Ken Borland

Judging by some safety studies coming out of the UK, playing rugby is seemingly as dangerous as being a passenger in a minibus taxi that is behind schedule after the driver popped into the local shebeen.

There is no denying the alarming figures these studies are revealing in terms of brain injuries since the game went professional, and WorldRugby has been forced into making changes to the law in order to avoid the sort of lawsuits that have cost American Football hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

The most obvious of these changes has been the zero-tolerance approach to contact to the head. Unfortunately, in a contact game such as rugby and the highly-fluid tackle zone that features hundreds of kilograms of bone and flesh crashing into, or trying to avoid, each other, accidents are inevitable.

As former Springbok captain John Smit said this week: “You’re never going to make a contact sport 100% safe, there will always be an element of rIsk. And I have never met anyone who was forced to play rugby. I picked up the ball and ran into three guys out of my free will and I understood the risks.

“My shoulder is a mess now, I can’t turn my neck because of the spinal fusion I’ve had, but I’ve had more injuries from cycling! If I was given the choice now, I would still pick up the rugby ball like I did 30 years ago,” Smit said.

An unwanted side-effect of the law changes is that it has made it very taxing to watch rugby these days.

The constant TMO interventions, looking for the slightest head contact, coupled with the rank amateur standard of officiating we see far too often lately, leaves spectators and viewers angry, frustrated and often just plain bored.

I’m not arguing that TMOs should be done away with, they still have a vital role to play in ensuring crucial decisions are made correctly and in stamping out foul play, but their emphasis needs to shift.

So much time was wasted last weekend replaying a totally accidental head-to-head contact involving Bulls flyhalf Johan Goosen, which could easily have been a red card, ruining the game, given how some officials interpret these things.

But when there is obvious dangerous play, sometimes officialdom seems too lenient in dealing with it. Bundee Aki’s cleanout of Seabelo Senatla was clearly dangerous, putting the Stormers wing out of action for months. The Connacht centre has been given an eight-game ban, which seems about right. But it was only that much because of his previous record and the fact he angrily remonstrated with the referee after he was red-carded. The injury to the referee’s pride was obviously much more serious than Senatla’s in the view of the disciplinary tribunal.

And then there’s Darcy Swain, the Wallabies lock, who was only banned for six weeks for the assault on All Blacks centre Quinn Tupaea at a ruck, which must rank as one of the filthiest acts I’ve ever seen on a rugby field. Swain deliberately targeted the trapped leg of Tupaea, twisting it and destroying the New Zealander’s knee ligaments.

Tupaea will be out of action for nine months and is likely to miss the World Cup next year.

It is frustrating enough that there are so many stoppages in a game of rugby these days, with what is meant to be a 40-minute half almost always actually taking closer to an hour to finish, but then the officials so often get the decisions wrong anyway. Now there are also official water breaks scattered through the contest.

Fans are definitely losing interest.

The match between the Bulls and Connacht last weekend at Loftus Versfeld became exciting, on the scoreboard at least, in the second half. But in the main grandstand below the media centre, spectators passed their time cheering and encouraging a trio of spectators who were building a beer snake out of empty cups, making it tall enough to reach the tier above them.

Apparently it was a similar story the weekend before in the Springboks’ crucial Test against Argentina at Kings Park – spectators spent much of the time building paper planes and throwing them around.

Yes, WorldRugby needs to pass laws that make the game safer, but they also need to ensure their product is watchable.

The relationship between new CSA Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe and Proteas head coach Mark Boucher has been an obvious point of discussion since the former national team assistant coach’s ascension to the lead administrative role, but Nkwe himself assured on Friday that they are eager to get “the best out of each other”.

Nkwe resigned as South Africa’s assistant coach last August, stating concerns over the team culture, and said he had not seen Boucher since then. During the period when Boucher was under disciplinary investigation by CSA, much was made of Nkwe’s departure from the Proteas and he was expected to testify against his former boss.

Nkwe declined to do so and the roles are now reversed with Boucher reporting to him. The new Director of Cricket said he had the pleasure of a clear-the-air meeting with Boucher and the Proteas team on Thursday, on the eve of their departure for England.

“It was a bit strange at first because we have not engaged in person since August, but it ended up being a great meeting,” Nkwe said at his introductory press conference at CSA headquarters on Friday.

“I know a whole lot has been spoken about there being deeper-level issues, but it was nothing personal and Mark and I do have a good relationship. The meeting ended with us laughing and I know he is excited to work with me too.

“We now feel that we are in the best positions to get the best out of each other. I’m glad we were able to meet in person before they left for England and we all walked away with smiles after 40 minutes.

“There’s a lot more clarity between us now and being Director of Cricket does not mean I am director of the Proteas. I am director of cricket in totality. Mark and the team leadership are in a very good space,” Nkwe said.

