Ken Borland

The Bulls have overcome all manner of pressure and played some fine rugby, becoming a real pain in the neck for their South African rivals, but if there is one performance where fingers could be pointed at them for not pitching, it was the Rainbow Cup final against Benetton Treviso in June. But fullback David Kriel said on Tuesday that the squad has taken those lessons from Italy on board.

They will need to have learnt from the harsh lesson they were dished out that day because, in their first trip overseas since Super Rugby in March 2020 they were humbled 35-8 by Treviso, who were considered no-hopers before the game. And now on Saturday they face the might of Leinster at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in their first ever United Rugby Championship match.

“It’s another opportunity for us to build on what we learnt from the Benetton Treviso game, which was not our best performance. But we took it as a stepping stone and an opportunity for growth. It was a challenging experience but good for the squad. This time around we want to be more clinical and play like the championship side we are.

“It’s comforting that this time we are in Europe for a while, we can get used to the conditions and the lifestyle, and it will certainly benefit the squad being together for a whole month. Personally, it allows me to be like a sponge and soak up the lessons while I’m still young. We are the Currie Cup champions, we must own it and we know that Leinster will want to show they are better than us,” Kriel said.

Given their pedigree, with five European titles and being one of only four teams to ever defend the European Cup, no-one is ever going to err by considering Leinster the underdogs when they take on a Bulls side that has swept all aside at home but is yet to prove themselves overseas.

And the 22-year-old Kriel is certainly aware of how imperious Leinster have been in dominating the Pro14 that preceded the URC.

“Growing up I would always watch a quality side like Leinster. Someone like Johnny Sexton is still playing, but previously those great centres Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy played for Leinster too. So I’m a bit nervous about playing against them, but also very excited for the opportunity.

“The Currie Cup prepared us for lots of high-ball catching and the URC sides love that too, so as outside backs we’ve been working hard to make sure we don’t make mistakes there. Otherwise, as a fullback you’re not necessarily in the game for the whole 80 minutes, so I just try to be everywhere looking for work, wherever I can be used,” Kriel said.

DURBAN, KwaZulu-Natal – Louis Albertse handled the pressure of chasing down his first Sunshine Tour title like a mentsch on Saturday as he won the third leg of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series at Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate.

The 25-year-old began the final round with a share of the lead, and produced an impressive four-under-par 66 to finish on nine-under-par for the tournament and clinch victory by one stroke over CJ du Plessis (65).

But as well as Albertse played, a bogey on the par-four 16^th left him needing pars on the tricky last two holes of The Woods course, and negotiated the elevation changes and water bordering the 18^th green with aplomb.

“There are so many emotions, but it feels really good to have my first Sunshine Tour title. It’s never easy to win and the last nine holes when you’re going for your first win is particularly tough, but I tried hard to stay in the moment. The bogey on 16 was a bit unsettling, but I knew I was still 100% in it. I had been playing nicely the whole day and all I could do was give it my best.

“I’ve been in Category 9 since I started on tour and I’ve worked really hard to get out of it, I always felt I was good enough to win. Now there are lots of things to look forward to, getting into big events now without any worries. I saw a couple of scoreboards on the way in and I knew CJ was playing well, which was a good thing in a sense because I knew I had to keep pushing and not play defensively,” Albertse said after his wire-to-wire win, having shared the lead with veteran Brazilian Adilson da Silva after the first two rounds.

Albertse, who hails from Dundee in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, went out in two-under-par 33 and then made an ideal start to the back nine with a lengthy birdie putt on the 339-yard par-four 10^th hole.

“I made a few good par-saves at the beginning but unfortunately took a six on the second par-five. But I’ve been putting really well and the birdie on 10 was a massive bonus, that just makes sure you get into the right gear going into the downwind holes. I also made a really good save on 13 and then birdies on 14 and 15 [another long putt] kept the momentum going,” Albertse said.

Du Plessis’ five-under-par 65 started inauspiciously with a bogey at the first hole, but thereafter he did not drop a shot, collecting five birdies including four in five holes from the sixth. It is the Irene Country Club golfer’s fourth runners-up finish and he is yet to win a professional tournament.

