Ken Borland

With the victory in the big game against England safely tucked away in the Done folder, Rassie Erasmus has been able to make the raft of changes that was clearly the desire of the Springbok coach for this Saturday’s Nations Championship Test against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld.

Ten of the 23-man squad that saw off England in impressive fashion at Ellis Park have been retained for the Pretoria match, but only five of them remain in the starting line-up. One of the more interesting selections is the shifting of Damian Willemse, the correct choice for man of the match against England after his outstanding display at fullback, to inside centre.

Jesse Kriel will be alongside him as he retains the No.13 jersey, while Pieter-Steph du Toit, as captain and blindside flank, and Paul de Villiers on the openside, continue to stand in for Siya Kolisi as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

Lock Ruan Nortje, whose work-rate was typically admirable at Ellis Park, is the other player to keep their starting place.

Canan Moodie moves from the bench to starting on the left wing, while scrumhalf Grant Williams, also brilliant at Ellis Park, goes in the other direction. That provides the opportunity for the long-awaited return of Embrose Papier to the Springbok fold. The form scrumhalf of the United Rugby Championship last appeared in Test rugby on November 24, 2018, as a 21-year-old against Wales at the Millenium Stadium.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Zachary Porthen and Ben-Jason Dixon retain their places among the substitutes.

Erasmus said Kolisi should be all right to play next week, as should Lood de Jager and Ethan Hooker. The news on Eben Etzebeth and Ox Nche is not so good.

“We want to give Eben proper time because he has had history with concussion. I don’t think he’ll play in the Nations Championship, we should target Argentina [August 8) for his return. Ox, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Morne van den Berg should be fit three weeks before the New Zealand series.

“Scotland winning in Argentina did not have any role in our selection. We picked this team for us to make sure we go to the World Cup next year knowing who can do what, where and when under pressure. Scotland played really well, they are a good team and they beat England in the Six Nations. So it could be a tougher game this weekend.

“We didn’t necessarily look at franchise combinations, it was just who is fit to play and players we would like to see what they can do. We don’t have a lot of caps and we will be much less experienced than Scotland. But these players wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think they can do the job.

“The wear and tear on players is tough, although we’re fairly fresh now because we have lots of Japan-based players. But then someone like Siya, who didn’t play for six weeks because his franchise was out of the URC, is well-rested but then got injured.

“So this selection is more about rotation, which is not easy because you always want to win. It’s difficult if you lose because then you lose momentum and belief as well. If Saturday had gone badly, then we would have held some guys back and been more conservative in this selection, making just one or two changes,” Erasmus said.

Given how impressive Papier has been for the Bulls over several successful URC campaigns, his continued absence from the Springbok picture baffled many; there were even (inevitably?) whispers about Erasmus and him having some sort of fallout.

But the coach said he was happy the 29-year-old had forced his way back into contention through sheer performance.

“Embrose has played very well this season,” Erasmus said on Monday when asked what had changed his mind about Papier. “2018 was my first year as coach and he earned his caps then. But then guys like Faf de Klerk, Cobus Reinach and Jaden Hendrikse established themselves, even Herschel Jantjies was involved in winning a World Cup.

“So we had a bunch of really good 9s; sometimes you don’t get selected not because you’re not playing well or because you’re not Springbok class. But you could not look past the way he has played this year, there have been some injuries and some guys have lost form. I am very happy for him personally and we wanted him to play with Handre Pollard, who he is familiar with at flyhalf, which will help him,” Erasmus said.

Speaking of Pollard, there are concerns over the 32-year-old’s form and his return to the starting flyhalf position marks a crucial opportunity for him to dispel any talk of him not being on board for next year’s World Cup. In some circles, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok and Willemse would be considered ahead of him in the flyhalf pecking order.

Willemse starting at inside centre last happened on September 13 last year – that landmark day when the Springboks handed the All Blacks a record defeat in Wellington. The double World Cup winner had been influential in the No.12 jersey, but then, in the 38^th minute, with the Springboks trailing 7-10, Aphelele Fassi was injured and Willemse shifted to fullback.

