Ken Borland

The Unlimited Titans will travel across the Jukskei River – as well as a few smaller streams – today to do battle with neighbours and arch-rivals the bizhub Highveld Lions in the second edition of the Momentum eKasi Challenge, to be played this year at the Dobsonville Oval in Soweto.

And, in keeping with Cricket South Africa’s new transformation targets, there will be a healthy sprinkling of Black African players to inspire township cricket fans.

Pacemen Junior Dala, who came across from the Lions to the Titans last year, and Ethy Mbhalati, and wicketkeeper/batsman Mangaliso Mosehle will play for the Titans, while in-form SA A batsman Temba Bavuma, seamer Pumelela Matshikwe and wrist-spinner Eddie Leie will be in action for the Lions.

It may just be a pre-season friendly, with all 13 squad members allowed to be used, but Roelof van der Merwe, one of the toughest competitors you will ever come across, believes there is much to be gained for the Titans if they can reverse last season’s result and beat the Lions on their home turf.

“Every game against the Lions, we like to beat them, and I’m sure the feeling is mutual. It will be a good measure to see where we are in our preparations, especially for the bowlers because we really want to nail down our skills ahead of the new season,” Van der Merwe told The Pretoria News yesterday.

While much of the Titans squad will be shaking off the winter rust, even though they have been training hard in the nets for a couple of months, Van der Merwe is looking forward to bowling on a Dobsonville Oval pitch that looks similar to the West Indian wickets he has been plying his trade on while playing half-a-dozen games for the St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League.

“The pitch looks a bit dry and slow, so I think we’ll play both frontline spinners, myself and Eden Links,” the left-arm orthodox bowler acknowledged.

With the rise of Shaun von Berg, Links did not get much chance for the Titans last season and he will be eager to put himself back at the forefront of coach Rob Walter’s thinking with a strong performance today.

While the likes of Von Berg and Graeme van Buuren, and the injured trio of Henry Davids, Albie Morkel and Rowan Richards, will obviously be back in the frame once the Titans open the Momentum One-Day Cup on October 10, today’s match is an important first step for several players with big seasons ahead of them.

For Dean Elgar, Farhaan Behardien, David Wiese and maybe even Heino Kuhn, there is the lure of the World Cup squad early next year, while Theunis de Bruyn, Vincent Moore and Heinrich Klaasen, all members of the highly-successful Tuks side, will want to show that they should be a part of the Titans’ season ahead.

For the Lions, the importance of starting the season well is even greater as they endured the most miserable of times in 2013/14.

The batting has an inexperienced look to it, with Stephen Cook, Gulam Bodi and Bavuma the only seasoned franchise players, while the pace attack will be led by Hardus Viljoen. Coach Geoff Toyana has chosen two of the talented up-and-coming pacemen in Gauteng to back up him and Matshikwe, in the form of Sean Jamison and Matthew Arnold.

The waiting is finally over for the 26 players involved in the eKasi Challenge and they will be looking to explode into action to provide the best sort of inspiration for the township spectators getting a rare glimpse of franchise cricket.

Squads

Highveld Lions: Stephen Cook, Gulam Bodi, Temba Bavuma, Yaseen Valli, Devon Conway, Nicky van den Bergh, Dwaine Pretorius, Sean Jamison, Hardus Viljoen, Pumelela Matshikwe, Eddie Leie, Rassie van der Dussen, Matthew Arnold.

Titans: Dean Elgar, Theunis de Bruyn, Heino Kuhn, Farhaan Behardien, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese, Mangaliso Mosehle, Eden Links, Vincent Moore, Ethy Mbhalati, Junior Dala, Heinrich Klaasen, Tabraiz Shamsi.

*Play starts at 9.30am & will be broadcast live on SuperSport 2

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw was delighted that his 100th Test victory was achieved in such compelling fashion as the All Blacks beat South Africa 32-16 in their Rugby Championship match at Soccer City in Soweto on Saturday.

The world champions scored 20 unanswered second-half points to end the tournament in style and ensure McCaw’s unique landmark was made even more memorable.

“It’s pretty special, a performance like that is why you test yourself and you have to be part of a pretty special team to win 100 Tests.

“The mental side is the most challenging thing in top sport, you have to pitch up regardless of what happened last week. We put in a good performance against Argentina and we needed to back that up if we’re going to keep progressing. I’m just delighted that we did that for the first time this year,” McCaw told a news conference after the game.

