Ken Borland

For most observers, the Sharks rugby squad would seem to already have a special team environment going, representing the demographics of the country and, at the same time, leading the pack in terms of performance on the field and in the boardroom. But Springbok captain Siya Kolisi is confident that their culture is still budding, the best is yet to come.

Kolisi joined the Sharks a year ago amidst much fanfare and, even if his international commitments have meant he has not played as many matches for them as he would have liked, he has clearly settled in well and is contributing in a big way.

As the man who has driven so much of the highly-successful new Springbok team culture, Kolisi is ideally placed to comment on how the Sharks are building a new environment as well.

“Every sporting culture has a past that you have to take into account,” Kolisi said at Kings Park during a media weekend. “We’re still working towards something brilliant here.

“You have to acknowledge the past, you can’t change it but you need to learn from it. You need to have the conversations and understand what gets people going.

“Like with Eben Etzebeth, who was my first White friend. I love him as a person and we love each other’s families. So we have braais together but on some days we’ll go to the Chesa Nyama.

“It’s about being comfortable in your environment, but sometimes what is important to one person is not so much to the other. It doesn’t mean you can’t stand up for what you believe in,” Kolisi said.

Kolisi’s Springbok team-mate Lukhanyo Am is the Sharks captain and, as one of the most likeable and talented players around, he has had a key role in growing a successful culture at Kings Park.

“When you’re driving a culture, having a good environment off the field is nice too. We want to maintain high standards on and off the field.

“We try to keep the environment pure, not just me but everyone. Fortunately we have managed to get it right and keep the standards high,” Am said.

And then six months ago came the dreadful civil unrest in Durban that had the areas around Kings Park cowering behind barbed wire, using civilian patrols to protect themselves against the waves of looting and destruction. It was surely the greatest test of the Sharks’ culture.

“Last year was worse than the craziest scene you’d see in a movie,” Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee said of the rioting. “It was such a test of our culture and we stood together.

“We’re trying to grow an inclusive culture here, both in terms of lifestyle and our community, and we’ve managed to grow in uncomfortable spaces, like Black Lives Matter.

“There’s not going to be any conflict if you talk about an issue like that, but there’s guaranteed to be conflict if you don’t talk.

“I don’t think we have our team culture dead right yet, it’s a thing that lives and evolves. A player could come into the culture tomorrow and not use the right language or not be accepted, and then we won’t get the performance side right,” Coetzee said.

India owe numerous debts of gratitude to their captain Virat Kohli, who batted for four-and-a-half hours and wrestled them to 223 all out with his defiant innings of 79, but his conqueror, Kagiso Rabada, said the secret to his and South Africa’s success on the first day of the decisive third Test at Newlands on Tuesday was not coming up with any special plans but rather being relentless in their basics.

Rabada was outstanding in his 50^th Test and actually deserved better than his final figures of 4/73 in 22 overs on Tuesday, such was the quality of his fast bowling. His tussle with Kohli was dazzling at times, and South Africa’s talismanic fast bowler eventually won the day when he had the great batsman caught behind as the penultimate wicket of the innings.

“Kohli batted extremely well and he was very patient with leaving the ball,” Rabada said. “People think we have such wicked plans but it was all about bowling a good line and length, being relentless and resilient.

“I wasn’t going for his pads obviously. I was just trying to get the ball to swing away, that’s where he’s been getting out lately, and the important thing was to just stick at it.

“Bowling very seldom feels perfect, but it was a good day for me. I just tried to be as consistent as possible. Nothing changes, I’m just trying to do the same thing.

“Things went my way today, I feel good about the way I bowled and it was a decent day,” Rabada said with some modesty.

India chose to bat first with dark clouds enveloping the ground and a greenish tinge to the pitch. Armed with the hard, red new ball, Rabada and Duanne Olivier made life hard for them from the outset.

But although there was movement and some steep bounce, Rabada said the Newlands pitch is not exactly poisonous. South Africa, batting under clear blue skies, had reached 17/1 in the eight overs they faced before stumps.

“There’s still quite a bit in the pitch, but it looks a proper Test wicket. Batsmen will have to grind, but the bowlers still have to bowl well. We have no control over conditions, but I don’t think it’s going to get much easier for batsmen tomorrow [Wednesday],” Rabada said.

The 26-year-old, who took his tally to 230 Test wickets, was in his element on Tuesday. His action was liquid smooth, his accuracy superb and the ball was talking.

India have a couple of mean fast bowlers of their own though, and South Africa’s batting line-up are going to have to support their bowlers now and do well as a unit.

Having first met in a Test in Dunedin in 1921, which New Zealand won 13-5, the Springboks and the All Blacks will play their 100th match in the unlikely venue of Townsville, north-eastern Queensland on Saturday. The greatest rivalry in rugby has seen many historic clashes, but these are five memorable ones that perhaps pass under the radar …

August 6, 1994 New Zealand 18 South Africa 18 (Eden Park, Auckland)

The year 1995 is forever embedded in South African history due to the 15-12 triumph over the All Blacks at Ellis Park in the World Cup final, but much of the groundwork for that win was actually laid the year before when the Springboks toured New Zealand.

South Africa’s previous Test against the All Blacks had ended in an 18-18 draw at Eden Park on August 6, 1994, so the Springboks would have believed they could beat their great rivals back at home on the Highveld. Of course the ever-arrogant Louis Luyt was president of the SA Rugby Rugby Football Union then and had coach Ian McIntosh fired, by fax, for his supposed shortcomings after that match.

But the magnitude of the achievement is shown by that fact that, to this day, no visiting team has won a Test against the All Blacks at Eden Park, the 2017 British and Irish Lions coming the closest in a 15-15 draw.

