SUN CITY, North-West – United States-based South African Paula Reto may have looked a bit like a fish out of water when she bogeyed the second and third holes on the second day of the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International on Thursday, but the rest of her round at the Lost City Golf Club then went swimmingly as she claimed a share of the lead.
Reto went on a run of five birdies in six holes from the fifth hole, and then added back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes, before returning from a lightning break with another gain on the 17th. Her superb six-under-par 66 lifted her to eight-under overall and she will go into the final round tied for the lead with India’s Tvesa Malik, who fired a stunning 65.
The 33-year-old Reto won this tournament in 2022, but it was then played at the Gary Player Country Club. But after a tough 2023 campaign on the LPGA Tour, Reto is in a good frame of mind back in her home country, and it showed in her ability to bounce back from two early setbacks on Thursday.
“I don’t know what happened really, I hit a bad tee-shot on the second and suddenly I’d gone bogey-bogey. I just said to myself that I must give myself opportunities and fortunately I then managed to get the ball close to the hole a few times, and chipped in on the eighth, which is always nice for your momentum,” Reto said.
“Lost City is completely different to the GPCC, you have to strategise more off the tees, it’s a course that requires more thinking. To be able to bounce back after those two bogeys felt really good and I was very happy that I kept to the plan. I was able to stay on plan and not let the bogeys get to me.
“Last year was tough because I struggled with my swing a bit and I couldn’t string four good rounds together. It starts to take a toll on your confidence and you start to try and change so much all at once.
“So at the start of this year I just tried to hone in on a few things, make sure I do those basics well. I’m happy with where my game is heading and I just love coming back here to South Africa, being with my family and feeling a bit like I’m on vacation,” Reto said.
Getting married on December 29 to fellow Indian professional golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu certainly seems to have bear fruit for Malik as she produced an outstanding, bogey-free round with four birdies on the back nine and then three on the front.
First-round leader Lauren Taylor shot a 70 on Thursday to move to six-under-par, two off the lead, while exciting South African youngster Gabrielle Venter shot 68 on Thursday to move to five-under.
Jake White may have his first-choice Bulls side back against a Stormers team that is missing a trio of injured Springboks, but he still said the home team will be the favourites in their United Rugby Championship derby in Cape Town on Friday night.
The Stormers will be without Evan Roos, their talismanic eighthman, exciting young lock Salmaan Moerat and experienced scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies, while White on Thursday named a Bulls team with nine Springboks in the starting line-up and two more on the bench.
But White said he did not read too much into who the Stormers are missing.
“I don’t think it’s a weaker Stormers team, nothing has changed. Our team is still young and in evolution, we’re still where we were last year – we’re developing,” White said.
“I like to think we’re playing better rugby than last year because of the added experience, but we are still a young team building together. We’ve not suddenly become a powerhouse senior team.
“If you look at the Stormers tight five, they are each a couple of years older than ours when you look man-for-man. And John Dobson has been coaching them for a long time.
“So I think they’re favourites. But it’s fantastic that the North/South derby has its aura back, the challenge is healthy and hopefully we do the rivalry justice,” White said.
Things have switched around dramatically from the old rendition of the derby when “10-man” Northern Transvaal relied on a robust, hardcore pack and Western Province, who had a ruthless backline, almost had a bounty out on flyhalf Naas Botha.
Now it is the Stormers who have the grizzled old hard men up front and the Bulls who have the exciting runners in the backs. Although the intensity of this derby could be like a Test match, White said he was hopeful there would still be bountiful space for his dashers.
“I like to believe there will still be space for them. These are good players who have opened up holes in Test rugby. I’m very proud of the good attacking backs we have, Chris Rossouw has worked really hard with them and we’ve had three guys called up for national duty this year, so I guess it is a bit like an old Western Province backline.
“We’ll need to be accurate when we have the ball and score some tries, because we’re not going to win by just keeping them out of our 22.
“But we do also have to be good enough not to give them entries into our 22 because I don’t see them going away from scrumming for penalties, kicking to the corner and then mauling for tries,” White said.
Bulls:Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cornal Hendricks, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Canan Moodie, Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier, Elrigh Louw, Cyle Brink, Marco Van Staden, Ruan Nortje (c), Ruan Vermaak, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench -Bismarck du Plessis, Simphiwe Matanzima, Sebastian Lombard, Janko Swanepoel, Nizaam Carr, Zak Burger, Chris Smit, Stravino Jacobs.
Cornal Hendricks scored two tries for the Bulls against the Free State Cheetahs.
The Bulls may have scraped into the Currie Cup semi-finals, but the passion and desire they showed in going down 27-31 to the Free State Cheetahs in a match of high drama at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, securing two vital bonus points despite suffering a red card in a moment of temporary madness, means they cannot be considered temps in this competition but genuine contenders.
