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Ken Borland



Boucher praises Bavuma as an exemplar of good leadership 0

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Ken

Proteas coach Mark Boucher praised Temba Bavuma as an exemplar of good leadership at the weekend, following the captain’s man-of-the-match performance in South Africa’s 49-run win in the final T20 against Ireland in Belfast that secured a 3-0 series sweep.

Bavuma set up the winning total of 189/2 with his polished 72 off 51 balls, and Boucher expressed his delight at his skipper being back in the runs. Bavuma’s first half-century for the Proteas in 10 innings ticks another box for South Africa as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in October/November.

“I was very happy for Temba to get some runs at the end of the tour because he’s been putting in the hard work, he’s a tough character and he takes it personally if he doesn’t score runs. Those runs have come at the perfect time now and he will definitely take that confidence forward to Sri Lanka. It was really just a matter of time before he made runs.

“It’s always nice when your captain can lead with confidence because he has runs under his belt and I have to say Temba has been leading very well on and off the field. It’s very nice now that he has also ticked the scoring runs box,” Boucher said.

While Bavuma said he was aware of his shortage of runs, his focus had very much been on driving the Proteas chariot and ensuring the team came first.

“I have been a bit lean on runs, but I just put aside my personal ambitions and tried to execute for the team. From a batting point of view, our approach was a bit different in this match and we really wanted to lay a foundation up front. We haven’t been good in the powerplay in the previous games, we’ve been too aggressive and lost too many wickets,” Bavuma said.

Jake well-pleased with his young Bulls assets 0

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Ken

Bulls coach Jake White has been able to run the rule over his young assets in the last two games and he declared himself well-pleased after they secured an impressive 48-31 win over the Pumas in Nelspruit on Tuesday night.

Only eight members of the squad that won the Currie Cup final have been involved in the preparation series matches against Eastern Province and now the Pumas, as White has chosen largely youthful line-ups comprising the fringe talent at Loftus Versfeld.

“What I’ve enjoyed the most is that this team has an average age of 22. A guy like Jan-Hendrik Wessels [prop] is still U20, Reinhardt Ludwig [lock] was still in matric last year at Affies. So I’m chuffed we have some nice depth going forward and this will be a good team if we can keep them together.

“There was some over-agerness, with tighthead props and scrumhalves taking tap-and-goes and then knocking on, but that’s the thing with youthfulness and having a young side – they can make mistakes,” White said afer the match.

The Buls led 27-17 at halftime and stretched that lead to 41-17 on the hour mark, before conceding two late tries, but White said he still valued the defensive effort in the second half.

“I’m sure neither defence coach will be that happy with the first half. We gave them 17 points in the first 21 minutes, but then they did not score again until the 70th minute, even though I’m sure [coach] Jimmy Stonehouse gave them a rev at halftime and it was always going to be difficult for us in te second half. Our defence was much stronger in the scond half,” White said.

Sharks now in the semis; now-now a major force 0

Posted on August 24, 2019 by Ken

 

Judging by some of the brilliant young talent at their disposal, the Sharks will now-now be a major force again in South African rugby; for now, their hopes of defending their Currie Cup title remain alive as their 48-40 victory over the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night secured them a place in the semifinals.

They have been mightily impressive over the last 3 weekends in beating Free State, the Golden Lions and the Blue Bulls, but they paid for a scratchy start as wins for both the Cheetahs and the Lions earlier on Saturday means the Sharks have finished fourth on the log and will have to travel to Bloemfontein for their semi-final.

The departure of coach Robert du Preez, his three sons and other SuperRugby regulars was always going to create some uncertainty, but given some of the performances by the youngsters new mentor Sean Everitt has blooded in the Currie Cup, the future is bright for the Sharks.

Locks Hyron Andrews and Ruben van Heerden look ready to do well at SuperRugby level, Sanele Nohamba is a very exciting young scrumhalf and Aphelele Fassi is a fullback who should come into the Springbok picture in the next World Cup cycle.

And then there’s Boeta Chamberlain, a 20-year-old flyhalf who looks to have the sort of all-round game that the Sharks can build a powerful SuperRugby side on in the next couple of years.

All of these players were outstanding at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night, but Everitt was the first to admit the Sharks were given a major helping hand by the Blue Bulls having to play the last 45 minutes with 14 men after a red card to outside centre Johnny Kotze for a late, high shoulder-charge to the neck of Kobus van Wyk.

It had been a thrilling, ding-dong battle up till then, with the Sharks having pulled back to 20-21 down as the first half entered its last five minutes. There was much at stake, with the KwaZulu-Natalians needing a win to make the semifinals and the Bulls needing a bonus point to ensure they did not finish last on the log and therefore have to face a promotion/relegation match against the Griffons from the Northern Free State.

The Blue Bulls, who decided scoring four tries was the easiest route to that bonus point, were a team released, playing with a tremendous sense of freedom as they made the early running.

Inside centre Dylan Sage launched a superb counter-attack after a poor clearance by the Sharks, Kotze then blazing through on a great run for the first try in the 11th minute; and there were further tries by prop Lizo Gqoboka and flyhalf Manie Libbok, running hard and flat at the line and knifing through, just like Handre Pollard.