While the All Blacks had already clinched the inaugural Rugby Championship title with their 54-15 win over Argentina last weekend, Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said their performance on Saturday proved that they are worthy world champions.

“They are a great team, we were beaten by a better side today. We obviously still have a long way to go even though we’ve come up from fourth to second on the rankings.

“There’s obviously a big difference between second and first on the rankings and even though the All Blacks might play badly, they always have one or two brilliant players who get them off the hook.

“It will take a special side to beat them and they will need some luck and a referee who gives them all the 50/50 calls,” Meyer said.

The Springbok coach acknowledged that his team had simply made too many mistakes after dominating the first half to secure a 16-12 lead at the break.

“At half-time, we were in the game, we’d played the right game and kept them under pressure. But just after half-time we had a turnover against the best counter-attacking team and that put them ahead.

“Dan Carter was then superb as he controlled the game and it was very difficult for us to catch up. They forced us to take risks and the mistakes came, but they were soft moments,” Meyer complained.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said the victory was an all-round effort.

“It was a great game of rugby, it’s not often you get a performance like that against a very good South African team. It was a great victory against a great opponent.

“The whole group is working well together, we’ve got the recipe for the cake right and the mental state is great. The team is well-led by Richie, who has won 100 Tests because he has great mental strength,” Hansen said.

The All Blacks took the game to another level in the second half and McCaw said the two tries they scored between the 41st and 53rd minutes had been the decisive moments.

“We didn’t get a lot of ball in the first half, but traditionally the time just before and after the break are key. We conceded a couple of penalties just before half-time, but straight away we struck back in the second half and that gave the team a lift after we had given ourselves a pretty stern talking to in the shed. From then on we were in control,” McCaw said.

New Zealand may have just added the inaugural Rugby Championship title to their World Cup crown, but they still feel they have a point to prove when they take on South Africa in Soweto on Saturday.

The Springboks have just recorded two victories in this year’s southern hemisphere competition, at home over Argentina in the first round of matches and last weekend against Australia in Pretoria.

But the All Blacks did not meet the 2007 champions during their drive to the World Cup title last year and, even though they beat South Africa 21-11 three weeks ago in Dunedin, many critics suggested the Springboks had actually dominated the match and would have won were it not for errant goalkicking that saw them miss out on 20 potential points.

“Our big goal is to be better than we were 12 months ago and if we don’t get things right tomorrow, then we’ll undo a lot of the good work we’ve done. Even though we’ve won the Rugby Championship, there’s still this big challenge ahead of playing the Springboks at home. It will be a huge test of where we are as a team,” All Blacks captain Richie McCaw told reporters in Johannesburg on Friday.

Eighthman Kieran Read was even more demanding in his analysis of what was riding on the game.

“It would really cement our number one status to win away from home against one of the top sides. If we don’t win, then a lot of what we’ve achieved goes out the window. To be number one, you can’t just win at home and it’s really important to win this weekend, there’s no bigger challenge than playing the Springboks at home,” Read said.

Soccer City, the venue for Saturday’s match, has a capacity of 94 700 and has hosted just one Test before, between the same two sides in 2010.

One of the great matches in the 91-year rivalry between the two rugby powerhouses was won by a last-minute try by New Zealand fullback Israel Dagg, spoiling Springbok captain John Smit’s 100th Test.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said the daunting surroundings will only increase the determination of his side, who have won their last 15 matches, just three off the world record set by Lithuania in 2010.

“Sure, 90 000 people will make a lot of noise, but if you do things right on the field then you quieten them down and it becomes your place. The players get excited about playing at venues like that, it’s a magnificent stadium,” Hansen said.

Springbok captain Jean de Villiers said his team were desperate not to lose the gains of last weekend, when they hammered Australia 31-8, ending a record five-match losing streak against the Wallabies and their biggest win over them since the 53-8 hiding at Ellis Park in 2008.

“We played very well last weekend, but the pressure is still on us to perform. Australia had injury upon injury during that game, which definitely had an impact, so we’re not suddenly thinking we’re a great team. We’re happy with the improvement shown, but we’re very aware that we need to step up to another level this weekend,” De Villiers said.

“If we put on a bad show, then we’re back where we started. We need to keep on evolving and, in this country, that’s usually judged by the result. We gained some momentum last weekend, and we want to build some more to take with us on the end-of-year tour.”

