Ken Borland

Rassie van der Dussen is known for being a phlegmatic, composed guy, but his mental strength shone as brightly as it ever has in the first ODI against England as not even heatwave conditions that saw other players and spectators require medical treatment could dissuade him as he cruised to a brilliant century that set up victory for the Proteas.

The stadium management in Chester-le-Street issued health warnings to their spectators as temperatures reached 36°C, but Van der Dussen kept his cool, taming the weather and the England attack as he used his three hours at the crease to compile a remarkable 134 off 117 balls.

His best score in Proteas colours led South Africa to their highest ever ODI total in England – 333/5 – and then when the bowlers produced a marvellous all-round display – both the pacemen and the spinners met expectations – victory was completed by 62 runs.

“It was pretty hot out there but not too bad, mid-30s. We’ve just had a tour of India where it was a lot worse,” Van der Dussen said with characteristic understatement after he had met the challenge.

“I just tried to read the situation and adapt. I feel like I have the game and the shot options to put the bowlers under pressure. It was a massive outfield and the wind was quite strong, so it took the six option out for 25 overs.

“We knew we had to play smart cricket, hit the pockets in the field and run hard, make sure we got runs off good balls. The pitch got tough towards the end with the old ball keeping a bit low.

“It was like playing in Bloemfontein in terms of field size and temperature. There was not a lot of bounce and you had to play straight and try and accumulate runs,” Van der Dussen said.

England’s bowlers and fielders looked like they needed medical care as Van der Dussen and Aiden Markram (77 off 61) cut loose in a third-wicket stand of 151 off just 123 balls.

Apart from their meeting against South Africa in the T20 World Cup last November, when the Proteas won by 10 runs but still missed out on the semifinals, the last time England played with much at stake against the Proteas was in 2019/20 when they visited Africa and won the Test series 3-1 and the T20s 3-0 before bailing out of the ODIs due to supposed Covid fears.

South Africa have done much to rehabilitate their image since then and Van der Dussen recognised the importance of the Proteas laying down a marker, while stressing that it was merely the first day of a long tour.

“Obviously it’s a massive result, but it’s only one match on a long tour. We had to prep well, the batting was really good and the bowlers executed brilliantly, and now we will see where we can improve.

“England are still a world-class team, with various matchwinners on their day. But you could see they’ve played a lot of cricket lately, we were a bit more up for it today,” Van der Dussen said.

Leinster have all the hallmarks of a champion team and Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee knows that overcoming them at the RDS Arena on Friday night is going to require the same strength, stamina, skill and commitment it takes to scale the crags of Howth Head in nearby Dublin Bay.

But the Bulls are embracing the challenge of their United Rugby Championship semi-final and the strenuous, sustained effort that will be required to upset the favourites.

“Leinster are a proven championship team, history over the years shows that,” Coetzee said from Dublin on Tuesday. “But we’ve been playing playoff rugby for a while now, we’ve been in that mindset.

“We are really eager, we will embrace the challenge and keep doing what we’ve been doing. From that first game against Leinster, we’ve seen boys become men and we will see how far we have come on Friday.

“Playoffs are 50/50 games and we see it as an opportunity for a place in the final. It will be an interesting test for us. Leinster play at a very high tempo, like an international team.

“So if we don’t sustain our effort, then we’ll start slipping tackles. We can’t allow them to get pace on the ball with playmakers like Jonny Sexton and Garry Ringrose around,” Coetzee said.

The former Ulster star said Leinster have quality all around the park, meaning the Bulls will have to produce their best, most-controlled 80+-minute performance to have a chance.

“Leinster are the sort of side you measure yourself against as a team and as individuals because they have great players all around the park,” Coetzee said.

“They play at incredible tempo and if we let them settle early, play their expansive rugby with guys running on to the ball, then we’ll be under pressure.

“One of the pillars of success in knockout games is your set-piece, it gets you into the right areas and can help you get control of the game. We need to sustain our game-plan when the pressure is on.

“And there can be no soft moments because Leinster will capitalise. We have to cut those out because it puts unnecessary pressure on ourselves. And we can’t give away unnecessary access penalties,” Coetzee said.

The Bulls may not have displayed many pleasing attacking shapes, but there was no denying the efficiency of their brute strength as they overpowered Glasgow Warriors 29-17 in their United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

Their dominance only really came through in the last 50 minutes though, with Glasgow only able to add to the try and penalty they scored in the first 20 minutes when there were five minutes left in the match. Despite their best efforts to slow the game down through spoiling tactics and continual breaks for ‘injury’ attention, the visitors were still sluggish and tentative when it came to trying to stop the Bulls’ charge once it gained momentum.

