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Ken Borland



‘The past season was disappointing’ – Rabada agrees with the stats 0

Posted on June 02, 2020 by Ken

Kagiso Rabada, the Proteas’ top strike bowler, admitted on Monday that the previous season was a disappointment, backing up the statistics which show that it was the 25-year-old’s poorest since he began playing Test cricket for South Africa.

The former No.1 bowler in the world played six Tests in the 2019/20 season and took 21 wickets at an average of 32.85, the first time since making his debut in 2015/16 that his average has dipped into the ‘mediocre’ thirties. His previously least successful season was 2017 in England when he took 16 wickets in three Tests at 28.43. His career figures of 197 wickets in 43 Tests at an average of just 22.95 are a truer reflection of the immense talent he possesses.

To make matters worse, Rabada missed the crucial fourth Test against England at the Wanderers, when the Proteas had a chance of levelling the series, having been suspended for once again provocatively celebrating in the dismissed batsman’s face. The Wanderers has been a happy hunting ground for the Central Gauteng Lions star, with 24 wickets in five Tests there, at an average of just 20.54.

Rabada did not play in an ODI over the summer, but his performance in the World Cup last year was a let-down as he took just 11 wickets in nine matches, at an average of 36.09 and an economy rate of 5.08.

“This Covid-19 has affected people from multiple points of view and there are a lot of economic challenges. But I’ve been glad to get the rest, just not in the way it came, because the last five years have gone really quickly and there’s been a huge volume of cricket. So I’ve really, really enjoyed the break, it’s allowed me to think about what I really want, which makes it easier to set goals.

“The past season was disappointing, my stats were okay but I felt really rusty and a bit out of place. But it’s never supposed to be easy at international level and next season I will just take it day-by-day and try and achieve a new set of goals. Whatever I can contribute to the team winning would be great. That means you enjoy your cricket more and I am 150% committed to South African cricket,” Rabada said on Monday.

Rabada seemed less concerned with his overexuberant celebrations that have landed him in trouble with match referees and have certainly distracted from the focus of the Proteas at key times.

“It’s just passion. I’ve identified the things I need to work on and I will address those with the people closest to me and those people who I feel should help me. People are always going to criticise you in some way and it’s important not to take that to heart. You will always have critics no matter what you do and what others say should not affect you.

“It’s up to you what you want to reflect on and it’s got nothing to do with anyone else,” Rabada, who has been helping out the World Health Organisation with his Viral Wellness initiative along with Cameron Scott and Kingdom Kome, said.

Nothing logical, just sheer passion 0

Posted on February 06, 2019 by Ken

 

There was nothing logical about the Springboks’ epic victory over the All Blacks in Wellington last weekend: their recent form and that of their opponents certainly didn’t suggest it and neither did South Africa’s miserable record at The Cake Tin, where they had lost all six previous matches against New Zealand. The match statistics were thoroughly dominated by the home side, who outscored the Boks by six tries to five.

And, unusually when I get to watch the Springboks in a non-working capacity, there wasn’t a beer or a braai in sight when I settled down to watch the TV broadcast. That’s because I was watching in a shopping mall (not maul) of all places.

The occasion was one of those “events” that marketing people are so fond of, but this one was memorable, not just because the long nine-year wait for a Springbok win in New Zealand came to an end. I remember thinking, shortly before those excruciating final minutes when the world’s best referee, Nigel Owens, lost his composure as much as anyone, that this had been one of my most enjoyable Springboks-on-TV viewing experiences ever.

I know this next bit will be met with as much disbelief in some quarters as the revelation that I did not have a beer the entire match, but I was also the only White person at the gathering.

In terms of the demographics of the country, it is logical that last weekend’s Fine Leg Productions event with the Gwijo Squad and Touch Rugby Sundays shows what the future of rugby in this country will be like. And what a bright future it is judging by the sheer passion on display, the knowledgeable comments and the tremendous spirit that led to a wonderful atmosphere, even when many of us were cursing Owens under our breath.

I have watched rugby in many establishments in the supposed rugby heartland and felt way less comfortable in a testosterone-fuelled atmosphere and way less impressed by the knowledge of the game that was on display. Several women attended the Fine Leg Productions event and seemed totally at home.

And imagine how much harder it is for these rugby-loving Black fans to feel comfortable in some of our stadiums? This was one of the issues raised after the match in the discussion that was held and it is also central to the creation of the Gwijo Squad.