It was only the fourth time since isolation that the Springboks had played the All Blacks and they outscored them two tries to zero as McIntosh’s direct rugby started to reap benefits. Unfortunately, the ill-discipline that plagued the tour cost South Africa a memorable win as they conceded six penalties. New Zealand were able to salvage the draw when hooker and captain Sean Fitzpatrick (who else?), tugged Brendan Venter’s jersey, provoking a wild swing from the fiery centre and the crucial penalty.

August 14, 2004 South Africa 40 New Zealand 26 (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)

Two Springboks have scored hat-tricks against the All Blacks – wing Ray Mordt in 1981 and centre Marius Joubert in 2004, and no New Zealander has returned the favour.

Joubert’s hat-trick came in an epic 40-26 win for South Africa at Ellis Park, Jake White’s team beating New Zealand for the first time in four years in front of a euphoric crowd of more than 60 000 people.

The Springboks started slowly and were 10 points down after the first quarter. But their set-pieces began to exert influence and some magical backline play by Joubert, Jean de Villiers, Breyton Paulse and De Wet Barry, with eighthman Joe van Niekerk producing a classic display of linking rugby, suddenly saw the momentum turned into a deluge of tries. Victory was sealed in the 76^th minute when Joubert jinked through under the poles for his third try. South Africa won the Tri-Nations the next weekend.

August 27, 2005 New Zealand 31 South Africa 27 (Carisbrook, Dunedin)

Since their return from isolation in 1992, the Springboks have only won 16 of the 62 Tests they have played against the All Blacks, so New Zealand’s dominance is clear and the greatest rivalry in rugby has become rather one-sided at times. But it still holds a special place in Kiwi hearts and South Africa still have the greatest winning percentage against the All Blacks of all opponents.

In fact, back in 2005, it was felt that the Springboks, under Jake White and John Smit, had reignited the old rivalry enough for the All Blacks to debut a new haka against them – the Kapa o Pango – rather than against the British & Irish Lions, who were touring that year too.

In a humdinger in Dunedin, South Africa’s hold on the Tri-Nations crown slipped as New Zealand snatched a dramatic 31-27 win. The lead changed hands seven times before another hooker, Keven Mealamu, broke the Springboks’ hearts by crashing over for a try with just four minutes of play left.

August 1, 2009 South Africa 31 New Zealand 19 (Kings Park, Durban)

On August 1, 2009, flyhalf Morne Steyn broke miscellaneous records as he kicked eight penalties and scored a try which he converted, all of South Africa’s points in a 31-19 win over the All Blacks at Kings Park in Durban. A second-half drop goal attempt hit the upright.

It was the first time the Springboks had beaten New Zealand on back-to-back weekends since 1976, following their 28-19 win in Bloemfontein seven days earlier.

John Smit was leading the Springboks for a world record 60^th time that day and the Springbok lineout was utterly dominant and flank Heinrich Brussow cleaned up on the floor. The home side also harangued the All Blacks with a swarming defence and scrummed and mauled superbly.

October 4, 2014 South Africa 27 New Zealand 25 (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)

Pat Lambie’s 55m penalty on full-time to beat the All Blacks 27-25 at Ellis Park in 2014 was a thrilling conclusion to a dazzling Test match that was full of intensity and side-to-side action, ending a 22-match unbeaten run for New Zealand, one short of their own world record, and giving Heyneke Meyer’s Springboks their first win in three years against their great rivals.

It came after a pulsating All Blacks comeback from 11 points down saw them take a 25-24 lead. The Springboks had thrown the ball around in the first half and scored three tries, but New Zealand came roaring back to make for a special Test match which saw South Africa find the balance between structured play and some cracking attacking bursts from turnover ball.

Going from the second-tier Varsity Shield competition into the starting line-up of the defending champion Bulls Currie Cup team in the same year is going to require something a bit special and that’s exactly what Sibongile Novuka has done as he was named on Tuesday to start at fullback against the Pumas in Nelspruit on Wednesday afternoon.

Apart from his own skills and attributes, it is always going to help when you have the backing of a former Springbok and Bulls legend. And the 23-year-old Novuka is represented by none other than Akona Ndungane, who suggested to the powers that be at Loftus Versfeld that they sign the University of KwaZulu-Natal star.

And judging by his lively displays off the bench in his two appearances so far, the Bulls seem to have secured an exciting talent.

“He was really good in the Varsity Shield for the UKZN Impi, he was one of the players to really put their hands up in that competition, and he was seen by Akona Ndungane, who came to us about him. He’s tall [1.92m], big [96kg], he’s got good feet and he’s solid under the high ball. We’ve had David Kriel at fullback most of the year, but this is a good week to give Sibongile a chance.

“He’s done well on the wing off the bench the last two weeks, and it will be nice to see how he combines now with two good wings in Kurt-Lee Arendse and Stravino Jacobs. We’ve got a lot of outside backs now and playing the Pumas away is as tough as it gets, so it’s going to be a good challenge for Sibongile,” Bulls coach Jake White said on Tuesday.

If the Bulls’ backline is like a buggy zipping around with nippy speedsters, then the pack is the tank that blasts through the frontline defences and creates the momentum and space.

Eighthman Elrigh Louw and lock Ruan Nortje, both of whom have the look of future Springboks, return to the starting line-up, and props Mornay Smith and Gerhard Steenekamp, who have played very well as a combination, are reunited in the starting front row.

Bulls team: Sibongile Novuka, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Stravino Jacobs, Johan Goosen, Zak Burger, Elrigh Louw, Muller Uys, Arno Botha (Captain), Ruan Nortje, Janko Swanepoel, Mornay Smith, Schalk Erasmus, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench – Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jacques van Rooyen, Mhleli Dlamini, Reinhardt Ludwig, WJ Steenkamp, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith, Lionel Mapoe.