But despite the stop/start nature of the game in the first half, the Bulls were also to blame for their lack of momentum because they had precious little rhythm on attack.

The home side knew they were in for a tough evening as Glasgow were awarded a penalty try (and a yellow card to Elrigh Louw) in the fifth minute, after the Bulls had made a mess of defending a five-metre lineout maul, and then a penalty by Warriors flyhalf Duncan Weir.

The Bulls replied though with a try when lock Ruan Nortje darted just short of the line and scrumhalf Zak Burger completed the touchdown, and a Morne Steyn penalty drew them level after 28 minutes.

And they never looked back, helped by a crucial try after the halftime whistle when Louw charged around the back of a lineout and created the space for wing Madosh Tambwe to score out wide.

Two massive mauls which ran the Warriors back into their 22 and a powerful charge by lock Walt Steenkamp added a third try in the 58^th minute, and the bonus point was in the bag after 62 minutes as livewire hooker Johan Grobbelaar won a turnover penalty and replacement flank Cyle Brink forced his way over after a series of pick-and-goes by the forwards off the lineout.

That put the Bulls into a commanding 29-10 lead and they were perhaps guilty of losing concentration a bit in the last 10 minutes, and Glasgow duly punished them with a try when fullback Ollie Smith knifed through midfield.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Zak Burger, Madosh Tambwe, Walt Steenkamp, Cyle Brink. Conversions: Morne Steyn (3). Penalty: Steyn.

Glasgow Warriors – Tries: Penalty try, Ollie Smith. Conversion: Ross Thompson. Penalty: Duncan Weir.

A rough year in the Currie Cup just got worse for the Lions as the Bulls unexpectedly beat their URC-strength side 43-37 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, in an entertaining game watched by more than 7000 spectators.

The Bulls led 35-10 at one stage, but they only sealed victory in the 77^th minute when Lions captain Burger Odendaal conceded a bizarre try and would have learnt a harsh lesson that it always pays to remember the colour of your team’s jersey!

Bulls took their chances

When you are the underdogs, taking your chances is crucial. Territory and possession were fairly even in the first half, but the Bulls were just so clinical in using their opportunities inside the Lions’ 22 as they went to the break 35-17 ahead.

Their forwards were a tight unit, carrying most effectively and prop Lizo Gqoboka, hooker Bismarck du Plessis and lock Janko Swanepoel all powered over the line.

There was also some beautiful running and handling by the backs, who showed some really smart touches. Like the line wing David Kriel ran to score from a dummy maul and the lovely kick infield he made for outside centre Stedman Gans to run on to and score.

Bulls on the wrong side of the referee in second half

On the anniversary of a Captain’s Challenge being introduced on a trial basis in the Rainbow Cup, the Bulls would have been desperate for anything to stop the incredible flow of penalties awarded against them by referee Griffin Colby in the second half. At one stage he gave the Lions 10 penalties in a row and overall the Bulls conceded twice as many penalties as their opponents.

Discipline is obviously an issue the Bulls will have to deal with, and they were regularly penalised at ruck time.

It meant they could barely get out of their 22 and the Lions fought back to within a point at 37-38 with five minutes remaining.

Odendaal’s awful mistake

The Lions captain has been flourishing this season, but he also spent many happy years at Loftus Versfeld playing for the Bulls. He will be gutted by the mistake he made right at the end though, when he passed the ball straight to Bulls replacement wing Richard Kriel inside his own in-goal area. Brother David Kriel had made the initial searing break that put the Bulls on attack, but the Lions regained possession behind their tryline, only for Odendaal to think he was back playing for the Bulls and passing to a blue jersey!

Learnings for youngsters as hard men shine

Playing against, and beating, a URC side would have been a tremendous learning experience for the Bulls’ young Currie Cup players. And the way they defended for the vast majority of the second half showed superb character. They had some hardened campaigners to help them along though and Du Plessis and Gqoboka were in the frontline of the effort.

Swanepoel, strong with the ball and in defence, and able to make crucial lineout steals, looks a player with a great future, and it was an excellent outing for David Kriel, who has been out in the wilderness for the last few weeks.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Lizo Gqoboka, Bismarck du Plessis, David Kriel, Janko Swanepoel, Stedman Gans, Richard Kriel. Conversions – Juan Mostert (5). Penalty – Keagan Johannes

Lions: Tries – Ruben Schoeman, Burger Odendaal, Francke Horn, Jordan Hendrikse, Sibusiso Sangweni. Conversions – Hendrikse (3). Penalties – Hendrikse (2).