Ken Borland

There remains a lingering perception that those Springboks based in Japan are somehow playing a brand of rugby that lacks physicality, but centre Jesse Kriel says it’s not as if he’s just been parking off playing touch rugby over the last year.

The 27-year-old plays for the Canon Eagles in the Top League, helping them to the quarterfinals, and is now looking forward to contributing fully to the Springboks’ effort to beat the British and Irish Lions.

“There’s always a lot of questions about the physicality in Japan, but there are a lot of foreign players there now and they are quite physical. There are a lot of Tongans and other Islands people playing there and they are not small! The tempo is quite quick as well. But no domestic competition matches Test match intensity and we’re getting a taste of the intensity we need at training this week,” Kriel said.

While Kriel has consistently inked himself into all Springbok squads since the 2015 World Cup, he had the ill-fortune to get injured during South Africa’s 2019 triumph, but he says he does not feel like the Lions tour is a case of unfinished business for him.

“I gave everything I could at the last World Cup up to the time I got injured and I still very much felt part of the team and was able to contribute. So I don’t feel like I have unfinished business, this is a different series and tour. The make-up of the Lions team is such that they are the best players from each country in Britain and Ireland, so every guy is world-class and we know what they bring as individuals.

“But all the young guys coming through for us shows that our grassroots structures are working and this is a great opportunity for them to showcase what they can do. And the youngsters have great guys around to learn off, just look at Morne and Francois Steyn. They do the basics really well, they don’t make mistakes and we can all look up to them and try and replicate that,” Kriel said.

Faf du Plessis was a surprise exclusion from the Proteas T20 squad for the tour of the West Indies, but the former captain could still find himself jetting over to the Caribbean, plus a new contractual arrangement for free agents is on the cards.

Apart from adding experience to a rebuilding batting line-up, Du Plessis was one of the best batsmen in the recently-suspended Indian Premier League, so why wasn’t he chosen? It turns out his omission was due to him not having a contract in place with Cricket South Africa, and, according to their current policy, that would mean he would not get paid for the tour, but would earn match fees, which are just top-up amounts for those players who do have national deals.

It is a gap in CSA’s contracting system which director of cricket Graeme Smith is trying to fix in consultation with the South African Cricketers Association (the players’ union).

In the meantime, there is a chance that Du Plessis can reignite his T20 World Cup hopes by getting a late call-up to play in the West Indies. For that to happen, the national selectors would have to agree to add him to the squad and Du Plessis would have to agree to special financial terms CSA will offer. The organisation budgeted for 17 national men’s contracts for the season but only awarded 16 of them, and some of the money from that extra ‘salary’ is believed to be on offer for Du Plessis.

With the rise of lucrative T20 leagues there are likely to be many more free agents in future, but they currently fall outside of the Proteas contracting system, in what one CSA official described as “the elephant in the room that everyone has been avoiding”.

The policy at the moment sees the players ranked from No.1 to No.16, depending on the balance of Test, ODI and T20 matches in the next season, using scientific data methods. But free agents are excluded from this.

It’s another problem that Smith has inherited as director of cricket. Checks and balances obviously need to be in place to ensure the free agents are not just using the Proteas to score lucrative T20 contracts elsewhere, but are actually contributing to the national team’s culture and success.

There is also the danger that if players are given format-specific contracts, then many could opt out of Test cricket and just play the white-ball formats.

On the other hand, the Proteas need to have marquee players that the top teams want to play against and that people want to watch in action, developing a strong team is obviously a key strategic objective of CSA.

Duane Vermeulen must be used to being the object of huge admiration from rugby fans by now, so it was nice on Thursday to hear the talismanic Springbok eighthman almost gush over the prospect of teaming up with Marcell Coetzee for the first time in the Bulls’ loose trio when they take on the Stormers in their massive Rainbow Cup clash at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

Coetzee, who earned himself legendary status at Ulster when he moved there from the Sharks in 2016, will make his debut for the Bulls on Friday night in a highly-anticipated North/South derby that could well decide who wins the South African leg of the Rainbow Cup.