They are a group of rugby-mad Springbok followers who are transforming the stadium vibe by singing and chanting vernacular war cries and their efforts to inculcate a more inclusive culture have been mirrored at Springbok level. It has been hard for Black Springboks to feel totally comfortable in that environment, to feel that they can bring their own culture into the team, but that has all changed with the appointment of Siya Kolisi as captain. Now we see the team singing traditional songs before and after the game and it is wonderful to behold this new, all-South African culture taking hold.

With so much focus now on the economics of our rugby – the viability of our professional structures and how we are struggling to compete with overseas teams because of the weakness of the rand – it is definitely necessary for the sport to be open to as many communities as possible. In order for that to really take off, those communities have to feel wanted and truly part of South African rugby.

A term like “rugby development” is perhaps not the best word to use because it implies creating an interest that is not already there. Contrary to what All Blacks coach Steve Hansen may believe, judging by the extracts of his book published this week, rugby has also been a Black sport for more than a century.

Perhaps the Gwijo Squad can arrange to take Hansen, when he is here in the first week of October, on a little tour of the Eastern Cape, where Black clubs are more than a hundred years old and rugby poles are seen in the rural areas far more often than soccer goals.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-gauteng/20180922/282720522881060

Rugby uses its testosterone in the fight against rape 0

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Ken

 

Too much aggression and testosterone are often factors which get the blame for South Africa’s horrific rape statistics, but one brave survivor has teamed up with rugby sides to turn these integral parts of the game into something beneficial for the fight against violent sexual abuse.

The Jes Foord Cup, which is named after the founder of the Jes Foord Foundation, will be played for on Saturday in Durban between the first teams of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Durban Collegians. But the day is about so much more than just two rugby teams slugging it out for some silverware.

The University of KZN Rugby Club and Durban Collegians, in conjunction with the Jes Foord Foundation, have formed the Rugby Against Rape charity and the annual rugby day will see eight men’s teams from both the Durban and Pietermaritzburg campuses and four women’s teams in action as not only money but also tremendous awareness is raised about the scourge of rape.

In an incident which shocked KwaZulu-Natal in March 2008, the then 21-year-old Foord was gang-raped by four men at Shongweni Dam while walking with her father, who was forced to watch the awful assault at gunpoint.

But Foord vowed not to allow the terrible incident to destroy her and decided to speak out, forming the Jes Foord Foundation.

“I formed the foundation to help restore lives after rape by way of a number of initiatives and activities designed to change rape victims into rape survivors. I want to educate people and help them realise that there is life after rape,” Foord says.

Her rapists were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 and since then the Jes Foord Foundation has helped hundreds of rape survivors regain their dignity and self-esteem.

A bunch of young rugger buggers might seem an odd choice of partner for such a charity, but Foord said the varsity students were the ideal fit for her efforts to increase awareness around rape.

“I wanted to activate young adults and what better target than someone big and strong. When I tell the rugby players my story, I see their faces and they are absolutely silent for the whole talk, they want to be involved and they want to know how they can stop rape.

“I tell them that during one rugby match, in the 80 minutes excluding half-time, 282 people are raped. I tell them to play for them and it breaks their hearts that while they are having fun, running around, so many people suffer rape. I tell them to direct their anger towards helping the survivors and not towards the perpetrators,” Foord told The Daily Maverick.

“At this age, many of them are starting to think of settling down with a wife, but if not, it could be their daughters, sisters or mothers who get raped. In any case, it’s always someone’s daughter, sister or mother who is raped.”

Mark Schulze, a University of KZN Rugby Club executive committee member and former scrumhalf, said the players were thrilled to get the opportunity to help such a worthy cause.

“There’s been a very good response and the guys have jumped at the opportunity to help. They are tjoepstil when Jes talks and the fact that rugby is an aggressive sport fits in perfectly with the target market and the message she is trying to get across. Rape is happening to people left and right and there are a lot of vulnerable people on our campuses. She’s removed the taboo around speaking out about rape very successfully,” Schulze said.

Efforts to help rape survivors have often been marred by the shoddy, insensitive treatment they receive immediately after the attack and ensuring they get special care is a focus of the Jes Foord Foundation.

Because their body is literally a crime scene, rape victims are told not to shower or clean themselves by police, which they are understandably desperate to do.

“After my rape, I felt so dirty. But it’s not just that you have dirt or blood on you, it’s a whole new, deeper level of dirty. You have their smell on you, their sweat. You are desperate to scrub it off.