The Bulls nearly won the match, the final whistle going with their maul four metres from the Cheetahs’ tryline. But by scoring four tries and finishing within seven points of the Free Staters, they earned two invaluable log points that left them on 38 points, two ahead of the Lions and out of reach of Western Province (37pts), despite their thrashing of the Sharks.
Considering they played the entire second half with 14 men after eighthman Elrigh Louw was red-carded in the 38th minute, it was the stoutest of efforts, showing that the Bulls do have that never-say-die quality that will make them very dangerous semi-final opponents. They will play the Cheetahs again this weekend in Bloemfontein, but if the Free Staters underestimate the Bulls based on how they reached the last four, they will tempt fate most foolishly.
Louw was sent from the field after his shoulder made contact with the head of Cheetahs flank Siba Qoma, as he rushed into a ruck and made a clumsy attempt to clean.
By that stage, the Cheetahs had already turned around the momentum after the Bulls made a flying start, rushing into a 19-0 lead in the first quarter. With halftime beckoning, the visitors had closed to 14-19 and had lifted themselves from a lethargic start, really making their presence felt in defence and at the breakdown.
Although flyhalf Morne Steyn, in his farewell game at Loftus Versfeld, kicked a 42nd-minute penalty to stretch the lead to 22-14, the Cheetahs took control of the match as they scored two tries in five minutes to open up a 28-22 lead.
Excellent flyhalf Siya Masuku, who will be in Sharks’ colours next season, seemed to be clothing himself in either a cloak of invisibility or the most slippery substance known to man as he weaved his way through the heart of the Bulls team to score an exceptional try. Masuku succeeded with the conversion too, as he did with all four of his other kicks at goal.
In the 49th minute, hooker Marnus van der Merwe, who was like a bull in a china shop, produced another storming run that left him just short of the line, but scrumhalf Rewan Kruger picked up the ball and dived over to score.
It was not as if the Cheetahs closed up shop then either, but the Bulls just upped their game with sheer desperation. They too scrambled in defence against a team that is always so dangerous with ball-in-hand.
Masuku had the final say with a 71st-minute penalty won at a ruck, but the Bulls were up close in their rearview mirrors throughout the final quarter.
Replacement flyhalf Chris Smith was brought into action in the 54th minute as Steyn departed his home ground for the last time. The Springbok flyhalf had been more inspirational in his running of the backline than with the boot, missing three of his six kicks at goal.
It was Smith’s boot that ultimately put the Bulls into the semi-finals as, with the ferocious Cheetahs defence in his face and cutting him off from his centres, he put the deftest of crosskicks into the corner for wing Cornal Hendricks to score his second try. It was also the fourth for his team, bringing the first bonus point, and it dragged the home side back to within one point of the Free Staters, setting up a second log point.
The other legend being farewelled, hooker Bismarck du Plessis, came off the bench and had a big impact in the closing stages, both in the set-pieces and in bringing some added presence at the rucks.
The Bulls had begun the match in inspired fashion with three tries in the first 14 minutes.
Fullback Johan Goosen’s prowess in the air allowed the Bulls to attack the blindside and, with the Cheetahs defence slow to react, outside centre Stedman Gans was able to put Hendricks away for the opening try.
Two minutes later, Free State dropped the ball in their backline and wing David Kriel pounced, swivelling out of a tackle and then passing to centre Harold Vorster, who was quickly up in support and raced away for the second try.
The third try went to scrumhalf Embrose Papier, who is in such great form at the moment, but it is doubtful whether he will be able to play in the semi-final due to a hamstring injury. He sidestepped a defender and streaked away for a try after Ruan Vermaak’s super offload, the lock having burst clear after Steyn put him in a hole with a skip-pass.
The Cheetahs were very competitive in the scrums and they opened their account after getting a penalty there and going for a lineout deep in Bulls’ territory. Van der Merwe burst clear from the maul and then the similarly-built centre David Brits muscled over for the try.
Their second try also came off a lineout, but this time with a slick backline move, fullback Tapiwa Mafura dummying and then breaking the line, wing Daniel Kasende then providing a strong finish.
Given the quality the Cheetahs showed, the 14-man Bulls were just relieved to still be in the running for the Currie Cup crown.
“The team showed a lot of character and desire because the game could really have got away from us,” assistant coach Hugo van As said after the game. “We still had two or three opportunities to win right at the end, a great chance with our maul.
“But you’ve got to give the Cheetahs great credit for the way they stopped our maul and the breakdown was a big concern for us as well. We were beaten there, they came really hard at us and disrupted a lot of our plays.
“We’ve got to adapt on the day and make sure we look after our ball better. We saw in the first 20 minutes that when we get it right then we can score tries, it was a huge positive to see the interplay between forwards and backs.
“The team desperately want to send Morne and Bismarck off with a win and there is still a lot to play for. The hunger and desire is there to go further, we just need to be more clinical and make better decisions,” Van As said.