The Blue Bulls were 21-13 up after 33 minutes, but then Fassi took over in a top-class display of attacking fullback play.

He was the provider for flank Jacques Vermeulen’s try as he gathered a clearance kick inside his own half, but immediately spotted the opportunities a cluster of tight forwards on the one side of the defensive line provided for a man of his pace; Fassi burst through the weak spot he had targeted and sent Vermeulen charging over.

He was again prominent early in the second half, keeping the Sharks on attack after a Nohamba penalty attempt had bounced off the post, replacement JP Pietersen cleverly taking advantage of the Bulls’ back three being one man short with a grubber through that was easily converted into a try by centre Jeremy Ward.

The Sharks struck the killer blow in the 47th minute as wing Van Wyk counter-attacked off a kick and passed inside to 21-year-old Fassi, who burst through brilliantly before producing a sublime offload to Nohamba, who sent Van Wyk over for the try. Nohamba converted and the Sharks were 41-21 ahead.

The Blue Bulls managed to eke out that crucial bonus point in the 51st minute as wing Cornal Hendricks sliced through for their fourth try and the final quarter saw replacement flank Ruan Steenkamp and eighthman Tim Agaba both scoring as the home side earned respect for their character in hanging on in the contest despite being a man short.

While Fassi was a deserved man of the match, Chamberlain also caught the eye with a polished display. He has an astute boot and superb handling skills.

Soon after Kotze’s red card, it was Chamberlain who produced a moment of magic to ensure the Sharks took a 27-21 lead into halftime. Andrews stole a Bulls lineout after the hooter and Chamberlain then committed two defenders before a brilliant offload to Esterhuizen saw the Springbok cruise over for the try.

Then, with the Blue Bulls having closed the gap to 33-41, Chamberlain chipped ahead into a gap, regathered and quickly whipped the ball away to replacement Rhyno Smith, who raced over for the try.

While the Sharks look like a team on the up, with a pool of talent that is delivering, the Bulls are a side with surely just as much talent, but seemingly without the wherewithal or consistency to be a title-winning force.

 

Home semi secured, so Titans hub may rest 0

Posted on December 07, 2017 by Ken

Now that a RamSlam T20 Challenge home semi-final has been secured, Multiply Titans coach Mark Boucher has the luxury of resting some of his hub players as the runaway log-leaders complete the round-robin phase with two matches this week.

The Titans travel to Cape Town to play the WSB Cape Cobras on Friday, before finishing off against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in Durban on Sunday. They will then host whoever scrapes into the playoffs in fourth spot in the first semi-final at SuperSport Park next Wednesday.

“Playing on Friday, Sunday and Wednesday could have an effect on the guys, but we’ve got great depth and we’ve earned the right to prepare for the semi-final as we see fit. So there’ll probably be some mixing and matching, we believe we’ve got the momentum and so we can prepare specifically for that semi-final,” said Boucher.

“If we play our best XI for these last two games then we basically just give ourselves one day’s preparation for the semi-final, so I certainly don’t have a problem giving other players an opportunity.

We have some awesome players who haven’t even played a game yet, they’re itching to get on the park, so that will ensure there’s no complacency.”

Boucher said playing at home in the semi-finals would give the players a ‘feel good’ factor, but otherwise it was not a huge advantage for his team.

“Obviously the guys enjoy playing at SuperSport Park and they’re very confident at home, but anything can happen in T20. All the teams have good players who can take the game away from you. So we will have to be on top of our game,” Boucher warned.

Fast bowler Morné Morkel will be available for selection this week, which will give Boucher an opportunity to rest any of his pacemen who may be carrying niggles. Dale Steyn will be playing close to home in the PPC Newlands clash against the Titans, but may well miss the trip to Durban, resting up so he can give it his all in the knockout games.

The Titans will also be happy that they came through their first real test in this season’s competition, beating the vkb Knights with just a ball to spare when all seemed lost in their double-header match in Port Elizabeth at the weekend, which will stand them in good stead should they be under pressure in the semi-finals.

“We always knew there would be a tight game along the way, but I don’t think we batted very well, there were some pretty soft shots by the top-order that got us into that situation. But the middle-order played very well and refused to give it away. Farhaan Behardien is in the form of his life and it was nice to be on top of a tight game before the semis,” concluded Boucher.

http://www.titans.co.za/index.php/categories-1-layout/item/755-feel-good-factor

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  • Thought of the Day

    1 John 3:2 – “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him.”

    The desire of every Christian should be to become like Jesus Christ.

    Unconditionally accepting the Lordship of Christ is the beginning of that way of life. You should be focused on becoming like him.

    But trying to do this in your own strength will only lead to frustration and disappointment. When you are united with the Holy Spirit, your faith will come alive.

    Total obedience to Jesus is also needed to develop a Christlike character.

    This means just loving and serving God and others! No hypocrisy, nor false pride, nor trying to impress your fellow man.

     



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