“I received a care package from a local pharmacy with so many special products in it to help feel clean again. And I thought, what about all those survivors who don’t get this, who just have a bar of soap and a bucket of water?” Foord said.

So Foord instituted the Handbag Project which distributes bags that contain an assortment of toiletry items, a scrubbing brush, sanitary towel, clean new underwear, a personal gift and an encouraging note to let a survivor know she is not alone.

Over 2,000 handbags were distributed by the foundation last year and members of the public can help them reach their target of 10,000 this year by donating supplies, handbags or funds to support the project; volunteering for a handbag-packing day; organising a drive for supplies or a volunteer bag-packing day in your area; or volunteering to become a depot for the Handbag Project in your area.

Read more:

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-05-15-rugby-against-rape/#.VhJf-_mqqkp

‘It will be war at the breakdowns!’ – Richie Gray 0

Posted on August 06, 2014 by Ken

According to Springboks breakdown coach Richie Gray, South Africa had the best statistics in that crucial phase of play in last year’s Rugby Championship, but he fully expects the opposition this year to have made serious plans to dethrone them.

“At the end of the Rugby Championship last year, we came out with the best stats, in terms of retention and turnovers, but the breakdown is becoming more of a war every year.

“Every country we go to, the newspapers are always talking about the ‘battle of the breakdown’ and this year it will be even more so. Australia have really taken a step forward there judging by SuperRugby, but every team emphasises the breakdown. If something happens 140 times in a game then it’s got to be important and we have to dominate and be accurate there,” Gray said on Wednesday.

While Francois Louw will obviously figure extensively when it comes to the Springboks’ efforts to steal ball, protecting one’s own possession on attack is just as important. Because an openside flank can only hit every second or third ruck, the breakdown does become truly a team effort.

“Every player has to be equipped to do breakdown work and I work with both the individual and collectively to make sure we get it spot on every time in training.

“Just like the greatest defensive system won’t work if your players can’t tackle, so your attack will always be running against a brick wall if you’re taking four or five seconds to get the ball out of the breakdown.”

The Springboks, with their tall, bulky physiques, have had a reputation for being one-dimensional at the rucks – just running up and ramming a shoulder in to try and bully opposition off the ball. But Gray has certainly up-skilled them in this department.

“I can remember being told by leading Northern Hemisphere coaches like Jim Telfer that you never take on the Springboks at waist-height because they’ll smash you, but at knee-height because they’re big men who can’t bend down. But that’s an absolute myth, if they’re properly coached then South Africa have some phenomenal players at the breakdown. They have a great mentality and physicality, and we just need to add accuracy,” the Scotsman said.

One of Gray’s challenges at the moment is to sort out the mash of different breakdown strategies his players have returned with from all around the world – never mind the five SuperRugby franchises employing different methods, there are also the tactics of three different French clubs, two English and one from Northern Ireland to contend with.

“The players disappear all over the world and their clubs all have different philosophies when it comes to the breakdown. So we have to get to what is best for the Springboks; quick ball is best, but how do we get that?

“So I’ll implement a plan that is correct for this group and their different strengths and weaknesses. I’ll tweak it week-by-week and month-by-month and we don’t want to follow other teams, we want to lead, so we do a lot of analysis  to spot weaknesses in both ourselves and others,” Gray explained.

At least in the Rugby Championship, the breakdown is a far cleaner, better-policed phase of play; in the Northern Hemisphere, there are people clogging the aisles far too often.

“I was delighted with the way we changed our approach on the Northern Hemisphere tour last year. The breakdown is an absolute war over there, there are bodies all over the place, players rolling out on our side. There are just so many things going on and it was a huge step-up to cope with that.”

The Springboks’ first task will be to tame the Pumas and their tactics of tackling low to mow down the ball-carrier and then flooding the breakdown.

Michael Hooper and Richie McCaw will then be lying in wait.

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  • Thought of the Day

    John 14:20 – “On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

    All the effort and striving in the world, all the good works and great sacrifices, will not help you to become like Christ unless the presence of the living Christ is to be found in your heart and mind.

    Jesus needs to be the source, and not our own strength, that enables us to grow spiritually in strength, beauty and truth.

    Unless the presence of Christ is a living reality in your heart, you will not be able to reflect his personality in your life.

    You need an intensely personal, more intimate relationship with Christ, in which you allow him to reveal himself through your life.

     

     



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