Apart from finding the squad in good humour, Nkwe said he was also impressed by the vibe, which had improved since he was last with the Proteas.

“I could feel the positive energy and also in the way the team engaged with the Board as well. It’s actually been a great week for South African cricket and it’s important that we restore our positive image.

“That’s a part of my 18-month plan and I will be giving as much support as possible to the national coaches, to allow the head coach to focus on his role because his hands are quite full.

“It was quite an emotional moment at the start of the meeting with the team yesterday [Thursday]. This role is very close to my heart, it’s what I have strived for. It’s a massive honour and privilege.

“It’s a position in which I can actually make a difference to South African cricket, which I am very passionate about. There will be a lot of pressure, but pressure is a privilege,” Nkwe said.

Proteas captain Dean Elgar did not throw his toys out of the pram but he left no doubt as to his displeasure at continually being asked questions about head coach Mark Boucher’s disciplinary hearing during his press conference on Wednesday a few hours before the team’s departure to New Zealand to take on the world Test champions.

Cricket South Africa confirmed on Tuesday night that Boucher’s disciplinary hearing to answer charges of racism has been postponed to May 16-20. This is because the national coach wants players to testify on his behalf and he does not want this to be a disruption between the New Zealand tour, the hosting of Bangladesh in March and the IPL beginning on March 27.

Elgar said on Wednesday that he did not know anything more than what was stated in CSA’s media release.

“I know this is all extremely relevant, but we’ve achieved so much as a team that just gets squashed by the headlines in the media,” Elgar complained. “I don’t mind speak about these external things, but 60% of the questions today have not been about New Zealand.

“It takes away from everything we have achieved as a group. I don’t think we have much control over the process as players, and obviously you have to undertake whatever you need to do to clear your name.

“I always thought that it might come to players testifying, so be it, it’s a natural process. I’m sure our players’ representative body [SACA] will come into play and will guide us.

“We still support our head coach, we know how much value he adds to us and he is a massive part of the group,” Elgar said.

But the left-handed opener was more concerned with how little leeway the Proteas have when they arrive in New Zealand for what is a two-Test shootout.

“It will all be extremely unfamiliar in Christchurch, it’s pretty new for me,” Elgar, who has toured New Zealand just once, said. “We’ve had great wins over the West Indies and India, but we know this series will be tough.

“It’s just a two-Test series so we have got to start well, which is what we’ve struggled with in the past. And their record is pretty good in Christchurch, their seamers have really cashed in.

“We know we’re going to have to be at our best when we get there. We have to start with a clean slate. The series wins over India were brilliant, but we need to press the reset button.

“We need to hit the ground running against a seriously good, proper side. They’re up there with the best, which is why they won the World Test Championship. And it’s in their backyard, where they are extremely street-smart,” Elgar added.

The captain expressed his disappointment that Keegan Petersen, the man of the series in the remarkable win over India, will not be able to build on those performances because he has tested positive for Covid.

“It’s another curve ball for us to deal with, which we’ve become pretty good at as a team,” Elgar said. “He’s very unfortunate to miss out and I would have loved to have seen him build on the India series.”

Dean Elgar had not had much time to think about his greatest triumph as Proteas captain when he was asked what were the positives, in terms of leadership, that he had taken out of the remarkable series win over India, but he did correctly point out that all 11 players had to be on the same page for them to stage such a dramatic and composed comeback.

Elgar had captained South Africa to a defeat against England at Lord’s in 2017 and victory over Pakistan at the Wanderers in 2019 before being appointed full-time Test captain ahead of the two-match series in the West Indies last June. He has now led the Proteas to five wins and two defeats in his total of seven matches as skipper.

“I still need to reflect on all the good things that happened,” Elgar said. “But my skin is pretty thick when it comes to on-field matters and this team never lied down, they always fought.

“They stayed in the game-plan, never veered off it and that’s a good strength to have. You need to have all 11 guys on the same page and I think I’ve gained some people skills that I lacked before.

“I’m a lot more experienced now, but it’s still something I will work on so that I can use it to the best of my ability as captain. It’s tough sometimes not being able to control anything out there.

“But I’ve had to learn quickly not to show my emotions on camera. I think I’m more calm now and I don’t panic too soon,” Elgar said.

The gutsy left-handed opener said building momentum after the poor display in the first Test at Centurion had been a tough task.

“Momentum is important, you really need it in a tough series and it’s difficult to gain against quality opposition,” Elgar said. “So you need to capitalise when the sniff is there.

“And you also have to make sure you don’t let it slip when you’ve got the momentum. But I thought we played the big moments brilliantly, especially considering we did not have a lot of confidence.

“But we showed India are also humans and they are beatable. There were a few turning points and building up to the second Test we had a tough chat for maybe an hour.

“It helped to get the appreciation for the badge back and chasing 240 at the Wanderers was a massive confidence boost for us,” Elgar said.