Ken Borland

Even though the British and Irish Lions are a ruthless, top-class outfit that inflicted plenty of pain on them in midweek, Sharks coach Sean Everitt said on Friday that his team is delighted to get a second chance against them when they meet in a hastily-arranged rematch at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

With the Bulls having to postpone their scheduled match against the tourists on Saturday due to Covid cases in their squad, and the Sharks having been in a bio-bubble in Johannesburg since last Friday, the KwaZulu-Natalians have agreed to step up again and ensure the Lions don’t miss out on valuable game-time before their Test series against the Springboks.

Having been hammered 54-7 at Ellis Park, the Sharks are hopeful of putting on a better show, with Everitt naming a vastly-changed side thanks to them having 36 players up on the Highveld due to Covid precautions.

“There’s massive excitement in the team, we’ve only been playing against South African teams so it’s great to have fresh opposition, even though they are a world-class outfit. It’s an opportunity for us to learn from our mistakes and rectify those. When we did the review, we saw the opportunities we created, but also the errors and soft moments that ruined those.

“It was surprising to see how we put the Lions through their paces, normally it’s all doom and gloom when you take a 54-7 hiding, but there were actually lots of positives. I think we have a shot at redemption but we have to tidy up and cut down on the errors when we were in good positions. They were mostly unforced errors and a hard pill to swallow when they happen on the Lions’ tryline,” Everitt said.

Captain Phepsi Buthelezi retains his place at eighthman and he and scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse were two of the few players to show some fire in the first match against the Lions; together with the experienced Lionel Cronje, who has replaced the misfiring Curwin Bosch at flyhalf, they will provide the backbone of the Sharks’ effort.

The Sharks will certainly need strength of character to bounce back from their Ellis Park mauling, but they also need to lift their intensity.

“The Lions tour has taught us a lot, it has showed us where we are in terms of conditioning and we need to get our ball-in-play time higher to at least 35 minutes, that’s what it takes to withstand the intensity of a team like the Lions. It make sense to give everyone an opportunity to have a taste of that, it will be a great learning experience of international rugby.

“You can see the intensity of the Lions, but until you’ve experienced it on the field and tried to match it, you don’t really understand it. But it will make us better players to see how an international team punishes your mistakes. But we did manage to keep the ball through numerous phases, we had two passages of close to three minutes, we must just not turn over the ball,” Everitt said.

Sharks: Anthony Volmink, Marnus Potgieter, Werner Kok, Murray Koster, Thaakir Abrahams, Lionel Cronje, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi (c), Mpilo Gumede, Dylan Richardson, Reniel Hugo, Le Roux Roets, Wiehahn Herbst, Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Bench – Dan Jooste, Mzamo Majola, Khutha Mchunu, Thembelani Bholi, Juandre Labuschagne, Cameron Wright, Boeta Chamberlain, Jeremy Ward.

Increased intensity is what the Springboks will be working on ahead of the second Test against Georgia at Ellis Park on Friday, because the British and Irish Lions are the team who are the benchmark for that at the moment, forwards coach Deon Davids said on Sunday.

The Springboks returned to action with an efficient enough 40-9 victory over Georgia in Pretoria in the first Test, with a slow start probably being a question of rust and having to get back into the swing of international rugby.

“We could see the higher tempo and intensity of international rugby when the British and Irish Lions started their tour on such a high note against our Lions, they played some very good rugby and we saw they have some quality players. But we must understand that the Springboks have just come back, they haven’t played for a long time and we could see that at the beginning of our game.

“We had to get used to the level of intensity and physicality, we spoke about it at halftime and the players responded tremendously. We saw the longer the game went on, the more into our stride we got and the more physical we were. There are obviously things we will look to apply in the second game and the players themselves have said there are definitely things they can do better,” Davids said.

The forwards coach said he was pleased that Georgia had extended the Springbok pack, especially in the set-pieces.

“They certainly challenged our set-pieces. But our lineout had a 94% success rate and we scored two maul tries, while in the scrums there was only one penalty against us and four or five for us. It’s a process of building towards the Lions series and overall we are pleased,” Davids said.

Outstanding lock Franco Mostert echoed the satisfactory outlook.

“It’s going to take a while still but there are no excuses not to get to that required level. Hats off to the forwards, we really did our job, the mauling was good, but there is still stuff to work on for us to get to that level we need. The Lions are a world-class side and we’ll definitely have to step up, but we are happy with our first game and there is still one to go against Georgia,” Mostert said.

Following their disappointment in the Rainbow Cup final, Bulls coach Jake White has had to carefully manage not only his players’ morale but also their bodies, with the team getting over the first of two Currie Cup hurdles in six days with their tight 32-27 win over the tricky Pumas in Pretoria at the weekend.

White said he knew his team were always going to be severely tested by the Pumas, who are fired up after not being involved in the Rainbow Cup and starting the Currie Cup with a bonus point hammering of the Lions. The Bulls, on the other hand, are tired, according to their coach. And they now have to travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Free State Cheetahs on Wednesday.