Twenty-year-old Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen has been identified as an obvious key figure and McCaw said the All Blacks would concentrate on disrupting the quality of his possession.

“Goosen certainly played well last week, he got good ball and used it well so guys like Bryan Habana could benefit. He certainly backs himself and we’ve seen his ability with the Cheetahs in SuperRugby, so we’ll have to keep an eye on him and limit the amount of good ball he gets,” McCaw said.

The experienced Ruan Pienaar will also be a key figure for the Springboks at scrumhalf, tasked with protecting Goosen as South Africa go in search of a ninth victory over New Zealand in 13 tests in the greater Johannesburg region.

“There’s a lot hanging on this Test, it’s important for us and a massive game for New Zealand, they’ve got a lot riding on it as they chase the world record for consecutive wins.

“Our forwards will need to be even better than in Dunedin because the All Blacks will come out firing. All 22 of us will have to make a massive step up and if we kick poorly, then they will punish us because they have great finishers like Dagg who can score from his own 22. We’re going to have to make lots of tackles, ensure that they are first-time tackles and not give them any momentum.

“And we need to take our opportunities, that’s what was lacking in New Zealand. You only get two or three opportunities against the All Blacks, we have to take them, be patient and play in the right areas,” Pienaar said.

Wing Julian Savea, who scored two tries last weekend against Argentina, has been replaced by Hosea Gear in the New Zealand team to play South Africa in their Rugby Championship match at Soweto on Saturday, it was announced on Thursday.

Coach Steve Hansen has seemingly dropped Savea because of fears over his ability under the high ball and the likelihood that the Springboks will use plenty of kicking in the highveld Test.

The All Blacks are also expecting a fierce physical onslaught from the home team and Hansen has made one change to the starting pack, with Brodie Retallick replacing Luke Romano at lock.

Romano suffered facial cuts last weekend against Argentina and has been unable to train fully this week.

“Luke got beaten up a bit and has a lot of cuts, meaning he hasn’t played a full part in training, while we thought we’d give Julian a wee breather. We have a lot of confidence in Hosea Gear,” Hansen said at a news conference in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Romano will swap places with Retallick and start off the bench on Saturday and there are three other changes amongst the reserves with prop Ben Franks, flank Adam Thomson and utility back Tamati Ellison replacing Charlie Faumuina, Sam Cane and Ben Smith.

The absence of Cane robs the All Blacks of an out-and-out fetcher, but Hansen said the bigger Thomson would boost their lineout.

“Adam definitely gives us another lineout option. He’s been part of the set-up for a long time and we’ve just been waiting for his injury to clear up so we can give him a crack. He had a busy SuperRugby season, but the extra lineout option is the reason for the change,” Hansen said.

With Johan Goosen now playing at flyhalf, Hansen expects the Springboks to probe for gaps with ball in hand more than they did in their previous meeting in Dunedin three weeks ago when Morne Steyn was at 10 and the All Blacks won 21-11.

“Inside their own half they’ll kick, but in our half they’ll run more and play more of a continuity game. I expect we’ll see a lot more movement of the ball than in Dunedin, Goosen is a pretty classy player. He takes the ball to the line, he can break himself or put others in space. He’s quite special,” Hansen said.

The successor to World Cup-winning coach Sir Graham Henry said it was important for the All Blacks not to focus on the venue, the 94 700-capacity Soccer City, the same field on which the 2010 football world cup final was played.

“We have a lot of experience through the spine of the team and those guys have played all over the world and seen most places. So when they get on the field, it’s all the same for them, it’s a bit of grass with lines painted on. That’s the mindset you want.

“Sure, 90 000 people will make a lot of noise, but if you do things right on the field then you quieten them down and it becomes your place,” Hansen said.

Team – 15-Israel Dagg, 14-Cory Jane, 13-Conrad Smith, 12-Ma’a Nonu, 11-Hosea Gear, 10-Dan Carter, 9-Aaron Smith, 8-Kieran Read, 7-Richie McCaw, 6-Liam Messam, 5-Sam Whitelock, 4-Brodie Retallick, 3-Owen Franks, 2-Andrew Hore, 1-Tony Woodcock. Reserves: 16-Keven Mealamu, 17-Ben Franks, 18-Luke Romano, 19-Adam Thomson, 20-Piri Weepu, 21-Aaron Cruden, 22-Tamati Ellison.