Ken Borland

Covid-19 is raging around Gauteng, but Siya Kolisi says the Springboks feel safe in their encampment at a Johannesburg hotel/biobubble and they are eager to once again put smiles on the faces of their supporters who are going through so much in their day-to-day lives.

Friday’s Test against Georgia in Pretoria is the Springboks’ first since Kolisi led them to a memorable World Cup triumph in the final against England in Yokohama on November 2, 2019. Since then the coronavirus has infiltrated every aspect of South African life and Kolisi knows his team can give people some respite from the slow vaccination programme, service delivery failures, water and electricity crises, Zuma’s attack on the constitution and the dire economy etcetera etcetera.

“We are being kept informed of what is happening around us and we know the number of Covid infections is climbing, but basically we are just staying at our hotel and just concentrating on our rugby. We are keeping safe and we want to make sure we make the most of the opportunity we have to play. When we play, it feels good for our fans and hopefully we can add to that.

“We want to put smiles on the faces of people, we are privileged and fortunate to be doing what we love to do, so we are going to give it everything and play as hard and for as long as we can. Sometimes we give the people smiles and hope, they are going through a really difficult time and if one or two of them can be lifted then that’s good because we don’t only play for ourselves,” captain Kolisi said on Thursday.

One should not expect the Springbok game to be adorned with fancy jewellery against Georgia, who are a workmanlike side that loves to make rugby a war of attrition. The home side will not want to buckle and they have to do the hard yards first before trying any of the pretty stuff against the world’s 12^th-ranked team.

“We all have to make sure we do our part – ‘know your job, do your job’ – and hopefully we can make a statement. Like a circus act, everyone can hopefully show why they have been picked in the team and we won’t beat Georgia without the unseen Warrior work like cleaning rucks. We need to do the stuff that nobody except the coaches and the team sees.

“For the Springboks to actually get out on to the field is huge for us because we’ve been talking about it since last year, when we thought we would get the opportunity to play. Every team has had to adapt to Covid, but we’re only coming together now, there’s great excitement and it’s awesome that so many players from the World Cup are still with us,” Kolisi said.

Batting hero Rassie van der Dussen says the Proteas know from their own batting collapse that their bowlers will still have enough assistance from the St Lucia pitch to win the second Test against the West Indies, but if wickets do become hard to get then they know they can extort them through the age-old disciplines of line and length.

Van der Dussen scored a fine 75 not out, fighting his way to his sixth Test half-century and lifting South Africa from a deep hole at 73 for seven to 174 all out, with the tremendous assistance of Kagiso Rabada, who stroked a bright, career-best 40. That left the West Indies with a far more daunting target of 324 to share the series.

“We knew that the West Indies would already have to make their biggest score of the series and we would have been happy with a lead of 250 to 280, but then KG came in and played brilliantly. It’s the sort of pitch where you know you have to move positively and show intent. If you just hang around then you will get good balls that can get you out.

“As a batsman, you have to get into good, strong positions, even though the pitch is getting a little more placid. And if they do manage to put together a partnership then we will have to be really disciplined with our lines and lengths because there is a bit of assistance for the bowlers. We’ve grafted hard and played some really good cricket over the first two days, now we just need to back it up,” Van der Dussen said.

The 32-year-old went through another gripping contest with West Indian bowling spearhead Kemar Roach, who finished with four for 52. Van der Dussen was bowled without playing a shot by a beauty from Roach in the first innings and said he did some important analysis between innings.

“Kemar is a world-class performer and he made it tough for me in the first innings, doing a lot with the ball. So I did some analysis this morning, just working on some different options and game-plans, trying to take lbw out of the picture and just covering the outside edge.

“I don’t mind changing things in the middle of a Test, I’ve played a lot of first-class cricket and I know my game. Sometimes it’s just a matter of changing a couple of small things,” Van der Dussen said in a television interview.

Temba Bavuma already missed the T20 series against Pakistan this year through injury and now the middle-order batsman might be forced to take a short sabbatical from Test cricket as well, with Proteas captain Dean Elgar confirming on Wednesday that his vice-captain is in doubt for the first Test against the West Indies which starts at St Lucia on Thursday.

Bavuma strained his hamstring in the last ODI against Pakistan in early April and had to miss the four T20s that followed, but his current injury is a problem with his left hip.

“Temba is a bit of a concern, yesterday was a big day when he pushed his body and today he’ll have to go and prove his fitness,” Elgar said on Wednesday morning in the Caribbean. “We’re obviously banking on him being fit, but Kyle Verreynne is definitely in position to take his place, he’s best suited to No.5, which is where Temba would slot in, he’s accustomed to that.

“That means we’ll possibly have two guys making their debut [Keegan Petersen is set to replace the retired Faf du Plessis], but we don’t have other options really. All our back-up batsmen haven’t played Test cricket yet. But it’s not bad to have young guys coming in, they’re very hungry. I’m sure Kyle will be champing at the bit if Temba is not fit,” Elgar added.

Conditions at St Lucia at this time of year would seem to be very different to what South African teams have previously encountered in the West Indies, but Elgar said they had garnered plenty of info from a two-day practice game they played that turned into a pretty intense contest.