His performance was a revelation and one of the great individual displays in Springbok history, and Willemse has been in the No.15 jersey for the next seven Tests he played in. But with the unfortunate Fassi back in the Springbok mix for the first time since then, Erasmus wants to get him back up and running. With Andre Esterhuizen concussed, Willemse has the chance to remind everyone how good he is at inside centre as well.

Other players looking to re-state their ability are Edwill van der Merwe, fresh off a hat-trick against the Barbarians, on the wing, Evan Roos at eighthman, Cobus Wiese at lock and Johan Grobbelaar and Boan Venter in the front row. Ntuthuko Mchunu, another standout star in the URC, and Porthen are extremely mobile props on the bench and they will be well-suited to an attacking Scottish side playing at altitude.

Ben-Jason Dixon did well as a replacement lock against England and will surely fill that role again at Loftus Versfeld, with Vincent Tshituka and late inclusion Elrigh Louw providing loose forward cover on the bench. Having originally been left out of the Nations Championship squad following a major knee injury that saw him miss most of 2025, Louw has more to gain than most if he can put up a barnstorming performance on his home ground.

Lions star Quan Horn will provide cover for both the fullback and flyhalf positions, Erasmus confirmed.

“Damian Willemse has done helluva well at 15 and now he has a different role at inside centre, he probably won’t have to catch a lot of box-kicks … But we wanted to give Damian de Allende a rest and we wanted to see Aphelele Fassi at fullback. Quan Horn will cover 10 and 15,” Erasmus said.

Team: Aphelele Fassi; Edwill van de Merwe, Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Canan Moodie; Handre Pollard, Embrose Papier; Evan Roos, Pieter-Steph du Toit (capt), Paul de Villiers, Ruan Nortje, Cobus Wiese, Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar, Boan Venter. Replacements– Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zachary Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Vincent Tshituka, Elrigh Louw, Grant Williams, Quan Horn.

It was certainly a horror show for the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening as the Bulls walloped them by a record 64-0, a thrashing that was a reversal of the famous Jaws film but every bit as bloody for the visitors.

The Bulls scored five tries in each half and produced an outstanding display of rugby: forward dominance was complemented by a backline that was free-flowing and inventive, and showed both their skills and their physical attributes.

To be fair to the Sharks, they were up against a seasoned Bulls outfit featuring full internationals in brilliant flyhalf Jaco van der Walt and wing Aphiwe Dyantyi, plus a host of players with URC experience. The KwaZulu-Natalians are basically an U21 side playing in the senior Currie Cup.

While the slaughter made ugly viewing for Sharks fans, a good crowd at Loftus Versfeld were royally entertained. Understandably, the mood in the Bulls changeroom afterwards was reportedly “ecstatic”.

“The guys are obviously ecstatic. We were also able to celebrate our nine debutants from the last two weeks, so there’s a very nice vibe in the changeroom. We will all have a cold one tonight,” new Bulls lineout coach Josh Strauss said.

The Bulls’ new head honcho, Johan Ackermann, described this match as “the audition” when he spoke to the Currie Cup team in their changeroom before the match, and the hunger of the players, so many of them who barely had a look-in during the Jake White era, was palpable.

“We’re getting the blend right between the senior and younger players and that mix is definitely vital. We have one or two cooler, more experienced heads who can make decisions and guide the youngsters,” scrum coach Werner Kruger said.

“Obviously we’ve done really well in the first two games and there was probably less pressure today but there were still good lessons in terms of what areas we want to play in, when we want to slow things down and how to close out the game. When you have a performance like that, it means guys have definitely put their hands up, it’s undeniable.”

The Bulls hit the Sharks hard from the outset and there were already some pale Natal faces after the first 10 minutes with the home side 14-0 up. Wing Stravino Jacobs made a big hit after chasing a Van der Walt up-and-under and a penalty soon afterwards allowed the Bulls to use their powerful maul, hooker Juann Else scoring the first of his two tries and prop Dylan Smith also burrowing over the line.

