneil Baartman (4-0-24-0) – with the other bowlers conceding 124 runs in their 12 overs.