Aiden Markram celebrated his return to Test cricket with an impressively-controlled century.
The Proteas may have lost wickets and closed up shop in the second half of the day, but the enduring image of the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies at Centurion will be Aiden Markram stroking the ball around SuperSport Park on his way to a comeback century.
It was just like the old days as Markram compiled a fabulous 115 off 174 balls in four-and-a-half hours at the crease, the opener’s first Test century since February 2021 leading South Africa to 314 for eight at stumps after they won what seems a good toss.
He and fellow opener Dean Elgar, stripped of the captaincy, needed some good fortune in the morning, but they both showed the determination and skill to fight through the new ball and they put on an impressive 141 for the first wicket.
It was out of character for Elgar to give his wicket away on 71 by ramping Alzarri Joseph to third man, where Jermaine Blackwood did well to hang on to the speeding ball above his head while tumbling backwards, but the left-hander had done the sort of defiant job at the start of the innings that he also did in the good old days. He was also more expansive than he often is, striking 11 fours and needing just 118 balls for his 71 runs.
Another left-hander, the debutant Tony de Zorzi, then joined Markram, and when South Africa went to tea on 206 for one, they seemed set to plunder runs in the final session against an attack that was looking increasingly flat.
But De Zorzi, looking for an unlikely third run, was run out for 28 and, from 221 for one, the Proteas lost their next seven wickets for just 79 runs.
Markram later said, however, that with the ball moving around all day, the home side will certainly take their position at the end of the day.
“We started really well after lunch, but as the pitch got quicker, it became clear that any ball could have your name on it,” Markram said. “The ball was still going sideways a couple of overs before the second new ball was due, so there was still quite a lot in the wicket even at the end of the day.”
Markram drove the ball magnificently through the covers, where most of his 18 fours came from, but also seemed to dial back his strokeplay a little, not going quite as hard as he can, his sixth Test century being an impressively controlled effort.
“I’ve been having nice chats to the coaches and the senior players, and with the slower bounce here on the first day, it can be difficult to drive,” Markram said. “In the past, I might have just gone hard anyway, but I understand now that, at some stages, you have to either earn the right to drive or the ball has to be extremely full.
“It’s not about being any less aggressive, but instead just trying to keep it as simple as possible. The attitude from the coaches is that each guy has his own strengths and if the ball is in your area then no worries, even if it doesn’t work out. But you have to marry that with the conditions and the bowling attack you’re up against,” the 28-year-old Markram said.
The West Indies picked up the big wicket of Proteas captain Temba Bavuma, trapped in front by Joseph for a two-ball duck in the same over as De Zorzi’s run out, and Joseph then speared a superb yorker into Markram’s stumps four overs later as the home side slipped to 236 for four.
Heinrich Klaasen was in counter-attack mode as he went to 20 off 22 balls, but he then miscued an attempted pull off Shannon Gabriel into the hands of Joseph, running from mid-on.
Senuran Muthusamy, surprisingly in the XI instead of Keshav Maharaj or another batsman, shouldered arms and was trapped in front by Kemar Roach for three, and Keegan Petersen dug in for an hour-and-a-half, but could only amass 14 runs in 50 balls before he walked across his stumps and was lbw to Kyle Mayers’ inswingers.
Marco Jansen (17*) and Gerald Coetzee, another debutant, who struck his first two balls for fours to reach 11 not out at stumps, will resume on the second morning.
Overnight, Markram will be able to savour a Test career resumed in the most impressive fashion. He said the confidence placed in him by new Test coach Shukri Conrad, who insisted he be recalled and open the batting, had helped inspire him on Tuesday.
“It might have been a good thing to be dropped, it meant I started today with a clean slate,” Markram said. “I was heartsore about not being in Australia, but the reasons I was given by the selectors were quite clear and I was happy with the explanation.
“As a batsman, you need runs on the board, and if you don’t have them then your position should be under scrutiny. It probably worked out nicely in the end. It’s been a strange journey, but I’m grateful it worked out today.
“There was a lot of relief when I reached my hundred, but it’s great when a coach backs you, what it does for a player is massive and I’ve always had a really good relationship and understanding with Shukri.
“His backing gave me extra confidence and you also want to do him justice. One of Shukri’s big strengths is that he’s always very clear where you stand and I’m grateful for his backing and another chance,” Markram said, having taken the opportunity with both hands.
Philippians 2:5 – “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
“One thing we know, those who call themselves Christians and walk in fellowship with him must grow in the knowledge and grace of their Lord and Master so that they can become like him.” – A Shelter From The Storm, Solly Ozrovech
This requires spiritual discipline.
Free your thoughts of fear, bitterness, hate, greed and pride; i.e. develop and maintain Jesus’s attitude towards life.
How do we do that? – by studying his life in the Bible and willingly and unconditionally following his guidance.
