Ken Borland

The Unlimited Titans arrived in Cape Town yesterday perhaps more settled and at home than the Nashua Cape Cobras ahead of their Momentum One-Day Cup final at Newlands today.

The Cobras, by thoroughly dominating the early stages of the competition, finished top of the log to host the final, but they lost two of their four games after the Christmas break and have also been disrupted by SA A call-ups and injuries. The Cobras also have not seen action in a week, while the Titans have played three games in five days and look a more settled unit.

Previous results are also in the Titans’ favour as they won both their round-robin matches against the Cobras this season.

But the past probably matters little come the day of the final and the Cobras have some terrific limited-overs players.

Coach Paul Adams told The Citizen yesterday that he was still waiting on the fitness of Justin Kemp, while the fact that Rory Kleinveldt and Dane Vilas’s wives are due to give birth any day is also causing some selectorial anxiety.

Adams stressed the need for a good start, whether with bat or ball, and he will be pleased that he has the prolific Andrew Puttick at the top of the order, as well as Stiaan van Zyl and the destructive Richard Levi.

Opening bowler Beuran Hendricks will be eager to show that he has not lost the skills that earned him an international debut last summer.

The Titans lost two games on the trot to lose home advantage for the playoff against the Dolphins but replied to that dip in form, after winning five in a row, with a devastating all-round performance to ensure a repeat of last season’s washed out final against the Cobras.

Dean Elgar has taken charge of the top-order batting, while Qaasim Adams, David Wiese and Albie Morkel have shown how dangerous they can be in the middle-order. Fast bowlers JP de Villiers and Junior Dala were particularly impressive in the playoff and their ability to take wickets up front could be crucial to the outcome.

Given the uncertainty around the Cobras’ batting line-up – Puttick, wicketkeeper Dane Vilas and captain Justin Ontong are probably the only certainties to play – the Titans will feel they can put the home side under pressure by getting early wickets.

Squads

Cape Cobras: Andrew Puttick, Richard Levi, Stiaan Van Zyl, Omphile Ramela, Justin Ontong, Dane Vilas, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Justin Kemp, Rory Kleinveldt, Robin Peterson, Mthokozisi Shezi, Beuran Hendricks, Dane Paterson, Mohammed Vallie.

Titans: Henry Davids, Jacques Rudolph, Theunis de Bruyn, Dean Elgar, Qaasim Adams, Albie Morkel, David Wiese, Mangaliso Mosehle, JP de Villiers, Tabraiz Shamsi, Junior Dala, Grant Thomson, Heino Kuhn.

Having just claimed their first title of the season in the RamSlam T20 Challenge, the smart money will be on the Nashua Cape Cobras to also mount a strong defence of their crown in the Sunfoil Series and the Western Cape side start their campaign today against the bizhub Highveld Lions at Newlands.

The Lions are already handily placed in the competition, just four points behind the leaders, the Chevrolet Knights, but coach Geoff Toyana has been a shopper for batsmen this week with Alviro Petersen, Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma all with the national side for the first Test against the West Indies at Centurion.

They will, however, welcome back Neil McKenzie and the experienced Jean Symes is also able to fill in, while the Lions will have a strong attack with Hardus Viljoen, Chris Morris and Lonwabo Tsotsobe joined by Kagsio Rabada, who was released by the national team while Bavuma inexplicably was not. Spinner Eddie Leie has also been in great form with the ball, so it all points to an intriguing contest against the powerhouse Cobras side, who have recalled Richard Levi to replace Stiaan van Zyl.

The Knights are hosting the Unlimited Titans in Bloemfontein and they too will want to take their T20 form, where they reached the final, into the four-day competition.

The Titans, by way of contrast, are looking to rebound from a disappointing T20 campaign, in which they finished last, and their well-balanced attack gives them hope.

David Wiese markets himself as a genuine all-rounder and his skills with the new ball, backed by the often scary pace of Marchant de Lange, the steadiness of Ethy Mbhalati and the exciting talent of Junior Dala, plus two spin options in Shaun von Berg and Roelof van der Merwe, means coach Rob Walter is comfortable that he has all the bases covered.

“There’s no substitute for pace and Junior, David, who also brings the quality of his skills, and Marchant all have that. Shaun von Berg also bowled beautifully in a couple of the T20 games,” Walter told The Citizen.

The Knights family was emotionally bruised by their disappointing defeat in the T20 final and coach Sarel Cilliers will also have to dig into his stores of replacement players as Rilee Rossouw, Dillon du Preez and Tumelo Bodibe are all unavailable due to injury.

The Sunfoil Dolphins will be out to arrest a mini-crisis after their poor run in the T20 Challenge as they host the Chevrolet Warriors in Pietermaritzburg.

It’s the Dolphins’ first game in the competition this season and they will want to make their mark. Coach Lance Klusener will be hoping David Miller hits top form again after scoring 364 runs in five innings last season, while Imran Tahir will be eager to rebound quickly from his dropping from the Test side.

The match is the first for the Warriors with new coach Malibongwe Maketa in charge, Piet Botha having resigned after a troubled season thus far.

