Ken Borland

Sharks coach Sean Everitt will be a restless sleeper this week as he considers the high penalty count recently against his team as they head for their last two round-robin fixtures of the Currie Cup.

The Sharks are currently second on the Currie Cup log, four points behind the Bulls, and they close their regular season by visiting the Lions on Saturday and then hosting Western Province on August 28.

But the Sharks had a double-figure penalty count against them in the first half of their match against the Bulls and were similarly ill-disciplined at the weekend against the Free State Cheetahs. Even though the Cheetahs had suffered a red card early in the second half, they stayed in the game thanks to the Sharks’ lack of focus and the KwaZulu-Natalians finished the 38-31 win with 13 men thanks to two yellow cards in the closing minutes.

“We’re very happy with the five points against the Cheetahs, but there are two work-ons we have to get right before playing the Lions in Johannesburg. The first is our set-pieces and the second is the number of penalties we are conceding. Those are due to individual errors and not system faults. Up to the Bulls game we had conceded the least penalties in the competition.

“After the last two games we are probably sitting top of that list now. We can’t defend for the majority of a game due to discipline issues, we need to take the pressure off ourselves if we are going to play free-flowing rugby. We need to rectify the number of penalties we’re conceding because we won’t have enough possession if we keep giving away penalties,’ Everitt said.

Nevertheless, the Sharks did score six tries against the Cheetahs, exciting wing Thaakir Abrahams scoring twice, and some of their attacking play would have been enough to make the coach purr with delight.

“Thaakir is always a threat with ball in hand, he poses big problems for the opposition. It was unfortunate that we had an injury in the warm-up and Marnus Potgieter [hamstring] was not able to take the field, but we were very fortunate to be able to bring in someone like Yaw Penxe, who has been with the Springboks.

“It was Le Roux Roets’ third game in a row so he’s getting that consistency now and he was massive in his ball-carries and setting the maul, while it was also good to see Cameron Wright back on the field and Boeta Chamberlain get a start. Dylan Richardson is blessed with an engine that can just go and go, he had a big impact defensively and with his ball-carries,” Everitt said.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber would have been delighted that his gamble in selection in bringing in several fresh faces and bodies for the opening Rugby Championship Test against Argentina paid off as his team dominated the contact areas en route to a comfortable 32-12 victory.

A new front row, centre pairing and back three was chosen for a crucial Test against difficult, physical opposition just a week after the gruelling series against the British and Irish Lions, and the energy they brought paid off as the Springboks made 21 less carries than Argentina but made 112 more metres with ball-in-hand. And the Pumas are generally considered to be one of the foremost teams when it comes to carrying the ball up.

“We made a few changes because of player welfare and the new guys coming in were nice and fresh. The guys who played last Saturday against the Lions are still a bit sore, but the new guys were climbing in today and we got a lot of energy from them. It’s only the second Test Argentina have lost since the World Cup and they’ve played New Zealand, Australia and Wales all twice.

“Our analysis and game-plan was spot-on though and the players really followed through. But we are only one-third of the way through our season and we have to box smart in terms of how we keep the players fresh. I compliment Daan Human on the new front row really taking their chance, he has an unbelievable vibe going in terms of competition between the front rowers,” Nienaber said on Saturday night.

It looked as if the Springboks would rue going to sleep a bit in the second half and not turning their dominance into more tries, and Nienaber admitted afterwards that he had forgotten that in the Rugby Championship the bonus point is awarded for scoring three more tries than the opposition and scoring four tries is not necessary.

The Springboks may have binned their marvellous display against the British and Irish Lions and are focused on defending their Rugby Championship title, but the mental challenge of getting up again after climbing such a high mountain in their last two games was also going to be a major factor against Argentina.

“We did really well because Argentina are a difficult team to play against. We had to try and keep our emotional intensity after the Lions series and that challenged us. We had to pull through somehow this week and I think it was a really excellent effort by the players,” Nienaber said.

The coach said the experience of players like Frans Steyn, who shored up the inside centre channel very effectively, Jesse Kriel and Elton Jantjies had also been a big factor in the Springboks being able to celebrate another victory.

“A lot went into this week after we had a couple of beers after winning the Lions series, and there was awesome work put in by the players. The guys were clued up and tuned in straight away and guys like Frans, Jesse and Elton brought nice stability. We needed some maturity out there and they brought a lot of calmness and composure,” Nienaber said.

Ensuring the Proteas can dominate in spin-friendly conditions and creating an environment of inclusivity within the squad are the two goals that have been occupying captain Temba Bavuma’s mind ahead of the South African cricket team’s departure for Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

The Proteas will play three ODIs and three T20s, all at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Sri Lanka also hosted India for three matches in each white-ball format last month at the same venue and spinners took 23 of the 37 wickets claimed by the home side.

“We had a look at that series to see what we will probably come up against and experience is on our side because a lot of the team have been to Sri Lanka before. We expect conditions to be in their favour, suiting the spinners, and Sri Lanka are a very strong outfit in their own conditions. So it’s going to be tough and our challenge is to be successful in those conditions.

“I definitely have a lot of confidence in our spinners – Tabraiz Shamsi is top of the T20 rankings and flying high on confidence, we know what quality Keshav Maharaj brings and we also have Bjorn Fortuin and George Linde. I believe we can be more than competitive, we can dominate. Our bowling group has been stretched and they adapted, now it’s the batsmen who will be put into a space that tests their skills,” Bavuma said on Monday.

The Proteas confirmed on Monday that paceman Junior Dala and bowling coach Charl Langeveldt are both still quarantining after testing positive for Covid two weeks ago and will not tour Sri Lanka. They have been replaced by Lutho Sipamla and Titans coach Mandla Mashimbyi.

In the four weeks that the Proteas have been home after the Ireland tour, the Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings have dominated the cricket discourse, and Bavuma said the team have kept a keen eye on the revelations and are eager to ensure they do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

“Most of what has been spoken about in the SJN has been thrown around the team with passion. We welcome the initiative, it is necessary and we want to learn from those experiences and mistakes. We’ve had informal conversations and everyone is positive. We have the opportunity to shape our team the way we like, so that down the line no-one can say the same mistakes happened.

“I’d be lying if I said the testimony has not had an impact because some members of the squad have been named. Our coach, Mark Boucher, has addressed us as a team and provided clarity and context, he has kept the guys in his confidence. For me, the biggest take from SJN is to create an environment that allows for a strong sense of belonging and acceptance,” Bavuma said.

The recently-appointed Proteas white-ball captain has been adventurous in pushing his team into potentially uncomfortable places, which must partly be because he feels comfortable in that space.

“The squad in 2021 is very different to what it was like in the early 2000s, guys walk into the team now and feel a lot more comfortable. It was no big struggle for me when I walked in in 2014. I really like to think things are different now and it starts with hard conversations, putting each other in uncomfortable positions to find a better way forward,” Bavuma said.

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma said although his team are only 75-80% of where they need to be for the T20 World Cup, it is a positive that they are still winning series as they look to sort out their best squad for the showpiece event in the United Arab Emirates in October.

South Africa have now won back-to-back T20 series in the West Indies and Ireland and they used 18 different players in doing that.

“It’s a good sign for us a team that we have not played our best cricket but we have still managed to win. Winning becomes a habit and we can take a lot of confidence after being battered a bit by being on the losing side for a while. We must not downplay the magnitude of the number of steps we have taken.

“And we have a clearer understanding of the guys to take forward and their roles. We have 70-80% of our World Cup squad and we still have to go to Sri Lanka and see who can dominate in spin-friendly conditions. We’re definitely not the finished product, we’re playing at 75-80% and there are areas to iron out, especially in the batting,” Bavuma said.

Playing Sri Lanka on the subcontinent will be good preparation for the World Cup, with conditions expected to be similar. It is obviously going to be difficult at this late stage, in the South African off-season, for new players to be introduced to the Proteas squad, but coach Mark Boucher hinted that all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius could return.

The 32-year-old missed the home T20s against Pakistan due to injury and then tested positive for Covid before the West Indies tour, from which the Proteas flew directly to Ireland to quarantine.

“There are still one or two positions we need to look at before the World Cup. We wanted to give Janneman Malan a go in the top-order because he was in such good form in the ODIs, but it didn’t quite work out. We also have Dwaine Pretorius to come back. We haven’t really played an all-rounder as the sixth bowling option, but I think we will have that covered.

“We need to look at the conditions and what we need bowling-wise at the World Cup. George Linde bowled well, but unfortunately he was a bit short of runs. Bjorn Fortuin has not had a lot of cricket, so I was very happy with the way he performed. He’s a tough character, he wants the ball. We tried to mix up selection a bit to give guys opportunity,” Boucher said.