The Sharks also had to face some storming runs from abrasive forwards like Nama Xaba, Jeandre Rudolph and Marvin Orie, and the defence was further tormented by a backline that was flowing beautifully thanks to the impressive and exciting combination of Van der Walt and inside centre Chris Smit pulling the strings.

Smit showed his strength in scoring his first try, and his second came five minutes later when he got on the end of a lovely little dink over the top of the defence by Van der Walt.

The second half started with fullback Boeta Chamberlain gathering a chip over the ruck by scrumhalf Zak Burger and racing away, setting up a try for eighthman Rudolph. An outstanding individual try by Jacobs followed and then it was Van der Walt’s turn to break, running practically from 22-to-22 before finding Rudolph storming through at great pace.

When replacement wing Cornel Smit scored in the 58^th minute, the Bulls went 59-0 up and were already ahead of the previous record winning margin for any Loftus Versfeld senior side against the team from Durban – 62-6 in the 1991 Lion Cup final.

The Sharks showed some character, however, and did okay in the final quarter, only conceding another try at the final hooter as replacement flank JJ Theron powered down the touchline to score.

Sharks coach JP Pietersen was bravely taking his medicine after the hiding, reminding the media that their objective in the Currie Cup is to develop players and not compromise their next URC campaign by sending for S.O.S. recruits from that squad.

He also pointed out that the Bulls had been particularly inspired on Saturday.

“It was close to the perfect game for the Bulls. They really hurt us in the collisions and at the breakdown. They kept stealing our ball and shutting us down. Their kicking game was good and then they would get a penalty and maul us,” Pietersen said.

PRETORIA (July 6, 2024) – South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus said his team had to show plenty of grit in their hard-fought 27-20 win over Ireland at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening because they were not completely in synthesis yet.

Ireland had a second-half try by wing James Lowe disallowed by TMO Ben Whitehouse due to an earlier ruck infringement, and the 31-year-old New Zealand-raised wing was then at the centre of another tight call by Whitehouse when a 65^th-minute try by Springbok wing Cheslin Kolbe was allowed.

Lowe leapt high to try and keep a penalty kick by Handre Pollard in-field, flicking it back, but Kolbe had raced up in the chase with superb pace and anticipation, hacking the ball ahead and then diving on it to score and give South Africa a 20-8 lead after the conversion. Whitehouse ruled that Lowe had released the ball before his foot stepped in touch, otherwise the Springboks would have had to come back for a lineout.

“We all knew that it was going to be a close game and although we controlled things really well in terms of speed, it was still a real grind for us,” Erasmus said at the end of the first Test. “I’m satisfied but there’s lots of hard work to be done.

“With players in Japan, the United Rugby Championship and playing in England, sometimes it’s difficult to get them all in sync. We were definitely far from perfect tonight, we were lucky and Cheslin’s try was the one that put them away. Ireland never gave up though, it was a very stop-start game for both teams.

“But against a team of that quality, I hope people can see we are trying to develop our attacking game, there will be mistakes and a lack of cohesion, but it will come,” Erasmus said.

Ireland coach Andy Farrell hailed his team for coming so close to victory after a first half in which they were dominated and trailed 8-13 on the scoreboard. But in the second half they were constantly nipping at the Springboks’ heels and giving them a hard time, scoring twice.

“South Africa deserved to win, so congratulations to them. In the first half we were just off, we gave away access for them to play their game, we were a bit passive in defence,” Farrell said.

“But there were strong words at halftime and this team showed just how courageous they are, we got ourselves back in the game because we just would not go away. Plenty of teams who were under the pump like we were in the first half, the game would have got away from them in the second half. But we stayed in the fight.

“It’s not for me to say if the TMO was right or wrong, but I did have dubious thoughts about it. But that’s life, it’s all to debate but it is what it is. It’s a difficult game to referee and sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it doesn’t. But we showed a huge amount of character,” Farrell said.

The second and final Test will be played in Durban next Saturday.

