Ken Borland

The Blair Atholl Golf and Country Estate course will play at 7462 metres for the South African Open starting on Thursday, the longest in DP World Tour history, and it will be a “Driver-fest” according to leading local contender Dylan Frittelli.

The 32-year-old Frittelli is one of a host of South Africans who generally compete abroad who have returned for the national open, the second oldest in the game, and still considered a hugely prestigious title.

Frittelli, who competes on the PGA Tour, is known as a solid and lengthy driver of the ball, so he was looking forward to tackling Blair Atholl for the first time.

“It’s what I expected – a long course with wide fairways,” Frittelli said after his pro-am round on Wednesday. “It will be a Driver-fest and I’m just going to try and hit the ball as long and as straight as I can.

“It’s a cliche but that and making some putts, on greens that have a lot more character than I was expecting, literally defines this course.

“I think we will be hitting a lot more shots from 140-190 metres on the par-fours, but if it stays dry and hot then we’ll still be hitting the ball 340 off the tee.

“So I think it’s going to be a good mix and I would urge the organisers not to push the tees forward. We don’t want 23-under winning the SA Open. And I’ve got to win the SA Open before my career is over,” Frittelli said.

Charl Schwartzel is another who is extremely determined to win the SA Open for the first time after some near misses, and he used to live on the Blair Atholl Estate, so he knows the course intimately. He and other returning South Africans like Branden Grace, George Coetzee, Thriston Lawrence and Shaun Norris are always a threat in these co-sanctioned events.

Defending champion Danie van Tonder looked in good form in last week’s Joburg Open but his putter just refused to play along, but a new host course for the SA Open could well throw up a new champion.

Dean Burmester seems to always be contending somewhere in the world these days and he is back, hungry and equipped with one of the biggest drives in the field.

“Blair Atholl is loooong, that was my first impression,” Burmester said. “There will be some positional stuff required and it lends itself to good mid and long iron play, but a lot of it is going to come down to long-hitting.

“The bunkers are often 300-310 metres from the tee and you need to be able to cover that in your game or it’s going to be a long week for you. If you’re short of that, then you better pack your fairway woods and metal hybrids.”

Wilco Nienaber is always up there with the longest drivers on tour and was in contention at the Joburg Open, but Louis de Jager is perhaps the dark horse to watch. He is a quality driver of the ball and his fifth place in the Joburg Open was his fourth top-10 finish since August.

Judging by some safety studies coming out of the UK, playing rugby is seemingly as dangerous as being a passenger in a minibus taxi that is behind schedule after the driver popped into the local shebeen.

There is no denying the alarming figures these studies are revealing in terms of brain injuries since the game went professional, and WorldRugby has been forced into making changes to the law in order to avoid the sort of lawsuits that have cost American Football hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

The most obvious of these changes has been the zero-tolerance approach to contact to the head. Unfortunately, in a contact game such as rugby and the highly-fluid tackle zone that features hundreds of kilograms of bone and flesh crashing into, or trying to avoid, each other, accidents are inevitable.

As former Springbok captain John Smit said this week: “You’re never going to make a contact sport 100% safe, there will always be an element of rIsk. And I have never met anyone who was forced to play rugby. I picked up the ball and ran into three guys out of my free will and I understood the risks.

“My shoulder is a mess now, I can’t turn my neck because of the spinal fusion I’ve had, but I’ve had more injuries from cycling! If I was given the choice now, I would still pick up the rugby ball like I did 30 years ago,” Smit said.

An unwanted side-effect of the law changes is that it has made it very taxing to watch rugby these days.

The constant TMO interventions, looking for the slightest head contact, coupled with the rank amateur standard of officiating we see far too often lately, leaves spectators and viewers angry, frustrated and often just plain bored.

I’m not arguing that TMOs should be done away with, they still have a vital role to play in ensuring crucial decisions are made correctly and in stamping out foul play, but their emphasis needs to shift.

So much time was wasted last weekend replaying a totally accidental head-to-head contact involving Bulls flyhalf Johan Goosen, which could easily have been a red card, ruining the game, given how some officials interpret these things.

But when there is obvious dangerous play, sometimes officialdom seems too lenient in dealing with it. Bundee Aki’s cleanout of Seabelo Senatla was clearly dangerous, putting the Stormers wing out of action for months. The Connacht centre has been given an eight-game ban, which seems about right. But it was only that much because of his previous record and the fact he angrily remonstrated with the referee after he was red-carded. The injury to the referee’s pride was obviously much more serious than Senatla’s in the view of the disciplinary tribunal.

And then there’s Darcy Swain, the Wallabies lock, who was only banned for six weeks for the assault on All Blacks centre Quinn Tupaea at a ruck, which must rank as one of the filthiest acts I’ve ever seen on a rugby field. Swain deliberately targeted the trapped leg of Tupaea, twisting it and destroying the New Zealander’s knee ligaments.

Tupaea will be out of action for nine months and is likely to miss the World Cup next year.

It is frustrating enough that there are so many stoppages in a game of rugby these days, with what is meant to be a 40-minute half almost always actually taking closer to an hour to finish, but then the officials so often get the decisions wrong anyway. Now there are also official water breaks scattered through the contest.

Fans are definitely losing interest.

The match between the Bulls and Connacht last weekend at Loftus Versfeld became exciting, on the scoreboard at least, in the second half. But in the main grandstand below the media centre, spectators passed their time cheering and encouraging a trio of spectators who were building a beer snake out of empty cups, making it tall enough to reach the tier above them.

Apparently it was a similar story the weekend before in the Springboks’ crucial Test against Argentina at Kings Park – spectators spent much of the time building paper planes and throwing them around.

