Ken Borland

The South African women’s team’s first try at Test cricket in eight years ended in a stalemate in England this week and one could only praise the Proteas batters for sticking at it and their attack for being competitive against mighty opposition.

At the midway point on the second day, England were struggling on 125/5 in reply to South Africa’s creditable 284, showing just how competitive the Proteas were, even with first-choice players Shabnim Ismail, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka and Dane van Niekerk all unavailable.

It took a phenomenal partnership between one of England’s most storied all-rounders in Nat Sciver (169) and Alice Davidson-Richards (107) to eventually lift the home side to a first-innings lead of 133, at which point they declared on the third afternoon.

South Africa had a day-and-a-half to survive to bat themselves to the draw and, although the weather gave a helping hand, one could only admire their determination. Especially Marizanne Kapp, who backed up her magnificent 150 in the first innings with 43 not out on the final day, and Tumi Sekhukhune, who was sheer defiance at the crease, having come in the previous evening as nightwatcher.

Batting for longer than she ever has in a match, the 23-year-old pace bowler stayed at her post for three hours, keeping 134 deliveries at bay for 33 not out. In her 48 white-ball games for South Africa, Sekhukhune had only previously faced 81 balls in international cricket.

“We had a three-day warm-up match but nothing could really prepare us for what we experienced in this Test,” captain Sune Luus said. “Nat and Alice played amazing innings, but I thought our young bowling attack did well.

“They kept running in with 100% effort all the time and if Tumi’s innings doesn’t persuade people of our character and fight then I just don’t know.

“Marizanne is a star, she actually said she wanted to bat lower down in the match because she doesn’t have a game-plan in Test cricket! I don’t know where that 150 and the second-innings runs came from then!

“But I’m very proud of the team, nine debutantes and two players with one Test each against players who have been part of Test cricket for 10 matches. It was exciting and we’ve had lots of positive feedback,” Luus said.

While the cost of staging women’s Test cricket means it is unlikely to become an everyday thing anytime soon, Luus was clear that the South Africans would like to play more of the format.

“I haven’t watched a lot of Test cricket but I will have to start soon,” Luus joked. “It’s a definite learning curve for us, but the team obviously enjoyed it a lot.

“We learnt plenty and we will take a lot of experience from this. We were put in tough situations but we still had a lot of laughs. Hopefully we will get more Test matches in the near future.

“We don’t know when a Test will come our way again, so we just decided to live in the moment and take it all in. There’s not enough money in the world to buy that experience,” Luus said.

To Bulls fans at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, it would have seemed clear that they did not enjoy equity from the referee in the second half of their Currie Cup match against the Lions, but coach Gert Smal preferred to praise the opposition rather than blame the officials after the match.

The Bulls, having led 35-17 at halftime, ended up scraping to a 43-37 win as the Lions piled on relentless pressure in the second half. Referee Griffin Colby ended up penalising the Bulls 18 times in the match, and the Lions just eight times, and at one stage he gave 11 successive penalties to the visitors.

“I don’t want to say anything about the referee,” Smal said, “There is a system in place, comments go through Mark Lawrence and we will do that. We must remember referees are not perfect.

“The Lions started playing really well in the second half. And Juan Mostert had played well at flyhalf in the first half but then got injured, and we had to move Keagan Johannes there.

“So the Lions had their big guys running at our scrumhalf, who had to play flyhalf, and they gained a lot of momentum there. We were always under pressure to close the spaces down.

“It was sad that we could not keep our momentum in the second half, but this Lions team has been together for five weeks and they played very good rugby. They are a good team and they came hard at us. We struggled to get momentum and conceded unnecessary penalties,” Smal said.

Despite spending most of the second half inside their own 22, the Bulls produced a marvellous defensive effort, and Smal praised the tenacity and character they showed to pull through the win.

“In the first half we stuck to our plan, that was the way we wanted to play and it was outstanding. We were composed, the guys did what was expected and we did the small things well.

“In the second half there was big pressure on this team and it was good that they were able to get a good win. My message to them in the changeroom was that I am really proud of them and the way they applied themselves.

“No-one went and hid away and so we got the win by putting our bodies on the line. My captain, Lizo Gqoboka, was a real warrior and you should see what his face looks like now.

“But we would like to do the first-half game for the whole 80 minutes next time,” Smal said.

The Bulls host the Pumas in their next Currie Cup match, on May 27.