There was a time not that long ago when everything was rosy at Newlands and the Stormers, having just beaten the defending champion Chiefs and the high-flying Brumbies, were happily ensconced as strong SuperRugby contenders.

But last weekend was a truly awful one for last year’s South African Conference winners as they crumbled before an under-strength Crusaders team and their own crowd was split down the middle, with allegations that the support for the visitors was way beyond the limits of decency. The Stormers team was booed when they stepped off the bus at their own stadium, were reportedly spat on and there were also reports of home team supporters being assaulted after the game.

The off-field clashes were bad enough, but once the Stormers were on the field, the lineout was a shambles, the scrum shaky and the attack virtually non-existent as they slumped to a 14-19 defeat that left them in 11th place on the log and trailing the Sharks by six points in the South African Conference.

Meanwhile, up in Bloemfontein, the Cheetahs were busy putting together an impressive 34-16 win over the Rebels. It was a record-equalling fourth successive win for the Central Franchise and it is difficult to imagine a bigger difference in the mood of two teams when the Stormers travel north to take on the Cheetahs on Saturday.

But as depressingly poor as the Stormers were against the Crusaders, they showed the previous weekend against the Brumbies that they are still equally capable of reaching great heights when they get it all together on the day.

Perhaps it was because the Brumbies gave them a very clear pointer of where to concentrate their efforts by all their talk of physicality before the match and the Stormers seemed rather vague in their game plan against the Crusaders, although even the best-laid plans will come to naught without any first-phase ball.

In previous years, the Cheetahs’ game has been based on all-out attack from even the most unpromising positions, but coach Naka Drotske has introduced a measure of selectivity now when it comes to spreading the ball wide, while the defence has been outstanding and the set-pieces solid.

Apart from the Cheetahs looking a better rounded outfit this year, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee also has injury problems to contend with.

Elton Jantjies has been named at flyhalf but has a badly bruised chest that may yet rule him out, while wing Gerhard van den Heever, flank Rynardt Elstadt and replacement lock Don Armand have succumbed to injury.

Up to now, there has been no pressure on the Cheetahs, but suddenly the expectation is growing and they can prove conclusively that their wonderful recent form has not just been a false dawn as they come up against one of the SuperRugby powerhouses.

Victory against the Stormers will lift the Cheetahs into the race for conference honours, in fact, they could top the South African section as the Sharks face their bogey team, the Crusaders.

But the Stormers have been knocked down, vilified and written off before. Their defence has remained phenomenal, heroic at times against the Crusaders, suggesting the attitude in the team is still good and Bloemfontein could well be the venue for their resurgence.

There has been speculation that the Crusaders might have poured all their resources and energies into winning at Newlands, but then again they have always found the Sharks a surprisingly soft touch, winning 14 of their 16 matches, including four at King’s Park. The average score is 32-22 to the New Zealanders.

A bye last weekend will ensure that the Sharks are well-rested, while the return of Jannie du Plessis at tighthead prop will give the home team considerable presence in a set-piece that has been a real strength for the Crusaders.

Sharks coach John Plumtree said this week that his team have also worked very hard to make sure that their lineout doesn’t suffer the same fate as the Stormers’, but much will also depend on the Natalians’ ability to win the collisions. Their loose trio of Keegan Daniel, Jacques Botes and Marcell Coetzee has a slightly lightweight look to it, and the injured Willem Alberts and Jean Deysel can’t return quickly enough.

Frans Steyn is back at fullback, where he should have much more space to attack, which the Sharks have the players to do with some success.

But they will not be beating the Crusaders unless they win the battle for possession up front. The Kiwis are also exceptionally clever in the legalised mess that makes up the rucks these days and, if they bring the same intensity and precise execution they displayed at Newlands, then the Sharks will be under pressure.

One feels the Sharks cannot afford to even be a bit off their game on Friday night, even though the Crusaders might not be as ferocious as they were in seeing off the Stormers.

The Southern Kings are the other local team in action as they take on the log-leading Brumbies in Canberra.

The Brumbies, after the hardship of flying back from their two matches in South Africa, produced perhaps the least impressive performance of their season last weekend in scraping past the mediocre Bulls, but the Australian front-runners can be expected to have regained the spark and clinical execution that saw them to the top of the standings.

The return of first-choice players like centre Pat McCabe, Fotu Auelua, the battering ram at eighthman, and Ben Alexander, the veteran prop, suggests coach Jake White is looking for the quick kill.

The rookie Kings have little protection against a slick Brumbies side if they fire on the night, save for the impressive tenacity they have shown in defence and some spirited attacking play that kept them in touch with the Hurricanes until the hour mark last weekend.

Springbok Waylon Murray starts at outside centre and will beef up the midfield, while the coaching staff are also managing their resources by playing hooker Bandise Maku, prop Kevin Buys, lock David Bulbring, loose forward Jacques Engelbrecht and scrumhalf Shaun Venter off the bench for the fourth match of their arduous five-week tour.