The Leinster trophy-drought continued in the most tightly-contested, gripping United Rugby Championship semi-finals at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday as the Bulls pipped them 25-20, a fairly freakish 67^th-minute try snatching the spoils.

Leinster went toe-to-toe with the powerful Bulls at their home fortress and were level at 20-20 after 64 minutes. In a match in which the stakes often felt as high as in a Test match, there was plenty of kicking and aerial battles as both teams prioritised territory.

And it was from an up-and-under that the outcome was decided. Bulls flyhalf Johan Goosen launched the ball high towards the touchline with Ciaran Frawley seemingly safely underneath it. But Bulls winger Sergeal Petersen, a much shorter man, got up in the air to challenge and somehow sneaked a hand through on to the ball, tapping it out of the defender’s grasp and then regathering a split-second later, before an extravagant swallow-dive took him over the tryline.

The once-so-dominant Dubliners have now gone three seasons without winning either the URC or in Europe. The shortcomings on Saturday evening were in no way down to a lack of effort.

While the taut contest may not have been the greatest advert for exciting attacking rugby, the action was spellbinding and the quality unmistakeable.

The first quarter was scoreless as the Bulls dominated territory but Leinster threatened with their counter-thrusts. The home side thought they had opened the scoring in the 19^th minute but the try was put on ice due to flank Marco van Staden bringing flyhalf Ross Byrne to ground off the ball.

It began a five-minute period in which the Bulls were prone to err in their basics, as Goosen had a drop-out charged down by Garry Ringrose, who returned to action with a tremendous steely performance in midfield. From the scrum, Petersen was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on as Leinster worked the blindside, and the Bulls were then caught short again on that side in defence as wing James Lowe went over for the opening try.

The Bulls’ replied with their own try just six minutes later, however, with there off-the-ball work this time being superb as Goosen sprinted on to a pass from scrumhalf Embrose Papier in the shadow of the poles to knife through a Leinster defence which up till then had been stopping everything.

The scrum was perhaps the one area where Leinster were consistently shaded, and Goosen was able to kick a 41^st-minute penalty from that set-piece to give the Bulls a 10-7 halftime lead.

It meant a crowd of more than 31 000 were in jovial mood on a mild winter’s evening and their happiness only increased in the second minute of the second half as the Bulls scored a lovely try to stretch their lead to 17-7. A blindside move saw centre Harold Vorster in space down the touchline, his deft kick ahead then bounced perfectly for Petersen to gather and score.

The impressive flank Caelan Doris thundered over the tryline though in the 51^st minute, escorted by the muscle of Tadhg Furlong and Joe McCarthy.

Byrne levelled the scores with a 59^th-minute penalty, slick work from Lowe having forced an offsides, but Goosen put the Bulls back in front three minutes later with another penalty.

An attempted jackal by Akker van der Merwe went wrong and cost the home side the lead as Byrne again slotted the penalty to make it 20-20.

But then it all went south for Leinster as the Bulls’ pressure-kicking game paid off and handed them a place in the United Rugby Championship final.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Johan Goosen, Sergeal Petersen (2). Conversions: Goosen (2). Penalty: Goosen (2).

Leinster – Tries: James Lowe, Caelan Doris. Conversions: Ross Byrne (2). Penalties: Byrne (2)

Teams

Bulls – Le Roux (Smit 56^th), Petersen, Kriel, Vorster, Williams, Goosen, Papier, Steenekamp (Matanzima 60^th), Grobbelaar (Van der Merwe 41^st), W. Louw (Klopper 60^th), Vermaak (Ludwig 65^th), Nortje, Van Staden (Carr 60^th), E. Louw, Hanekom.

Munster – O’Brien (Osborne 65^th), Lamour, Ringrose (Frawley 64^th), Henshaw, Lowe, Byrne, Gibson-Park (McGrath 62^nd), Porter (Healy 67th), Sheehan (Kelleher 67^th), Furlong (Alaalatoa 68^th), McCarthy, Ryan (Molony 66^th), Baird, Van der Flier (Conan 67^th), Doris.