Ken Borland

The Springboks’ most potent attacking force, Cheslin Kolbe, is currently dogged by a leg injury that could see him ruled out of Sunday’s Rugby Championship Test against Australia.

“Cheslin got a bang on his leg and was sent for treatment and assessment. It’s nothing serious and hopefully he will be okay to be named on Wednesday. He was hurt on Friday and did not take part in training today [Tuesday],” assistant coach Deon Davids confirmed.

Kolbe is the sort of player who generally makes great decisions on attack, so his absence would be a big blow for the South Africans, particularly since they are up against a Wallabies team that is likely to provide opportunities for counter-attack with their preferred expansive approach.

“The Wallabies attack has improved, but maybe their execution and decision-making has not been as good as they would have wanted. They will want to adapt how they executed in certain situations, but I think they will bring the same attacking approach, just try and do it better in certain areas.

“There was a high tempo in the matches between the Wallabies and All Blacks, they were played at very high intensity. We know that if we make mistakes then Australia are very good playing from turnover possession and we will be punished, tries have been scored from 80-90 metres out. We must be ready to defend multiple phases and our set-pieces must be good,” Davids said.

 While the Wallabies may appear to be slow learners judging by their recent results against New Zealand, Davids said it’s inevitable that their game will have moved forward just by playing the world’s second-ranked team so often in the recent past. They are taking the beatings but learning lessons at the same time.

“Australia are a quality side, very well coached and competitive and I don’t think we should be looking too closely at their recent results. I think five of their last seven games have been against the All Blacks and two of those at Eden Park. They are a young team, rebuilding, but playing so much against a quality side means they can only get better.

“It will certainly make them grow, they would have learnt so much and gained experience. They have created a lot of opportunities, but maybe they have just let themselves down a bit with decision-making or their execution. It should be a very competitive game and it will be a mistake to look at past results. It will be very hard for us,” Davids warned.

The Bulls have an abundance of riches in midfield as they plan for their Currie Cup semi-final against Western Province, but Cornal Hendricks, their most consistent midfield star, said they are preparing for a highly-competitive showing from the centres who will be visiting Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

Centres Dan du Plessis and Springbok Juan de Jongh were in excellent form in Western Province’s crucial win last weekend against the Sharks, and they also have the powerful presence of Ruhan Nel as an option, the Springbok Sevens star playing on the wing in Durban.

“Western Province have a good, exciting backline and we need to give them credit for last week’s performance. They have Juan back to add experience to some special, exciting players. So we are preparing for good competition from them. Juan and Godlen Masimla [scrumhalf] both come from Wellington, but they must know who the King of Wellington is – it’s me!” Hendricks joked on Tuesday.

“Look, Harold Vorster and Lionel Mapoe are quality players as well, they have done well as a combination and Stedman Gans is also there. So we are pretty sorted at centre and myself and Marco Jansen van Vuren won the Currie Cup last season together at centre. We are all learning from Lionel, who has travelled a long road and what he brings for the team is unbelievable,” Hendricks added.

The 33-year-old’s miraculous return to rugby following a heart condition began in 2017 when he played for the Asia Pacific Dragons (under the Chinese Zodiac he was also coincidentally born in the Year of the Dragon – 1988) at the Hong Kong Tens under Heyneke Meyer, who first selected him for the Springboks in 2014.

That same resilience that saw him overcome a ‘death sentence’ for his career is what he has brought to the high-flying Bulls and he says his attitude is just to handle whatever Western Province, the weather or life throws at him in the coming days.

“Home is Home, we’re playing at Loftus Versfeld so rain or dew, it does not matter. We will adapt to whatever we get, we will take it as it comes. Jake White has been testing different combinations at centre, so if we have injuries then we know we have very good combinations there. I became a Springbok on the wing, so that position is always in the memory banks.

“I know I have the ability to go back there and if I do then all the old feelings just come back. I feel very good with my rugby, we are well-prepared and really looking forward to the weekend. I have no animosity for Western Province, I come from the Cape. And I don’t know when I will be able to play for the Springboks again, but that is always an honour,” Hendricks said.

Western Province have endured a most average season and, unless they beat the Sharks in Durban on Saturday, they will miss out on the Currie Cup semi-finals for only the second time since 2008. And Sharks coach Sean Everitt foresees a desperate visiting team that will play more rugby than usual.

The problem with that is that Durbanites are expecting to see squalls of rain sweeping in from the sea and the Sharks have made using their kicking game to force teams deep into their own territory something of an art form.

“Western Province are a proud franchise and they won’t be happy with where they are on the log. They will see the opportunity to get five points, I’m sure they will come to Kings Park and give it their all and play more rugby than usual. Our kicking game will certainly help us because the conditions Durban is expecting will bring a lot of rain and gale-force winds.

“So we are very happy to have Curwin Bosch back and we will have another look at him at fullback, where he played very well against Griquas when we played them at Kings Park. He’s certainly dying to play again and that big boot of his will definitely be very useful for us,” Everitt said this week.

The Sharks lost that match to Griquas because they failed to grab their scoring opportunities and the Northern Cape team have since moved to third on the log with their thumping of Western Province last weekend, giving them wins home and away against the team that has won the Currie Cup more than any other (34 times).

The match between Griquas and the Pumas in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon will be a feast of celebration for the winners as they will be assured of a semi-final place. The losers of this 2.30pm clash will have to wait until after dinner on Saturday night to see if Western Province can upstage the Sharks and sneak past them into the knockout round.

In between those games, the Bulls host the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld. Having devoured the Pumas pack in the set-pieces, which was crucial as the Bulls were not dominant in any other area, Jake White’s young pack will be eager to stamp their mark again and get the win that seals first place on the final log.

“I do not think the Pumas have been dominated at set-piece before this season like they were by the Bulls, which was a great boost for us. We generally have quite a young pack, only Arno Botha is older than 25, and their performances have given us massive confidence. Credit to forwards coach Russell Winter, who has done a fantastic job getting that pack going.

“Mornay Smith at tighthead is one of the most improved players we’ve had and I’m very happy to have Jacques du Plessis covering lock and flank. Ruan Combrinck is not a bad replacement either, he’s a Springbok who has played in Super Rugby finals. Although he has not played for a while, I’ve seen enough in the small time he’s been with us to know he has rugby in him,” White said on Friday.

Brisbane in Queensland has emerged as the most likely contingency plan to host the remainder of the Rugby Championship tournament.
Despite South Africa offering to host the rest of the competition and there being some interest in France and the United Kingdom, New Zealand media were reporting on Monday that the four Southern Hemisphere teams would now be based in Queensland, whose state government has agreed they can quarantine there in the midst of the rising Covid numbers on both sides of the Tasman Sea.
The Rugby Championship looks set to restart though in Perth on September 4, when the All Blacks will take on Australia in the match they were meant to play this weekend. South Africa and Argentina, who are both waiting in Gqeberha for clarity on the travel plans, will by then be quarantining in Queensland.
Meanwhile, the Springboks issued a medical update on Monday confirming Jaden Hendrikse’s worst fears that his leg is indeed fractured. That will rule him out of the rest of the Rugby Championship and his fellow Sharks scrumhalf Grant Williams has been called up to the national squad for the first time.
The 25-year-old has been in fine form in the Currie Cup and his searing pace has caused many difficulties for opposition defences.
The Springboks also confirmed that the scrumhalves who played in the 2019 World Cup final, Faf de Klerk (leg) and Herschel Jantjies (hip), are both recovering well from their injuries and should be available to play when South Africa return to action, probably on September 11.