“Considering we had to fly home this week from Italy, it was long travel and we are tired, and I expected the team to be a bit flat. But we played really nicely, we kept the ball and built some phases. I would have liked it to have been easier after leading 25-10, but you can never underestimate the Pumas – they are a good side with lots of time to prepare for this match.

“So I am very happy to get five points and the guys had to dig deep. It was always going to be tough and we knew the Pumas would come hard, everyone wants to beat us. Unfortunately we let them slip back into the game at 25-10, but overall we’ve got to be happy. And it doesn’t get any easier, last year we lost to the Cheetahs away, so we know how tough that match will be and we need to do a lot of planning,” White said.

While the Bulls’ doctors were yet to examine Gio Aplon when he spoke, White said he feared the worst for the veteran Springbok who hobbled off the field just 25 minutes into his first start for the side.

“Gio really wanted to be a part of the team and it’s really unfortunate what happened. But we are playing so much rugby, week after week, and there are no easy fixtures in South Africa so the attrition rate is big. Gio was always here to help as a senior player because our backline is very young and we needed someone older and wiser. He knew the risk but he wanted to be part of it.

“He’s a fantastic person and a wonderful rugby player, he should have played 100 times for the Springboks, and you don’t want it to eventually end like that. But his chances are slim because he’s done his knee again and it’s the same knee. Sometimes you don’t get the ideal ending, in sport you can’t always write the script you want to have,” White said.

There have been a large number of players who have graduated from the Springbok Sevens side into the national 15-a-side team, but only three in the current squad preparing for the British and Irish Lions series. But loose forward Kwagga Smith and backline coach Mzwandile Stick both believe the shortened version of the game provides a great skills foundation for the major format of rugby.

Smith, Cheslin Kolbe and uncapped wing Rosko Specman are the Blitzbokke in the current squad, but there have been 60 players in total who have played for both national rugby teams. That total includes 13 World Cup winners.

“Sevens is a really good basis but you do need to learn quickly when you get to the Springboks. It’s so good to have that base when you are younger and I believe it’s a big advantage. You see someone like Rosko Specman has performed really well in XVs and now he’s doing well here in camp. He has a good mindset and is training hard. We also have Cheslin Kolbe, who is now one of the best wings in the world,” Smith said.

Stick, who has a major focus on the skills and vision of the Springbok team, played 37 events for the Blitzbokke between 2003 and 2010, and is understandably a fan of what those players can bring to the party.

“I’ve got a soft spot when it comes to Sevens players. It’s very good to see the connection between the XVs and Sevens game. You look at someone like Cheslin Kolbe coming through that system and he’s now one of the best rugby players in the world. You look at Rosko Specman and how good he was in Super Rugby.

“It’s actually good to see that the guys from the Sevens system are making it. In the past, it was always a matter of size being the reason they’re sidelined. Gone are those days now and guys are playing with a big heart. You can see how well the likes of Kolbe are really playing the game and it shows that size doesn’t matter,” Stick said recently.

Heinrich Brussow is another of those who progressed from international Sevens rugby to stardom with the Springboks and the way he pounced and swarmed all over the ball the last time the British and Irish Lions were here in 2009, it is no surprise that under the Chinese Zodiac, he was born in the Year of the Tiger (July 1986).

Smith, who played 32 events for the Blitzbokke, is hopeful of doing a similar job.

“I was watching that series in high school in Middelburg and I remember Heinrich did so well, he was one of my role-models, he performed really well in that series. I am going to try and get up to his standards, but remembering that I am my own player and have my own assets,” Smith said.

Blitzbokke who have become 15-a-side Springboks (*= World Cup winner)

Gio Aplon, Chris Badenhorst, Selborne Boome, Gerrie Britz, Warren Britz, Heinrich Brussow, Tonderai Chavhanga, Vlok Cilliers, Jannie Claassens, Bolla Conradie, Juan de Jongh, *Jean de Villiers, Gaffie du Toit, Grant Esterhuizen, Kabamba Floors, *Warrick Gelant, Hendrik Gerber, Joe Gillingham, *Bryan Habana, Cornal Hendricks, Henry Honiball, Francois Hougaard, Adrian Jacobs, Conrad Jantjes, *Andre Joubert, Ryan Kankowski, Deon Kayser, *Cheslin Kolbe, *Ruben Kruger, Ricardo Loubscher, Lionel Mapoe, Jorrie Muller, *Akona Ndungane, Dick Muir, Jongi Nokwe, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Jacques Olivier, Deon Oosthuyzen, Breyton Paulse, *Andre Pretorius, Jaco Pretorius, Kevin Putt, *Adriaan Richter, Earl Rose, Pieter Rossouw, Brent Russell, *Bob Skinstad, *Kwagga Smith, Phillip Smit, Andre Snyman, Jamba Ulengo, *Joost van der Westhuizen, Joe van Niekerk, Andre Venter, AJ Venter, Jano Vermaak, Luke Watson, Warren Whiteley, *Ashwin Willemse, *Chester Williams.