Ken Borland

As entertaining as a high-scoring Currie Cup final might be, Joey Mongalo said on Thursday that in his position as the Bulls defence coach, he never wants to be a part of a game that is described as a “try-fest” by the media.

The Sharks visit the Bulls on Saturday trying to overturn last season’s Currie Cup final result between the same two teams at Loftus Versfeld, and the talk emanating from Durban has been that they will be chasing tries. Mongalo said he will be happy with a 12-9 win for the Bulls.

“Some of our scorelines in this Currie Cup a defence coach can’t be proud of and I never want to be part of a game that is described as ‘a great try-fest’ by the media. Whereas last year there were a lot of penalties given to the defending side, with referees very strict on cleaners coming in on the side, now there are a lot more penalties going the way of the attacking side.

“So teams are generally playing a lot more expansively, so there’s a lot more transition and more tries being scored. But it’s just going to be a battle on Saturday, a really titanic battle, like two heavyweight boxers going at each other, whether that’s through scoring penalties or tries. For myself, I’d obviously rather have a 12-9 score to the Bulls,” Mongalo said.

The long-serving former Lions defence coach says, for all the talk of expansive rugby coming from Durban, his counterpart in the Sharks team, the experienced John McFarland, will also not want to just let the Bulls score tries willy-nilly.

“He’d also rather have 12-9. John Mac is a well-respected man and he’s definitely had an impact on not only their defence but their kicking game and breakdowns. They have a lot of emphasis on connectivity and staying in the fight. John’s defensive system is in the same mould as the Springboks with a high-calibre rush-defence built around a strong kicking game and set-piece, but with a bit more running rugby.

“The Sharks might come here and play Test rugby – contesting and trying to dominate the set-pieces. Or it could be all about attack with Lionel Cronje running the game from flyhalf and trying to put us under pressure by making lots of tackles. Or they could play a combination of those games. But us and the Sharks are the only teams to have conceded less than 32 tries, so the defence teams can be proud of that,” Mongalo said.

Lood de Jager’s Springbok career has been a saga of triumph and disappointment, but the 28-year-old still counts himself as being fortunate and accepts his many injury problems as just being part of his journey.

The East Rand product will play his 50^th Test for South Africa against Argentina on Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the sixth specialist lock to reach that milestone. De Jager made his debut off the bench on June 14, 2014 against Wales in Durban and has now played in two World Cups, his outstanding displays in the 2015 edition winning him the SA Player of the Year title.

But he has had more than his fair share of injuries, especially in the shoulder region. De Jager missed the start of the Rassie Erasmus reign in 2018 because he had torn his pectoral muscle in Super Rugby that May, but did make two appearances off the bench on the end-of-year tour of Great Britain.

He injured the other shoulder in the triumphant 2019 World Cup final, and then the same shoulder went in September 2020. He had just returned to the field for the Sale Sharks in April when he suffered a freak training accident that broke his fibula and tore his knee ligaments. He did exceptionally well just to make the Springbok squad for the British and Irish Lions series, but of course was one of the players who came down with Covid.

But De Jager’s determination saw him return for the Springboks in the second Test, and his arrival in the second half certainly changed the fortunes of the team, especially in the lineouts.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of some real highs but some real lows too. I guess I’ve had a few more injuries than normal, but it’s just part of my journey and I must just adapt and come back stronger. I’m not a naturally fit person so it’s quite hard to regain that Test match intensity. Training does not come close to game intensity and I had just come back from injury when I caught Covid.

“But if you look at the history of Springbok rugby, lock has always been one of the positions with the best players, so I have a massive responsibility to go out and perform and make the jersey proud,” De Jager said this week.

De Jager’s positivity brings thousand of lux of shining happiness to the Springbok squad and coach Jacques Nienaber had nothing but praise for the giant with the metal shoulders.

“I take my hat off to him for all the ups and downs he has been through – that shoulder injury in the World Cup and then an unfortunate leg injury. He is slowly getting back to his full match-fitness, he’s played around 200 minutes now and I am very happy for him. It’s fantastic when players reach milestone games, that can only be good for us,” Nienaber said.

Utility forward Rynhardt Elstadt says he is greatly honoured to be part of the Springbok ‘Bomb Squad’ and when he comes off the bench in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Saturday he and his fellow replacements will be chasing even greater intensity and physicality.

South Africa used their eight substitutes – generally choosing an extra forward reserve and just two backs – to great effect in winning the World Cup in 2019. But with several backline players having question marks over their fitness, coach Jacques Nienaber has gone with a standard five-three split on this occasion. Their instructions will be the same though, according to Elstadt, who narrowly missed out on the squad that triumphed in Japan two years ago.

“It’s an honour for me, it’s called the ‘Bomb Squad’ for a reason and us guys coming off the bench have an important role. We need to raise the intensity of whoever we are replacing left it off and we need to bring more physicality. I hope I live up to the standard and do even more, and I just don’t want to drop my team-mates.

“I like the physicality side of the game, and it’s not just myself in the team who likes that. My role when I come on is to climb in. I’m not a particularly big ball-carrier, but my job is to do the donkey work to make sure we get good ball and also to stop the opposition’s momentum,” Elstadt said.

The 31-year-old Elstadt, who will earn his third cap on Saturday, has the responsibility of covering both loose forward and lock, especially with specialist lock replacement Lood de Jager having not played any rugby since April and having tested positive for Covid at the start of the month.

Other rookies in the Springbok squad who have key roles are Ox Nche and Kwagga Smith.

Nche, who has also just played in two Tests previously, will start at loosehead prop against Tadhg Furlong, the Irishman who many rate as the best tighthead prop in the world. While Nche’s greatest assets are probably in open play, and mobility is also going to be very important against this Lions team, his first job is to ensure a steady scrum for the Springboks.

Smith replaces the injured Duane Vermeulen at eighthman and, as much as Nienaber said the mobile 25-year-old could do the same job in terms of getting and stopping momentum as the World Cup final man of the match, there is little doubt the former Springbok Sevens star has been picked to use his pace and ball-hunting skills to counter the Lions in the wide channels.

Gratitude was the first emotion Marco van Staden felt when he heard his name called out at the weekend for the Springbok squad to play in the series against the British and Irish Lions, and not just because he has not been a part of the national squad for a while.

Van Staden watched the live announcement with his parents and grandparents in the Magaliesberg mountains and he was delighted to share the best moment in his career thus far with the family members who sacrificed much so he could put rugby first, making it all the way to the top from a little agricultural school called Hoerskool Bekker. Especially since he is on his way overseas to play for English club Leicester Tigers as soon as his Springbok commitments are over.

“I was with my parents and grandparents and it was quite a celebration. I’m spending all the time I can with them because I’m going to be going overseas in a bit and I won’t be able to see them for a while. They sacrificed so much for me just to get me here, so it was wonderful to be able to share my selection with them.

“I was just very grateful, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it only comes every 12 years, so it is a big privilege and I am very honoured to be chosen. I’ve missed out on the Springboks in the last couple of years, I’ve only played three Tests and the last one was against Argentina just before they left for Japan for the World Cup,” Van Staden said on Tuesday.

On Saturday he will play his last game for the Bulls, in their decisive Rainbow Cup match against the Sharks in Durban, and adding to the poignancy is the fact that Duane Vermeulen and Elrigh Louw, the two players with whom Van Staden has bedded in so well as a loose trio, will both be missing through injury.

“It’s probably my last game for the Bulls so I want to make the most of it. It will be disappointing to not play together with Duane and Elrigh, because I think we have gelled together well. But Marcell Coetzee will be there and it’s an honour to play with him, he also gives his all out on the field. We’re all just trying to play for the guys next to us,” Van Staden said.

The 25-year-old also said there was no room for individual battles in Saturday’s match, which will see the Bulls needing to collect just one bonus point to book a place in the Rainbow Cup final, although there will be much jostling for places in the Test 23 amongst the 46 players in the Springbok squad.

“My focus is not on playing against Siya Kolisi. The team has a plan to execute and you don’t want to be out of position to make a point of your own. I will be staying within the plan and there’s no question of holding back because I don’t see the benefit in that. I just remember how we could not play any rugby in Lockdown and to not give 100% would be disappointing my team-mates,” Van Staden said.