The rampant form of two South African centres based overseas has not gone unnoticed by one of the Springboks’ most celebrated midfielders, with Jean de Villiers this week heaping praise on Damian de Allende and Andre Esterhuizen.

De Allende is the incumbent Springbok No.12 and still a crucial part of the Munster side that is in the European Champions Cup quarterfinals and in fourth place in the United Rugby Championship, while

Esterhuizen has been a roaring success at Harlequins. The former Sharks player is very much a specialist inside centre though, so in terms of the Springboks, he is only likely to get called up if De Allende is injured.

“Damian has been crucified at times for the way he plays and some people only see him as an abrasive midfielder,” De Villiers told a URC media briefing. “He was getting boxed into that role over here.

“But Damian has been phenomenal the way he plays for Munster and the Springboks, the value he brings is massive. He was probably one of South Africa’s top three performers at the last World Cup.

“His distribution skills are fantastic and his defence is aggressive, it’s like having another loose forward in the midfield. He’s also so good at competing on the ground, him slowing the ball down makes it easier for the rest of the defence.

“And there’s no reason to think he’s slowing down, he gave another great performance on the weekend when Munster beat Exeter. Damian is critical for the Springboks and his partnership with Lukhanyo Am is phenomenal,” De Villiers said.

The former Springbok captain, speaking in his capacity as a SuperSport analyst, was also full of praise for Esterhuizen and said his departure from the Sharks has been the reason for many of their attacking frustrations.

“Andre has been a big loss for the Sharks and has been fantastic for Harlequins, his partnership with flyhalf Marcus Smith really just works for both of them.’

“The Sharks have lost both him and Lukhanyo Am and they are lacking in midfield. And with Aphelele Fassi out injured too, they are not able to fire the way they were when those two were available.

“I think Makazole Mapimpi has been affected as well. He and Lukhanyo are just on the same wave-length and the Sharks have missed Mapimpi’s X-factor with Am,” De Villiers said.

Former Scotland lock Jim Hamilton, another URC analyst and someone well acquainted with barging over the opposition during his 63 Tests, is also a big Esterhuizen fan.

“Esterhuizen has been carving it up over here, I can’t believe what a signing he’s been for Quins. He would be one of the first names on my team-sheet,” Hamilton said.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt rates the Lions pack highly, but he was full of praise on Thursday for his own forwards and the wonderful improvement they have shown ahead of their United Rugby Championship clash at Kings Park on Saturday.

The Lions have been playing some thrilling rugby of late, winning their last four URC matches, and it is their pack that has been laying the platform.

Critics of the Sharks have been suggesting they need to boost the strength of their pack, but their forwards have been on the charge lately and Everitt has been delighted with their efforts.

“The forwards have put a lot of work in. Not too long ago they were considered our achilles heel, but I’m very proud of their wonderful performances lately,” Everitt said.

“Our lineout has been good and our scrum has been dominant and earning penalties. That means we’ve been able to get good field position inside the opposition 22.

“There’s been a lot of talk about the Lions scrum, and deservedly so, they are still the most effective scrum in the competition, they’ve earned the most penalties.

“That allows their loose forwards, who are very good, into the game. But our all-Springbok front row has done very well too, so it’s going to be an interesting battle,” Everitt said.

The Sharks have made three changes to their pack, arguably making it stronger than the one that overwhelmed the Dragons last weekend, with first-choice flanks Siya Kolisi and Henco Venter, and lock Reniel Hugo returning to the starting XV, in place of James Venter, Jeandre Labuschagne and Le Roux Roets.

All four of those Lions wins have come at home, at altitude, and now they have to travel to the subtropical lowlands of KwaZulu-Natal. While the drop in altitude will do little to their aerobic capacity, they may still find their vigorous style of rugby a bit harder to pull off in Durban.

“In terms of altitude, the change will not have as much of an affect as when we go up there,” Everitt admitted. “But the conditions might not be as conducive to throwing the ball around.

“There’s a very good chance that there will be some rain, which is not ideal, it makes conditions tough in the humidity and heat.

“But the Lions do have a good kicking game and we must make sure we don’t give them any opportunities.

“We’ve practised in the rain though and done fairly well, we’ve played some good rugby,” Everitt said.

Sharks team – Anthony Volmink, Werner Kok, Ben Tapuai, Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Henco Venter, Siya Kolisi (v/c), Reniel Hugo, Gerbrandt Grobler, Thomas du Toit (c), Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements: Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Le Roux Roets, Jeandre Labuschagne, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain.