Ken Borland

Coach Jake White may have joked this week that because they have lost the element of surprise by using their new expansive approach in their warm-up game against the Sharks a fortnight ago they are going to revert back to “just kicking up-and-unders and Charge!”, but the Bulls are likely to still bring plenty of fizz to their opening Super Rugby Unlocked match against Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.

The raw pace of Kurt-Lee Arendse may be missing due to injury, but his replacement on the wing, young David Kriel, showed plenty of finishing ability, and the centre pairing of Cornal Hendricks and Stedman Gans, who did much to mastermind the fantastic backline display against the Sharks on SuperFan Saturday, are still in place.

When an inveterate dazzler like Gio Aplon says he is loving the game-plan at Loftus Versfeld, then you know the coach has given his charges the freedom to run. But the veteran fullback did also issue a word of pragmatism ahead of the clash with tricky opponents, who hammered the Bulls 37-15 in Pretoria last year in the Currie Cup.

“I’m really enjoying the game-plan and it’s very exciting being at the Bulls right now. But first and foremost our goal is to win. So at some stages we might kick more and at others we will play more rugby. We want to find whatever way we can to win and we want to be unpredictable. We will do whatever is necessary for us to win.

“The Bulls are a team with good tradition and a great history and we want to get their name back up there. It’s a massive honour, especially at my age, to play for them and we’re not here to compete, we want to win competitions,” the 38-year-old Aplon said.

While White has been able to lure back stars such as Aplon, stand-in captain Arno Botha, Jason Jenkins and Jacques van Rooyen, as well as investing in a host of exciting young prospects, and can afford to rest Springbok star Duane Vermeulen due to a knee niggle, there is a financial gulf between the Bulls and Griquas.

Nevertheless, Scott Mathie’s team from Kimberley do possess some quality players.

Fullback Anthony Volmink can certainly match any of the Bulls’ backline for pace and is a potent finisher, while flyhalf and captain George Whitehead has Super Rugby experience and is a smart head whose tactical and goal kicking could make the difference for Griquas.

Niell Jordaan, the former Shimlas star, is a hardened eighthman and he will relish taking on Tim Agaba now that the daunting Vermeulen is no longer his direct opponent, while prop John-Roy Jenkinson has returned from Japan to play for Griquas and will pack down against Van Rooyen in an intriguing battle in which both men weigh 122kg.

White knows, however, that his team is expected to win well and all the positive vibes from the Sharks game will be erased should they struggle.

“Of course it’s always a risk taking on one of the so-called minnows without all your first-choice players, and we understand that they will want to prove a point. But last year the Bulls lost against Griquas so I don’t even need to give them a team talk, I can just show them the highlights of that game. We expect them to be fired up and confident because they won here last year.

“But we need to focus on what we can control, which is playing to a certain standard and the type of game we want to execute. I’m not trying to be arrogant but we want to be one of the best club sides in the world and if we’re going to prove that in Europe next year then we need to be top here in South Africa, like Leinster are over there,” White said.

Teams

Bulls – Gio Aplon, Travis Ismaiel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, David Kriel, Morne Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Tim Agaba, Arno Botha, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Jason Jenkins, Trevor Nyakane, Corniel Els, Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements: Johan Grobbelaar, Lizo Gqoboka, Mornay Smith, Sintu Manjezi, Elrigh Louw, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.

Griquas – Anthony Volmink, Daniel Kasende, Harlon Klaasen, Andre Swarts, James Verity-Amm, George Whitehead, Zak Burger, Niell Jordaan, Stefan Willemse, Carl Els, Victor Sekekete, Ian Groenewald, John-Roy Jenkinson, HJ Luus, Mox Mxoli. Replacements: Alandre van Rooyen, Bandisa Ndlovu, Madot Mabokela, Adre Smith, Zandre Jordaan, Gideon van der Merwe, Ashlon Davids, Berton Klaasen.

Kick-off – 7pm.

Bulls players to bring the fizz

David Kriel

The former member of the Stormers squad stands nearly two metres tall and looked a real threat with ball in hand when he came on against the Sharks on SuperFan Saturday. Comfortable anywhere in the back three, he is good under the high ball, a strong runner and with a step that is reminiscent of former Springbok and Western Province great Pieter Rossouw. Jake White has high hopes that the Potchefstroom-born Kriel will become a favourite son at Loftus Versfeld.

Cornal Hendricks & Stedman Gans

The new Bulls centre pairing went toe-to-toe with a highly-rated Sharks midfield of Jeremy Ward and Lukhanyo Am and won the battle convincingly. White’s decision to move Hendricks from wing to inside centre was a surprise, but it certainly worked as the Springbok showed he was up for the physical challenge, while still showing the deft touches of an international-quality player.

Gans played a fantastic game at outside centre against the Sharks, the Springbok Sevens captain showing an uncanny knack for finding space and fully exploiting it, and his decision-making on defence was also on-point.

Gio Aplon

The 38-year-old fullback showed he still has plenty of pace when he inserted himself into that dynamic backline against the Sharks and Griquas could come to grief if they don’t close him down quickly. Aplon’s talent for stepping is well-known, but as an experienced general at the back he has also become highly adept at scanning the field and directing tactical play.

Griquas players to watch

Anthony Volmink

The much-travelled 30-year-old has plenty of experience, including 20 Super Rugby games for the Lions, and has built his reputation on his try-scoring ability. Volmink has played most of his rugby on the wing but was outstanding at fullback last year for Griquas as they made the Currie Cup semi-finals. The Bulls will have to be on guard for his propensity for moments of individual brilliance.

George Whitehead

Apart from being a strong leader in the Griquas set-up, Whitehead has the all-round skills to dictate strategy from flyhalf and has developed into a reliable goal-kicker. The Griquas general certainly had Bulls fans squirming last year at Loftus Versfeld.

Niell Jordaan

The former Cheetahs captain is a ferocious eighthman who is always up for the forward challenge. He will bring power but also offloading skills as Griquas are likely to try and produce some good running rugby.

John-Roy Jenkinson

The 29-year-old Glenwood High School product has returned from the Japanese Top League, where he gained further high-level experience. Jenkinson won the Currie Cup First Division with the North-West Leopards in 2015, the same year he was named in the Varsity Cup Dream Team, and he actually made three appearance for the Bulls in Super Rugby in 2017 and is acknowledged as a powerful scrummager.

With the Lions springing a surprise by employing the battering ram services of Burger Odendaal at outside centre, forming a bulky midfield pairing with Dan Kriel, much attention was focused on the Sharks’ selection on Wednesday and who they will play in the No.12 jersey when they meet the Gauteng side in Durban on Friday night.

With captain Lukhanyo Am assured of his outside centre spot, Sharks coach Sean Everitt has gone for the stockier option at No.12, preferring Marius Louw to Jeremy Ward. Although Louw is six centimetres shorter than Ward at 1.81m, he weighs eight kilogrammes more at 94kg. Of course neither Louw nor Ward have the physical presence of the Sharks’ long-time inside centre Andre Esterhuizen, the 110kg Springbok who has joined English club Harlequins, but they both have much to add, with Ward warming the bench on Friday night.

“The competition between Marius and Jeremy is always close and we had lengthy selection discussions about it. We just felt that when Marius came on against the Bulls on SuperFan Saturday he played particularly well and brought a lot of energy. But they are both very good players and leaders, and Marius just pipped Jeremy this week.

“Playing Odendaal at 13 means the Lions will have a big centre combination with Kriel at 12. We’re expecting something different from them, they may have moved away from their DNA a bit, away from continuity and ball-in-hand rugby a bit,” Everitt said.

Facing off against Odendaal as his direct opponent and not seeing him at inside centre is also going to be different for Am, who locked horns with the new Lions signing many times while he was up the road at the Bulls.

“I’ve never gone head-to-head with Burger but I have huge respect for him having played against him several times. He will bring experience and leadership to the Lions, and probably the same game he had at the Bulls – he takes on defenders and he carries the ball pretty hard. That’s what I expect from him, the Lions have quite a big centre pairing now and we expect a physical battle,” Am said.

Springbok Sevens star Werner Kok, making his official Sharks debut, has been paired with veteran JP Pietersen as the wings, with Madosh Tambwe expected to be fit for their next Super Rugby Unlocked game, away at the Bulls after next week’s bye, and Yaw Penje, signed on a short-term contract, still assimilating into the squad.

Ox Nche forms a powerful propping partnership with World Cup winner Thomas du Toit, and Everitt said he is really happy with the improvement shown in the Sharks’ scrummaging since the start of the year.

“Their great form really started early on in Super Rugby. We had a few issues at the start of the year in our scrum and there were plenty of critics. But since then the scrum has gone from strength to strength. I thought they stood up well against the Bulls two weeks ago and Ox and Thomas carried that through to last weekend’s Green and Gold game. Ox getting one over Ruan Dreyer of the Lions last weekend will add some spice to Friday night and it will be an interesting battle,” Everitt said.

Sharks team: Manie Libbok, JP Pietersen, Lukhanyo Am, Marius Louw, Werner Kok, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikumbuzo Notshe, Phendulani Buthelezi, James Venter, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit, Dylan Richardson, Ox Nche. Replacements – Dan Jooste, Mzamo Majola, John-Hubert Meyer, JJ van der Mescht, Mpilo Gumede, Grant Williams, Jeremy Ward, Thaakir Abrahams.

Ever since leading the most transformed Springbok side yet to World Cup glory, Siya Kolisi has gone beyond being merely a sports star and has become a powerful symbol of change and unity in South Africa, so it was no surprise to hear SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux say the national captain has every right to express his opinion.

Roux was responding to questions over how SA Rugby would respond to Kolisi’s social media post this week in which he supported the Black Lives Matter movement and spoke of his difficulties in fitting in with the Springboks and their culture. He said his culture was not represented in the team and he felt he had to conform in order to be accepted. Kolisi added that “the next generation can’t suffer like we did”.

Kolisi also pointed out that World Cup-winning coach Rassie Erasmus had addressed the issues and transformed the Springbok team both in terms of personnel and environment.

“Siya is his own person and he got to where he did by himself and led us to the World Cup, so it’s not for me or anyone else to tell him what he must say. We must give people the opportunity to tell their stories, and people will either support or not support what they say, but that is always the case. Personally, I respect his comments.

“Black Lives Matter is basically about respect for others and how we treat people on a daily basis. That should be first and foremost, whether we are talking about BLM, Farm Attacks or Gender-Based Violence. We’ve seen that rugby can have an influence in society and we need to own up to those issues and not steer away from those conversations,” Roux said this week.

Roux made the call for more discussions over improving opportunities for Black people in the sport.

“Let Black people tell their stories and what’s more important is for us to listen and hear what they are saying. We must not shy away from awkward truths. We must continue dialogue and figure out together how to bring change. Is our transformation plan robust enough? These are very serious matters that transcend way beyond sport.

“Maybe some elements of our plan do need change, for example when it comes to Black coaches. Rassie has presented a plan to fast-track Black coaches and we need to look at that more seriously. I’m the first to acknowledge that things have gone wrong, even if we have made some very good progress in transformation. As a federation, rugby has been very good at acknowledging our sins of the past,” Roux said.

When Marizanne Kapp mooted the idea of becoming a professional cricketer to her mother, her greatest supporter, it did not go down well. But remembering it was the previous decade and Cricket South Africa contracts and having their matches televised was still a long way off for our top women’s players, this should not be a surprise.

Mother Nereda Lamprecht had earlier been the one to approach the principal of Hoerskool DF Malherbe to convince him to allow her 13-year-old daughter to play boys cricket at the Port Elizabeth school. The immense talent was obvious, but ensuring Kapp had the platform to reach her potential was another matter.

“To be able to play cricket for a living, that’s my biggest dream come true. My mother was so upset when I told her I wanted to be a professional cricketer, she said no, I must get a proper job. Well now I can take her anywhere in the world she wants to go and pay for her, so I guess it worked out in the end.

“I was a bit of a tomboy growing up and I wanted to do anything the boys were doing. My cousins used to play cricket in the streets, so I started playing with them and then I graduated to indoor cricket. Then my mother went to the principal and asked if I could join the boys team. I did everything at school and I got provincial colours for swimming, biathlon, cross-country and netball, but it was cricket that really stuck,” Kapp, who has a degree in sports management and is studying for another one in human resources, told Saturday Citizen.

Chosen by South Africa for the first time in March 2009, Kapp was still a teenager when she was given a baptism of fire by hosts Australia in the World Cup. But she has grown into one of the best all-rounders in world cricket, chosen by the International Cricket Council for their 2017 ODI team of the year and headhunted by the Sydney Sixers for the inaugural Big Bash in 2015. That’s the most lucrative event for women’s cricketers, their version of the IPL, and the Sixers have been the most successful team, winning the title twice and being runners-up in the other two seasons.

There is no question that the Proteas Women have been helped into the upper echelons of the world game by the arrival of the tremendously athletic Kapp. She forms a formidable new-ball partnership with Shabnim Ismail, rated by many as the best in the world, while she is good enough with the bat to play in the top-order and she has scored South Africa’s only World Cup century.

A feisty character on the field, Kapp may seem a bit shy and withdrawn in the public eye when not playing cricket. But she is clearly the type of person you can go to war with and is hard on herself. She is especially eager to contribute more with the bat.

“I really want to do a bit more with the bat, I’ve been playing for the Proteas for quite a while now and the seniors need to put up their hands and take the load. The bowling is still our team’s big strength, but the batting has to improve. Batting at number three, I’d like to end more games.

“The bowling just comes more naturally for me and in ODIs you’re normally bowling first and batting second. Which is why my batting took a bit of a knock, but I want to get into it more and it’s something I can work on. I’m just waiting for the chance now because we’re playing matches every second day at the moment, whereas in the past we had a few more rest days,” Kapp says.

The Proteas, having whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in their T20 series, now take on the tourists in three ODIs in Potchefstroom next week and if Kapp plays in them all, she will be tantalisingly poised on 99 ODI caps.

Her wife, Dane van Niekerk, is the national captain and will probably get to the 100^th game milestone first as she already has 98 caps. They will join Mignon du Preez and Trisha Chetty as the only centurions.

The corridors of Cricket South Africa  can be a rabbit warren of political intrigue, but one thing they are clearly getting right is stabilising and growing the women’s game. Kapp is very appreciative of their efforts and, once her playing days are over (which will hopefully only be in a long while because she is only 29), she is determined to continue working towards the progress of South African women’s cricket.

“It’s tough but there are very good signs which show how serious CSA are in taking the women’s game forward. I wold like to give back when I’m done playing, to contribute to women’s cricket here becoming like it is in Australia,” Kapp said.

https://citizen.co.za/sport/south-african-sport/sa-cricket-sport/2080036/women-in-sport-how-feisty-marizanne-won-her-mom-over/