Da Silva was one shot off the lead when he made the turn, but returned to the clubhouse in level-par to finish on six-under-par, two behind Du Plessis and in the tie for third with Riekus Nortje and Deon Germishuys.

Scores – https://sunshinetour.com/tournament-information/?tourn=VOWC&season=221S&report=tmentry~season=221S~alphaorder~#/profile

Neither the Bulls nor the Sharks are expecting a gentle introduction into the Currie Cup final at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, with the defending champions looking to settle the outcome early on, while the visitors are aiming to exert consistent pressure for the whole game.

In the semi-finals last weekend, the Bulls blew Western Province away in the opening 16 minutes by racing into a 24-5 lead; the Sharks had to go the distance in seeing off Griquas 28-24.

“We basically beat Western Province in the first quarter and I expect to start the same way as we did last week, why not? We’ve only made two changes to the team and the Sharks lost two weeks ago at home to the same Western Province team that was on the ropes against us. Last year’s extra-time final is irrelevant, all the Springboks played and now the Sharks are missing seven guys in Australia.

“If it’s going to be a dogfight, finals rugby, whatever; we must just play at our best. Western Province were desperate when they beat the Sharks and so if we are more desperate than them tomorrow then we will be okay. if you look at the trophy and the history, if it’s just another game for us then we’ve lost perspective. We have a massive opportunity to be the first team to win the Currie Cup twice in one year,” fired-up Bulls coach Jake White said on Friday.

The Sharks are expecting to have to weather an early storm and will then be hoping to outlast the Bulls.

“Both teams are going to have to handle the intensity. The Bulls were sublime in the first 20 minutes against Western Province and that will pose a challenge. There will be nerves and the team that settles down first will make a better start, which is really important in a game of this magnitude. You can’t underestimate the influence of scoreboard pressure.

“So we can’t afford to give away early penalties. We want a consistent performance and it has built character for us to play under pressure to qualify for the final, that helps. We have also played quite a few games at altitude and coped very well, we don’t see it as a factor and two weeks ago we beat the Lions by fifty points. We will play what’s in front of us and a full defensive line means there’s space behind,” Sharks coach Sean Everitt said.

Both teams have had halfback issues.

Johan Goosen, who was instrumental in the Bulls’ semifinal win with his skill and vision, has tested positive for Covid and has been replaced at flyhalf by Chris Smith, who came off the bench and kicked the 79^th-minute penalty to level the scores in last season’s final between the same two teams at the same venue. There is no specialist flyhalf cover on the bench with wing Ruan Combrinck or rookie utility back David Coetzer bracketed amongst the reserves.

The Sharks have SA A scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba starting, but with Jaden Hendrikse, Grant Williams and Cameron Wright all injured, U20 player Lucky Dlepu, uncapped at senior level, is on the bench.

Teams

Bulls: David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Madosh Tambwe, Chris Smith, Zak Burger, Elrigh Louw, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee, Ruan Nortje, Janko Swanepoel, Mornay Smith, Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench – Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Jacques van Rooyen, Jacques du Plessis, WJ Steenkamp, Keagan Johannes, Ruan Combrinck/David Coetzer, Stravino Jacobs.

Sharks: Curwin Bosch, Yaw Penxe, Werner Kok, Marius Louw, Thaakir Abrahams, Lionel Cronje, Sanele Nohamba, Phepsi Buthelezi (c), Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Gerbrandt Grobler, Le Roux Roets, Thomas du Toit, Kerron van Vuuren, Khwezi Mona. Bench – Dan Jooste, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Thembelani Bholi, Reniel Hugo, Lucky Dlepu, Jeremy Ward, Anthony Volmink.

Q: Having lost the first Test in a three-match series, is the pressure now not squarely on the Springboks heading into Saturday’s second Test?

RE – Well if we win this one then the Lions must win the last one. At the World Cup, we lost to the All Blacks and we had to win our next six matches. But we are definitely the team under pressure. We were very focused last week, trying to regain the positive vibe from the World Cup and we did not say too much. The Lions were a bit the opposite. I think this week has been a bit different, our backs are against the wall. Fortunately we only have the one big injury to Ox Nche. We were always going to be a bit underdone because the second Test against Georgia was cancelled. I think with another game behind us now and a 6/2 split on the bench, we will have the wind to go the full 80 minutes. We still have the bulk of the 30 players who won the World Cup available, but in saying that, the Lions have shown they have a really competitive squad, their pack has got grunt, their backs have vision and attacking skill, and there are good touches all over that team.

