Ken Borland

Proteas captain Dean Elgar has reminded his top six batsmen that they will all start on zero again when the third Test against India gets underway at Newlands on Tuesday, but he is optimistic that South Africa’s batting line-up can build on their encouraging display in winning the second Test at the Wanderers last week.

First-innings half-centuries by Keegan Petersen and Temba Bavuma gave the Proteas a first-innings lead in Johannesburg and then, led by Elgar’s epic 96 not out, they racked up 243/3 in the fourth innings to win by seven wickets as Aiden Markram, Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen and Bavuma all shared vital partnerships with the skipper.

“The top six need to take responsibility and they showed some good signs at the end of the Wanderers Test,” Elgar said in Cape Town on Monday. “We hope to build on that.

“But we know our work is not done and we all start on zero tomorrow. The most successful players at this level never lose their hunger to come back and make another play, to be a big influence for their side again.

“Winning this match and therefore the series would be the biggest victory in my Test career, obviously as a new captain but also it will be massive for this player group.

“So much work has been put in and so much has not gone for us, but beating the World No.1 team would speak a massive amount for the squad,” Elgar said.

While India will welcome back regular captain Virat Kohli and will introduce one of Ishant Sharma or Umesh Yadav into their pace attack in place of Mohammed Siraj, who strained his hamstring at the Wanderers, South Africa have a clean bill of health but are unlikely to make many changes to their team, according to Elgar.

“Everyone is fit and ready to go, I don’t think there are any hiccups. A bit of wear and tear is normal in a Test series and, as a bowler, if your feet aren’t sore then you’re not working hard enough.

“Conditions-wise, I don’t see many changes, we want to try to be as stable as possible going into a deciding match. Newlands has never really been known for pace and bounce, and it looks like they want us to get five days of cricket.

“If we implement our basics properly, focus on session-to-session, maybe even hour-to-hour, then we will get there. Visually, it looks a good Test pitch, but you don’t know what’s happening underneath.

“Newlands is always a battle between bat and ball, and if you apply your disciplines and the basics, then you will get success,” Elgar said.

It was back in August 2015 in Umhlanga, the Springboks’ base ahead of Tests in Durban, when then coach Heyneke Meyer said Pieter-Steph du Toit reminded him of 2007 World Cup hero Danie Rossouw because of his versatility and exciting all-round ability.

Du Toit started his Springbok career under Meyer as a lock, but just as Rossouw excelled as a loose forward as well as being able to cover in the second row, the 28-year-old Du Toit is now firmly entrenched as a flank and won the 2019 WorldRugby Player of the Year starring in the No.7 jersey as he spearheaded South Africa’s World Cup success.

But a rash of injuries to locks in the current Springbok squad means Du Toit might yet find himself back in the second row. Eben Etzebeth picked up a rib injury in the first Test against Georgia at the weekend and RG Snyman’s return now seems further away as he is recovering from a skin graft operation after his unfortunate fire pit incident in Ireland. Lood de Jager is also making his way back from long-term injury.

While Georgia presented a physical challenge for the Springboks, Du Toit knows the British and Irish Lions will ramp that up to another level, so he is happy to fit in wherever required in the South African pack.

“I haven’t played lock for a while, but when I started my career that’s where I played. It will mean some extra work in the scrums, but I will play wherever they need me. But for now, every game you play as if it’s your last match and we need to get our systems better for the Lions series. The physicality of Georgia was a good test, they’re big and naturally strong as well.

“The Lions are very spoilt in the loose forward department, they definitely have world-class players there and they seem to have a player for every game-plan and every situation. I guess they’ll assess what their best combination is against the franchises, and we can judge what their strategy might be from that,” Du Toit said on Sunday.

As far as the performance against Georgia goes, Du Toit was as considered as when he is back home in his bermudas on the Riebeek Valley wine farm, tasting the latest bouquets from their Kloovenburg estate.

“It gave us a good indication of where we are at and what we have to work on. There were a few things lost in the detail and clearly they need some work, some decision-making here and there was not that good.

“I also felt sad for someone like Jasper Wiese running on for his debut and there were no fans shouting. That moment was so special for me, I dreamt of it from a young age. We’ve had experience of no crowds at franchise level but it makes a massive difference in Test rugby, it’s like that small flame that gives you extra motivation needs to find a different place,” Du Toit said.

One of the most vital aspects of the Bulls’ success this season has been belief and in this respect they have reminded me a bit of the last great side to play out of Loftus Versfeld, the one that won three SuperRugby crowns and five Currie Cup titles between 2002 and 2010.

Even when Jake White’s team were 10 points down with less than 20 minutes to go in the Currie Cup final against the Sharks last weekend, there seemed to be a singleminded focus that even though they had looked an ill-disciplined, ragged lot for long periods of the game, there was no way they would allow themselves to be beaten in the end.

Arno Botha was one of the heroes of the match as he came off the bench and scored two tries, and he spoke this week about the confidence a coach like White and a captain like Duane Vermeulen give the team.

Heyneke Meyer, the coach of that Super Rugby winning Bulls side of more than a decade ago, had a similar effect on his team, having done the same rebuilding job after years of failure in Pretoria. And reading Meyer’s recently-released book 7 – My Notes on Leadership and Life, written with journalist Marco Botha, it seems as if the coach almost brainwashed his players into believing they could achieve the extraordinary if not what was considered impossible.

One of the seven points in order to be successful that Meyer expounds on in his book is “You must believe in your vision”.

Of course all top sportspeople and teams have a belief that they can win, but the type of belief Meyer is talking about is what happened at the end of the 2007 SuperRugby campaign when the Bulls won their last four round-robin games with bonus points including the scarcely-believable 92-3 win over the Reds which gave them a crucial home semi-final, something they had earlier identified as being crucial if they wanted to win the daunting competition.

The book is full of the sort of motivational stories, aphorisms and mind tricks that Meyer employed on his team. Whether or not these ploys would still work today is a matter of conjecture, but there is no denying that belief was one of the key characteristics of that superb Bulls side.

Obviously belief alone is not going to win trophies and Meyer also explores the importance of having all the team’s energy flowing in the direction of a vision – the more unrealistic the better; having the willpower to keep fighting whatever the hardship and the mental toughness to always go another round; and the work ethic that set apart players like Morne Steyn (now a driving force in White’s team) and Victor Matfield.

Meyer also rightly devotes chapters to how no-one can achieve success on their own and on the importance of enjoying the journey. 7 – My Notes on Leadership and Life is certainly an enjoyable journey through Meyer’s extraordinary achievements as a Bulls coach but also his time in charge of the Springboks.

The foreword is written by former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and it was Gauteng’s privilege to host some of the best Test matches ever played when Meyer’s South Africa hosted Hansen’s New Zealand. The book tells the story of their friendship and there is no doubting the mutual respect between the two.

Like Hansen, White has also won rugby’s biggest prize in the shape of the World Cup and he is also undoubtedly building something special at Loftus Versfeld. Much of that revolves around the inspirational presence of Vermeulen and Meyer also talks about the Springbok great and how highly he rates him for his mental toughness.

Let’s hope that the success in Pretoria can also translate to players coming through and contributing to the continued success of the Springboks.