Yes, WorldRugby needs to pass laws that make the game safer, but they also need to ensure their product is watchable.

The SA20 is meant to be a ray of hope for the embattled coffers of South African cricket, but it is also going to provide a global platform for local players to display their talents and hopefully further their careers.

The good news for the country’s best T20 players is that the competition for their signatures is expected to be most fierce in Monday’s auction in Cape Town, which should drive up prices. It has been noticeable how, due to the weakness of the rand, overseas players’ reserve prices are much higher, meaning in many cases, South African players represent better value.

“You play half your matches at home, so that has a big impact,” Sunrisers Eastern Cape coach Adrian Birrell said. “You need to get the right players for the right venue, and we’ll be trying the best we can to buy for St George’s Park, players who have done well there. I’m sure the Wanderers and SuperSport Park will do the same thing.

“The opportunity to go for one or two big South African players we would like to have is why we did not spend up front and have only pre-signed Aiden Markram and Ottneil Baartman.

“I think us and the Pretoria franchise [who have just pre-signed Anrich Nortje and Migael Pretorius] have the most money. You can strategise well with that extra money and we have a good chance of getting the players we want,” Birrell said.

So what good-value buys should the six franchises be targeting as they look to spend what is remaining of their R34 million budget to fill all 17 spots on their playing rosters? Ten of those places must go to South Africans.

Daryn Dupavillon

All six franchises will have their eyes on people who can bowl flat-out fast. While Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have been pre-signed, and competition will be intense for Marco Jansen, KZN Dolphins star Dupavillon represents good value. Arguably the fastest bowler in South Africa, his sheer pace will bring plenty of heat to opposition batsmen and test their ability to choose and execute the correct stroke in a split-second.

Dwaine Pretorius

The 33-year-old provides an ideal T20 package as an experienced all-rounder. As a bowler, he can bowl up front with swing, in the middle overs with cutters or at the death with his wide yorkers. And as a batsman, he is a power-hitter and can hit boundaries from ball one, which is crucial for that role.

Lungi Ngidi

Unburdened by injury, Ngidi has been in superb form for the Proteas, having the batsmen in chains in the opening overs. He will be even more dangerous in South Africa, where his steepling bounce from a good length comes into play, while his clever slower balls will still be effective.

Tabraiz Shamsi

Shamsi’s brilliance as a white-ball bowler, one of the best in the world, should be recognised and Sunrisers Eastern Cape could make a big move for him, thanks to his excellent record at St George’s Park – in 14 T20s there he has taken 19 wickets and concedes just 6.74 runs-per-over. Pretoria Capitals could get involved in a bidding war though to get him back to his current home ground.

Tristan Stubbs

This 22-year-old is so exciting, people are now going to matches just to watch him bat. Sunrisers Eastern Cape no doubt want him to play at his home ground, but every single franchise is going to be after his services. He has taken to international cricket with aplomb, showing his ability to clear the boundary and also keep his run-rate high with ones and twos.

Reeza Hendricks

In magnificent form at the moment and marvellous to watch when in full flight, Hendricks scored back-to-back centuries in the 2018 Mzansi Super League. He’s probably a better batsman now and most of the franchises will be thinking long and hard about getting him in at the top of the order.

CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki says he felt like the most hated man in South African cricket last week, but he would like to assure that the Test format is still his favourite and he would love the Proteas to still play five-Test series against The Big Three and for the local public to fill up stadiums watching them.

Moseki was at the forefront of CSA’s controversial decision to play just 28 Tests in the five-year period of the Future Tours Programme starting next year. This is despite South Africa being top of the World Test Championship and The Big Three of India, Australia and England playing between 38 and 43 Tests in the same period.

It is not just Test matches that are being cut, the Proteas will only play 39 ODIs and 43 T20s, their 110 international matches in the next five years being the least of all Full Members except Zimbabwe.

Moseki is sad that this is the case, but it is due to the financial situation CSA are in, and the congested calendar due to all the T20 franchise leagues around the world. Their own T20 league takes January out of the equation, but that has to be a success if CSA are not to fall into a financial pit.

“We love Test cricket at CSA and it is my favourite format personally. Unfortunately we are in a tough position that demands we prioritise things that don’t cause a financial loss,” Moseki told Saturday Citizen.

“The Big Three have broadcast deals that are so significant that playing Tests is still worth it for them. We would love to play five-Test series against them, but for us smaller guys, the biggest challenge is that the calendar just squeezes us out.

“And our major broadcast deals are with Indian companies and they don’t value Test cricket as much, white-ball cricket is what attracts the premium amounts, and the rate for India matches is far higher.

“So we have different balls we have to juggle and alternative revenue streams like our T20 league have become vital for our survival. We can’t cover all our expenses when we play Test cricket.”

This situation of the haves and the have-nots will continue to ail international cricket until the ICC steps up and finds a solution for the good of the global game. South Africa simply cannot afford to play lots of bilateral cricket, especially expensive Test matches, until their finances are stable.

“We had no choice. Even with the significant distributions from ICC tournaments every year now, if our T20 league does not succeed then we will have to restructure domestic cricket.

“We will have to cut back the number of provinces and players,” Moseki warned, “And I’m not talking 20% cuts, I’m talking a total restructure. We’ll probably start playing international cricket in August.”

For now, Moseki says he is willing to take his licks from the public, as long as they come out in numbers and do support the few home Tests that the Proteas will play.

“We see the numbers watching our Proteas do so brilliantly in England, so let’s hope all the critics of our decision come and watch us against the West Indies next summer.

“It will make me feel more terrible, but I really hope that hunger for Test cricket translates into capacity crowds,” Moseki said.