Q: How tough were your preparations for the first Test with all the Covid cases?

RE – It was important how we integrated the players coming back because they were returning one or two at a time as they were released from isolation; 70-80% of the players we were happy with, but 20-30% needed really good management. Plus we had our defence and attack coaches unavailable. Because the guys who were positive had to spend seven days in their hotel rooms we lost one week of training and one warm-up match. It was disruptive but many coaches have had to go through that in the last 18 months. Even though you don’t go totally to pieces and lose shape in a week, some players just slotted in but others needed more time to get their engines going. We definitely have to manage the mental wellbeing and welfare of our players. The Lions are the big thing for us this season, but from the next weekend after the series we have two Tests against Argentina and then eight weeks in Australasia, three weeks off and then the end-of-year tour to Europe.

Q: What did you make of the British and Irish Lions’ objection to South African Marius Jonker being the TMO?

RE – It’s a difficult one and I was a bit baffled when Marius was appointed, but it could not be helped due to Covid. We are close friends but I made a point of not phoning him before the match because being appointed so suddenly must have been a tough thing for him. But for the Lions to point out that he is South African did not sit well with me. When New Zealand and Australia played each other last year in the Rugby Championship, they had referees from the host country, that’s the way it is with Covid.

If Ben O’Keeffe does not give us a decision we want on Saturday, we would never say it’s because he’s a New Zealander and Warren Gatland also comes from New Zealand. I learnt when I was younger and said a bit too much about referees, it comes back to bite you.

Q: You have posted a few clips to social media of decisions you felt went against you, has the series now become a battle in the media almost as much as on the field?

RE – I’ve also learnt that if you talk in the media too much it also tends to backfire on you. But then Warren Gatland – who is a great guy – spoke a lot about Marius Jonker last week, which was weird going into a Test. We would never say Warren Gatland is a New Zealander and the referee is one as well. The referee has only got one pair of eyes, but if you are analysing things he is supposed to see then you are still upholding his integrity.

Q: On those social media tweets, are you Jaco Johan and why did you go public with the clips?

RE – I’m not Jaco Johan but I do follow him, he’s a big supporter of the Springboks and he feeds us good clips. He’s a really funny guy and I enjoy what he does, he’s often spot-on, like other guys I have followed and retweeted like SquidgeRugby. I just retweeted two or three of his really accurate tweets and sent two of my own tweets. The one was because our medical department and the BokSmart safety programme they run, tells us that the way Cheslin Kolbe was just picked up off the ground when he could have had a serious injury was very dangerous. We teach our primary school players that’s not how you treat players, you leave the guy on the ground. I wouldn’t want our Springboks to be picking up every Lions player that’s lying on the ground.

Q: If you were unhappy with the outcome of the Test, did you complain through the official channels?

RE – No, the Lions deserved to win. We tried to go through official channels on Sunday with some queries about decisions, we sent through clips, but we only got an answer from WorldRugby on Tuesday morning. So that’s disruptive when there are things you are trying to rectify and you want guidance on things you can fix. They said the officiating was the same as in the Six Nations. But we only had one training session left by the time they got back to us, we might still be able to incorporate a couple of things.

Q:This week former England and British and Irish Lions coach Sir Clive Woodward, in his column for the Daily Mail saidyoushould “butt out” because you are“taking over again” and the “confusion at the top and a lack of demarcation between the roles of director of rugby … and … national team coach … is killing the Springboks”. What do you think of those comments?

RE – “I’m not sure Clive Woodward is so important in South Africa, but Jacques Nienaber and I are great mates, we’ve worked a lot together since our days in the military back in 1990. I’m the water-carrier now, so he’s got a higher rank than me now, that makes him my boss at the moment. If we had scored that try in the 71^st minute then people would say the relationship is working perfectly. Jacques’ job is the coaching, my job is to get the structure right, make sure we are given a fair chance, get through the Covid protocols and make sure players are available. I also need to inform people what is going on. And I help with the coaching plan and I carry water. The important thing is that all the players are now back on the park and training every day this week.