“We’ve been thrown into the deep end a lot recently, but we played a two-day game and it was two tough days of cricket. The first day was very tough batting conditions, playing on a side-pitch with a slope, it was overcast and we’re using the Dukes ball we’re not so used to. And then the second day was an extremely competitive battle between bat and ball.

“Historically this is a very seam-friendly pitch, but if you apply yourself as a batsman you can get in and score runs. We are aware of our limitations and failures, but preparation is one thing we can control, although it is no guarantee of success. We’ve lost a lot of experience in the batting, but it’s time for guys to put their hands up, there are opportunities there now,” Elgar said.

Ahead of such major events as a British and Irish Lions tour, it is obligatory for all South African rugby fans to choose their Springbok squad to take on the tourists and, for me, just running through the list of players available makes me confident the hosts can turn the Lions’ roar into a meow.

Not that I am predicting a 3-0 whitewash by any means, I am sure all three Tests will be epic contests and a 2-1 margin is most likely. But the Springboks, providing they can reach Test match intensity quickly having not played at that level in over 18 months, can really hurt the Lions.

The superb Springbok pack that won the World Cup final, barring a couple of retirees, is still intact. And Jacques Nienaber is able to add players who have dominated their European opposition at club level, like Marcell Coetzee, Jasper Wiese, Rynhardt Elstadt and probably one of the Du Preez brothers (Dan or Jean-Luc), to that mix.

Set-piece prowess is going to be a big factor in the series and South Africa have wonderful back-up props and locks in Lizo Gqoboka, Trevor Nyakane, Ox Nche, Marvin Orie, Jason Jenkins and either JD Schickerling or Ruan Nortje. Imagine if Lood de Jager and RG Snyman were fit as well!

While South African rugby’s strength has traditionally been up front, it’s not as if the backline is going to concede tries like the Melbourne Rebels do. Plus they have some of the best attacking players in world rugby in their midst like Cheslin Kolbe, Makazole Mapimpi and Handre Pollard. In midfield, Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am are like the mailman, they always deliver, and Faf de Klerk is still a pain in the opposition’s butt.

And I am looking forward to some dazzling new international careers being born for the likes of Aphelele Fassi and Wandisile Simelane.

Apart from speed merchants Mapimpi and Kolbe, there is ‘toe’ aplenty in back-up wings Sbu Nkosi, Yaw Penxe, Raymond Rhule and utility back Damian Willemse.

I feel desperately sorry for the likes of De Jager, Snyman, Warrick Gelant and Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who did his knee three weeks ago, who will miss the series due to injury. It makes me even sadder that Cornal Hendricks, such an inspiring revelation at inside centre for the Bulls, is likely to miss out purely for off-field reasons relating to his legal action against SA Rugby over the handling of his heart condition.

I have sympathy for Nienaber and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus as they undertook the hellish task of choosing 45 players and breaking the hearts of several others. Who do you choose between Penxe and Madosh Tambwe? Even without Hendricks, does Andre Esterhuizen, so close to the 2019 World Cup squad, make it or do they recall Jan Serfontein?

What about Curwin Bosch? Does the squad need four flyhalves when you have the utility ability of Francois Steyn and Willemse?

Quality scrumhalves like Ivan van Zyl and Embrose Papier look set to miss out, while Jacques Vermeulen deserves a place for sheer tenacity, but is probably going to join one of the Du Preezs on the sidelines.

Even without De Jager and Snyman, there is probably only space for one of Schickerling and Nortje, and there are quality, in-form props like Carlu Sadie, Sti Sithole and Wilco Louw who will not get the nod.

Many of these players will just get to play in the one game against the Lions, for the SA A team in Cape Town on July 14, but they will forever have the experience of being in the Springbok camp, involved in the greatest series of them all, even if it is in a bio-bubble.

The squad will then be cut to 35-37 players depending on injuries, but in a hectic year for South African rugby, I’m sure many of those will be used in the team at some stage. There are going to be big squads chosen to sit in the bubbles in Australia and New Zealand for the Rugby Championship as well.

It is the nature of selection in a sport with such passionate provincial loyalties as rugby that everyone will have an individual player that they are adamant should have been in the squad. But these are the 45 men I would have in the Springbok squad (knowing full well that some of them are not going to be included):

Willie le Roux, Aphelele Fassi, Damian Willemse; Cheslin Kolbe, Raymond Rhule, Jan Serfontein; Lukhanyo Am, Jesse Kriel, Wandisile Simelane; Damian de Allende, Cornal Hendricks, Francois Steyn; Makazole Mapimpi, Sbu Nkosi, Yaw Penxe; Handre Pollard, Elton Jantjies, Morne Steyn; Faf de Klerk, Cobus Reinach, Ivan van Zyl; Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee, Jean-Luc du Preez; Pieter-Steph du Toit, Rynhardt Elstadt, Jasper Wiese; Siya Kolisi, Kwagga Smith, Marco van Staden; Franco Mostert, Marvin Orie, Ruan Nortje; Eben Etzebeth, Jason Jenkins; Frans Malherbe, Vincent Koch, Trevor Nyakane; Bongi Mbonambi, Malcolm Marx, Scarra Ntubeni; Steven Kitshoff, Lizo Gqoboka, Ox Nche, Thomas du Toit.