Vermeulen and Coetzee will be hoping to reproduce their epic performance for the Springboks back in 2014 when they beat the All Blacks 27-25 at Ellis Park to end a five-game losing streak against their great rivals. Vermeulen was immense despite playing with cracked ribs and won the man of the match award.

“Marcell has good character, he has great energy on the field and I’m really looking forward to playing with him again. He’s a good ball-carrier, he has pace to the ball. He’s actually just a really well-rounded player – he tackles and carries the ball well, and can play to the ball.

“And it’s going to be nice to have young Elrigh Louw playing with us, he can learn a lot from Marcell now too. Marcell is really experienced and he can back me up on decision-making as well,” Vermeulen said on Thursday.

Vermeulen is no stranger to playing with pain to this day, and Bulls coach Jake White said it was the courage of his captain that eggs his team-mates on to greater heights.

“Every week Duane is in the doctor’s room getting things drained out of his knee. He could hold back every week, he could say ‘Coach, I need a break’. But he always fronts up, it’s why he has achieved what he has and with that sort of leader I know I’ll have no problem with any other players. I don’t feel like anyone is not going to put their body on the line and give their absolute best,” White said.

The coach was similarly excited about being able to pick Coetzee, saying he can play in each of the loose-forward positions, but adding the Bulls’ combination of Vermeulen, Louw and Coetzee, with Marco van Staden on the bench, is probably the best in global club rugby.

White also praised his conditioning staff for ensuring Coetzee and fellow Springboks Ivan van Zyl and Gio Aplon have all been able to return to action in a crucial match in which the Bulls will need all the quality they can get against a powerful Stormers team that is gaining momentum.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Cornal Hendricks, Stravino Jacobs, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marcell Coetzee, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench – Schalk Erasmus, Jacques van Rooyen, Trevor Nyakane, Janko Swanepoel, Marco van Staden, Zak Burger, Chris Smith, Gio Aplon.

Many male rugby fans will know the feeling of the wife complaining about their being too much rugby over the weekend, but Bulls coach Jake White certainly seems to have a legitimate complaint when he expressed his concern over all the different demands on his players that will happen next month.

The Bulls, starting with their match against the Lions on Saturday, have three rounds of Rainbow Cup SA games left and, with them sitting top of the log at the moment, they will have their eyes on the final against the winners of the Pro14 in Europe on June 19. But they could also have to play in the Currie Cup that weekend, and it is likely that the Springboks could be in camp as well.

“I know a request has been made for us to be allowed to make our squads bigger than the player cap of 45, and that’s from all four unions, not just the Bulls. If we play in the Rainbow Cup final on June 19, we could also have a Currie Cup game and the Boks could be out too. The U20s also have a competition starting. But we’re only allowed 45 players so I’m not sure what we can do, can we choose club players?

“We’re waiting to hear from SA Rugby, but we’re all in the same boat. In fact, the Sharks could have 10-12 plays in the Springbok camp, so I’m not sure how they would pick two full teams. But as a coach I want to produce Springboks, I want guys like Cornal Henricks, Stedman Gans and Elrigh Louw to play for the Boks and the list goes on,” White said on Friday.

The quandary requires some nifty selecting and player management, and the elevation of Chris Smith to the position of starting flyhalf against the Lions, with Morne Steyn being rested, is an obvious example of this. White has given Smith plenty of game time in the last year and the 26-year-old has shown he has the qualities and temperament of a top franchise player.

“Even with Morne playing so well, we realise we are not going to have him forever and part of the plan is to groom the next flyhalf. If we lose Morne to an extended Springbok squad then we have to play Chris. He has come on in some pressure games and played very well. He’s got the talent, he plays quickly and he has a great passing game. There’s no panic, he’s started enough times.

“It’s good for him to get some game-time now and he has grown in the last year. Every practice he plays against Morne, so he can see what makes him different. But Chris has got something different too and he’s the No.2 flyhalf that has played the most out of all the franchise 10s. So we have a lot of faith in him, we’re ready to get the best out of him,” White said.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Cornal Hendricks, James Verity-Amm, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Trevor Nyakane, Johan Grobbelaar, Lizo Gqoboka. Bench – Schalk Erasmus, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Nizaam Carr, Zak Burger, Clinton Swart, Stravino Jacobs.