Ken Borland

The Sharks, back in home port in Durban after meeting expectations on their three-week overseas tour, will be bringing a lot of pent-up energy to Loftus Versfeld on Sunday when they tackle the Bulls in a massive United Rugby Championship derby.

Victories on the road against Zebre and the Dragons was followed by a superb attacking showing against Leinster, who only pulled away in the final quarter in Dublin. With the Springboks returning to action, the Sharks exploded in the final half-hour of their homecoming match against the Glasgow Warriors, and there was a real sense of momentum building for their big clash with Ulster last weekend.

And then the match was controversially postponed the day before it was scheduled to happen. The one positive to offset the great disappointment felt at Kings Park is that an even fresher, hungrier Sharks side will now travel to Pretoria this weekend.

“It was quite shocking news to get on the Friday,” prop Ntuthuko Mchunu said on Wednesday. “We had had a really good week of preparation coming off a win, we were looking forward to the festivities of the day.

“And of course we were really looking forward to playing the game, having prepped so well and brushed up on a few things. But at least this week it means we are really fresh and looking forward again.

“It’s always a big game up there, two South African sides going at each other. It’s never easy at Loftus and both teams will front up. We have prepared well for a physical battle at set-piece.

“The Bulls have really good players, but what happened there in the past is past, we’re now looking forward to the future. It’s always a great game against the Bulls,” Mchunu said.

The Sharks will be without half-a-dozen of their frontline Springboks, but Mchunu says there is a real unity within the group remaining behind, following their achievements on the fields of Europe and the fun they had doing some urban sightseeing.

“The one thing the Sharks have done is grow the group. We prepared really well together in pre-season when the Springboks were away, and this team has grown.

“We showed a lot of fight and character against Leinster, it was an awesome tour that really grew us. The combinations worked well together and we want to carry that spirit through to this weekend,” Mchunu said.

The Bulls, meanwhile, are perhaps retreating into one of their laagers as they have been playing hard to get with the Fourth Estate from the start of the week.

October has not been a great month for Proteas captain Temba Bavuma as he has scored just 11 runs in three innings and has been battling with illness. But he has to now lead by example and not only score brisk runs up front but also steer his team through a massive last week of the month in which they play Zimbabwe on Monday, followed by Bangladesh (Thursday) and India (Sunday).

Bavuma has been knocked over in the first powerplay in five of his seven T20 Internationals this year, so there will be plenty on his mind as he opens the batting in what could well be seamer-friendly conditions in Hobart on Monday. He admitted that there are a few “conversations in his head”, but one thing we do know about Bavuma is that he is a tremendously tenacious character and he will be fighting hard at the Bellerive Oval.

“I feel good, I’ve gotten over that sickness in India and I’ve had a couple of net sessions,” Bavuma said on Sunday. “The pressure is not unique to me, all international players have to deal with it.

“Yes, as captain, it is a lot more blown up, all eyes are on you and there’s a lot more critique of your performance and how you lead. It comes with the responsibility, and I won’t shy away from it.

“I will face up to it as honourably and with as much gratitude as I can. I’m aware of the conversations in my head regarding my game and how I’m going to lead.

“But I’m not aware of any outside conversations, those are not discussed within the team. Our focus is on knowing what we want to do and how to do it, anything else is for other ears.” The only selection issues then, with the dominating Reeza Hendricks out in the cold, will be whether South Africa play two spinners or one, and whether their all-rounder will be Wayne Parnell or Marco Jansen.

The Proteas, ranked fourth in T20s to Zimbabwe’s 11^th and Bangladesh’s ninth, will go into their first two World Cup matches as favourites. They learned from last year’s event, in which they lost just one match but were edged out of the semi-finals on nett run-rate, that once they get the upperhand, there can be no hesitation in ruthlessly going for the jugular.

“Our biggest takeway from the previous World Cup was that every game matters, you have to perform as well as you can in every match, and make sure you keep the pulse of the run-rate,” Bavuma admitted.

“If you have the opportunity to win really well then you have to make sure you take it. We’ll be looking to execute as well as we can against Zimbabwe. There’s no time to ease into the tournament, it is so important to start well.

“It’s going to be challenging up front against the new ball, with the bowlers targeting off-stump. We have to be circumspect but obviously with the right intensity to put pressure on the bowlers,” Bavuma said.

CAPE ST FRANCIS, Eastern Cape – The Eastern Cape is a massive region, the second-largest province of South Africa at nearly 169 000km², and there are numerous world-class golf courses and a great passion for the game.

But it is also clear that there are many people who love the game and could contribute greatly to the entire golfing ecosystem, but who sorely need greater support and access to the sport.