Teams

Southern Kings (v Brumbies, Friday 10:40): George Whitehead, Sergeal Petersen, Waylon Murray, Andries Strauss, Ronnie Cooke, Demetri Catrakilis, Nicolas Vergallo; Cornell du Preez, Wimpie van der Walt, Devin Oosthuizen, Rynier Bernardo, Steven Sykes, Grant Kemp, Hannes Franklin, Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: Bandise Maku, Kevin Buys, David Bulbring, Jacques Engelbrecht, Shaun Venter, Marcello Sampson, Elric van Vuuren.

Sharks (v Crusaders, Friday 19:10): Frans Steyn, Odwa Ndungane, Paul Jordaan, Meyer Bosman, JP Pietersen, Pat Lambie, Cobus Reinach, Keegan Daniel, Marcell Coetzee, Jacques Botes, Franco van der Merwe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jannie du Plessis, Kyle Cooper, Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: Craig Burden, Wiehahn Herbst, Anton Bresler, Ryan Kankowski, Charl McLeod, Riaan Viljoen, Louis Ludik/Sbura Sithole.

Cheetahs (v Stormers, Saturday 17:05pm): Hennie Daniller, Willie le Roux, Johann Sadie, Robert Ebersohn, Raymond Rhule, Burton Francis, Piet van Zyl, Phillip van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagne, Heinrich Brüssow, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Lourens Adriaanse, Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane. Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Coenie Oosthuizen, Ligtoring Landman, Boom Prinsloo, Sarel Pretorius, Francois Brummer, Ryno Benjamin.

Stormers (v Cheetahs, Saturday 17:05pm): Jaco Taute, Joe Pietersen, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers, Gio Aplon, Elton Jantjies, Nic Groom, Duane Vermeulen, Michael Rhodes, Siya Kolisi, Andries Bekker, De Kock Steenkamp, Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: Martin Bezuidenhout, Pat Cilliers, Gerbrandt Grobler, Nizaam Carr, Louis Schreuder, Gary van Aswegen, Damian de Allende.

Other fixtures

Friday: Blues v Highlanders (Auckland, 8:35)

Saturday: Hurricanes v Waratahs (Wellington, 8:35am); Force v Rebels (Perth, 10:40).

Byes: Bulls, Chiefs, Reds.

 http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-04-05-superrugby-preview-hot-and-cold-stormers-in-the-cheetahs-lair/#.VLZX2CuUde8

Western Province won’t need an informer inside the Vodacom Blue Bulls camp to tell them how their Absa Currie Cup semi-final opponents will approach Saturday’s game at Newlands after the visitors yesterday named Handre Pollard at inside centre.

Pollard is perhaps the most incisive flyhalf with ball in hand in South Africa since Henry Honiball and the Western Province defence will be on red alert every time the Bulls visit their 22, with the new Springbok sensation proving lethal in recent weeks every time he has run at the opposition line.

But Western Province will not only be under threat from Pollard’s running skills. They can expect an aerial bombardment from the Bulls as well, with two accomplished tactical kickers lining up at 10 and 12 in Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Pollard, and wing Bjorn Basson, seemingly back at his best, giving chase.

“The unfortunate injury to Burger Odendaal gave us this opportunity to play Handre at inside centre, even though his first choice is flyhalf. He played a lot of his rugby at 12 last year and he will definitely bring something different. We feel confident with the options it gives us, we have two decision-makers at 10 and 12 now, they’re more than just kickers but they can also release pressure with the boot or produce attacking kicks,” Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said yesterday.

If the Bulls can get their fair share of front-foot ball from their forwards, then they certainly have the weapons to put Western Province under pressure.

“It’s definitely going to be a collision game, both teams have good packs and that’s where the game will be won or lost,” Bulls captain and flank Deon Stegmann said. “We’ve had some good games up front in the last few weeks, and our scrum and maul are definitely strengths.”

Western Province can expect plenty of ferocious ball-carrying from the Bulls, with Dean Greyling, Bongi Mbonambi and Werner Kruger named as the front row, while there will be explosiveness from the bench with Marcel van der Merwe, rotated scrumhalf Piet van Zyl, the returning Sampie Mastriet and Jesse Kriel lurking there.

Ludeke praised Western Province as a top-class side, but said his team had developed a considerable amount of momentum from a winning run under pressure.

“Western Province deserve to be top of the log, they have played great rugby this season and are deservedly hosting a semi-final. But whatever team takes their chances best on Saturday will win and we’ve seen now what our guys do in tight situations. It brought the guys together, they lifted their game, and the decision-making was excellent, like the way they handled the last few minutes of the must-win game against the Free State Cheetahs,” Ludeke said.

Blue Bulls team – 15-Ulrich Beyers, 14-Akona Ndungane, 13-William Small-Smith, 12-Handre Pollard, 11-Bjorn Basson, 10-Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9-Rudy Paige, 8-Jono Ross, 7-Jacques du Plessis, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Grant Hattingh, 4-Paul Willemse, 3-Werner Kruger, 2-Bongi Mbonambi, 1-Dean Greyling. Reserves: 16-Callie Visagie, 17-Marcel van der Merwe, 18-Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19-Wiaan Liebenberg, 20-Piet van Zyl, 21-Sampie Mastriet, 22-Jesse Kriel.