The South African Golf Development Board does a great job in this respect, facilitating practice and playing opportunities for learners and talented players from underprivileged communities.

The Vodacom Origins of Golf series plays an important role in the work of the SAGDB by setting up clinics with the professionals playing in their events, and on Tuesday, 18 children from the Humansdorp, Arcadia, Asbekkies and Sea Vista areas enjoyed getting some coaching at the St Francis Links, where the latest Pro-Am in the series is being played.

Frans de Kock is the regional manager of the SAGDB for the Eastern Province and has been involved in golf development since 2007. He coached his own son, Allister de Kock, to Sunshine Tour professional level, and now he is ploughing that knowledge and passion back into the community.

“I’ve always loved golf since I grew up near the Wedgewood Golf Course in PE, I used to caddy and fell in love with the game from Day One,” De Kock senior says.

“After getting my son Allister to the level he’s at, I know what’s needed for youngsters to succeed and those methods will also work with these kids.

“I go to townships schools and we’re mostly introducing golf to these children. The challenges are that some think it’s an easy game and then drop off when they discover it’s not, but mostly we have social issues to contend with. I always say the kids are here to learn to play golf, but they must first learn all their schoolwork. They need to learn to be self-supporting.

“We have 146 youngsters in all in our programme and it’s always a challenge getting them on to golf courses. But Vodacom always provides us with good opportunities and I’m sure something good will come out of today’s clinic as well,” De Kock says.

Some of the local talent that might have been missed but has been nurtured by the SAGDB includes Johndre Ludick, who has just represented GolfRSA in the Italian U16 Championship and Devon Valentine, a member of the SAGDB national squad.

But the importance golf plays in shaping the careers of people off the course as well should not be overlooked.

St Francis Links PGA pros Christo Kugel and Norman Riley speak fondly of how their regular community development work is an avenue to enrich lives and not just produce golfers.

The proof of that is the youngster who was introduced to golf and ended up becoming a firefighter, or even Clyde Loggenberg, the club barman.

He was employed as a ball-spotter in the PGA Championship last year at St Francis Links, fell in love with the game and impressed everyone at the club so much that he is now working there full-time.

“I never looked at golf before that, I was more a rugby and soccer guy, but my love for golf has just grown. I meet so many golfers and learn from them, and now and then I can borrow clubs and actually get out and play.

“I used to work on the cruise ships in Europe, but this opportunity is one of the best things to ever happen to me, at one of the best golf clubs in the country,” the father of two from Humansdorp says.

Proteas regulars Temba Bavuma and Andile Phehlukwayo were considered excess to requirements in the initial stages of the SA20 auction on Monday, but Tristan Stubbs enjoyed a massive payday that should ensure he is not short of pocketmoney for a while.

Bavuma, who will captain South Africa at the T20 World Cup next month, failed to attract a bid at his base-price of R850 000, and will be hoping for a late reprieve on Monday night if a franchise requests that he be added to the express rounds that will end the auction.

All-rounder Phehlukwayo also had a base price of R850 000 and was not bought. Clearly the international market has looked at their averages and strike/economy rates and considered them too mediocre.

That was certainly not the case when it came to the sensational new talent of Stubbs, who is just 22 years old but has already made his mark at international level.

Stubbs, a devastating finisher who is also a great fielder and can bowl some spin, attracted the highest price of the auction – a life-changing R9.2 million paid by Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

MI Cape Town just kept their paddle in the air from the moment Stubbs went on auction, from his base price of R175 000 into the millions. They eventually bowed out at R4.6 million as the Sunrisers made a concerted effort to keep Stubbs at St George’s Park. Joburg Super Giants pushed the price past a new high of R7 million and then MI Cape Town came back, before the Eastern Cape franchise held on to keep their star player.

MI Cape Town coach Simon Katich said Stubbs had become like a son to him during the recent Hundred competition in England and he was disappointed not to get him again.

“I’ve just worked with Tristan in The Hundred and he feels like my third son, that’s how much we enjoyed working with each other. He’s a Mumbai Indians player in the IPL as well. He’s a special talent, which is why we went so hard for him,” Katich said.

Rilee Rossouw’s inspirational reputation in T20 cricket saw him claim the second-highest price, going to Pretoria Capitals for R6.9 million.

Great things are expected of bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen, who went to Sunrisers Eastern Cape for R6.1 million, while another left-armer who can belt the ball, Wane Parnell fetched R5.6 million from Pretoria Capitals in recognition of the miraculous deeds of which he is capable.

Sisanda Magala was also in the top-five earners, despite his lack of Proteas attention, Sunrisers Eastern Cape again going hard for one of their most-desired players, grabbing the death-bowling specialist for R5.4 million.