Ken Borland

The country’s top golfers are going to Killarney Country Club on Wednesday morning to restart the professional game with the Betway Championship, and Danie van Tonder, given the way he finished last season, is going to be one of the favourites to claim the Sunshine Tour’s first title after the Covid-19 Lockdown.

Van Tonder finished in the top-10 five times in January and February, lifting him to second place in the final order of merit. With winner JC Ritchie not playing this week, the 29-year-old from Boksburg is looking to maintain that sort of consistency. But he is going to have to rein in his usual aggressive play a little to succeed on a course like Killarney which requires more strategy than power.

“I had three months off which gave me time to work on things, try and fix some things to make me more consistent. When you’re playing week-after-week, you can’t really change things and it takes like 21 days to teach your body something new. But we start over again now, I’ve lost some weight and I’m stronger, so I’m really looking forward to getting out there again.

“Killarney has lots of doglegs, water hazards and ditches, so it might not be a long course, but it is difficult. You’ve got to get your lay-ups right and pitch-and-putt very well. I’m normally very attacking, but you can’t be too aggressive going over the trees, and there are so many of them. Plus the greens are firm, so if you’re pitching from the rough you’re going to be in trouble,” Van Tonder told The Citizen on Tuesday.

For Sunshine Tour stalwart Jaco Ahlers it will be business as usual though, as the 37-year-old veteran of 268 tournaments looks to build on one of his most successful seasons ever, finishing third on the order of merit for 2019/20.

“I’m really looking forward to playing competitive golf again after the longest layoff in my career. We’ve had time to get ready and the game is pretty decent. It was in a good space when we stopped playing and I’ve just worked on a little swing feeling. But I’m very surprised how good the game feels, I don’t feel I’ve lost a lot. But it’s just the mentality of competitive golf that has to come back.

“It’s a different mindset to the little money games you have at home, you need to get those tournament golf feelings back and sometimes it comes quickly and sometimes it doesn’t. And Killarney is always a really good, demanding layout on which you’ve got to place the ball in certain positions to have a shot in. You’ve really got to think your way around and you can’t just bomb Driver,” Ahlers said.

Prop Thomas du Toit is refusing to get bogged down in thoughts of how unfortunate he is to miss out on the World Cup but is rather focusing on ending what he called a “good year” on a high note by helping the Sharks to defend their Currie Cup title.

Du Toit must have been close to making the 31-man squad for Japan because he can play either side of the scrum – a “swing prop” which is so valuable in squads for long competitions like the World Cup. Instead, the 24-year-old will be heading to Bloemfontein this weekend for the Sharks’ semi-final against the Free State Cheetahs.

“It has been a bit disappointing realising that I’m not going to play in the World Cup, sport is not always a fairytale. But you still have to be on standby, I’m aware that there might be injuries – hopefully not – and then obviously I’ll be back in the mix. So I just want to play as much as I can and it was nice to be at loosehead again last weekend.

“Loosehead is something I’m starting to get back into because it’s not quite as familiar any more. Super Rugby was good and it gave me the opportunity to play on both sides, I learnt a lot and it was what I really wanted. I was very happy to have more time at tighthead, that was the plan from the start. And then I had an awesome time with the Springboks as well,” Du Toit said on Tuesday.

Up front is probably going to be where Saturday’s semi-final is won and lost and Du Toit reckons the Cheetahs are going to be quick to pull the tricks they are famous for.

“Maybe they’ll use that substitution tactic again, but we just have to adapt to whoever starts and not look too far ahead. They have a very good front row and Ox Nche is a brilliant scrummager. The Cheetahs love a very quick game though and they enjoy playing from anywhere. They have so many attacking threats, so it’s going to be a big challenge, but we’re excited for it,” Du Toit said.

The Cape Town-born, Paarl Boys High-educated Du Toit was an integral part of the Sharks team till he was called up to the Springbok squad, with the Sharks having a mixed start to their Currie Cup defence. But now that he has returned in the midst of a three-game winning streak that began with a last-minute win over Free State in Durban, he senses a very happy vibe in the squad.

“The mood is very positive, everyone’s very excited and there’s a good buzz, the boys are all keen to play and ready to go. There’s a very good vibe and everything is very professional. The guys are training and working hard, doing their reviews on the other teams, because that’s the Sharks culture – we work hard and we work for each other,” Du Toit said.

https://citizen.co.za/sport/south-african-sport/sa-rugby-sport/currie-cup/2172161/philosophical-thomas-shrugs-sport-is-not-a-fairy-tale/

Judging by some of the brilliant young talent at their disposal, the Sharks will now-now be a major force again in South African rugby; for now, their hopes of defending their Currie Cup title remain alive as their 48-40 victory over the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night secured them a place in the semifinals.

They have been mightily impressive over the last 3 weekends in beating Free State, the Golden Lions and the Blue Bulls, but they paid for a scratchy start as wins for both the Cheetahs and the Lions earlier on Saturday means the Sharks have finished fourth on the log and will have to travel to Bloemfontein for their semi-final.

The departure of coach Robert du Preez, his three sons and other SuperRugby regulars was always going to create some uncertainty, but given some of the performances by the youngsters new mentor Sean Everitt has blooded in the Currie Cup, the future is bright for the Sharks.

Locks Hyron Andrews and Ruben van Heerden look ready to do well at SuperRugby level, Sanele Nohamba is a very exciting young scrumhalf and Aphelele Fassi is a fullback who should come into the Springbok picture in the next World Cup cycle.

And then there’s Boeta Chamberlain, a 20-year-old flyhalf who looks to have the sort of all-round game that the Sharks can build a powerful SuperRugby side on in the next couple of years.

All of these players were outstanding at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night, but Everitt was the first to admit the Sharks were given a major helping hand by the Blue Bulls having to play the last 45 minutes with 14 men after a red card to outside centre Johnny Kotze for a late, high shoulder-charge to the neck of Kobus van Wyk.

It had been a thrilling, ding-dong battle up till then, with the Sharks having pulled back to 20-21 down as the first half entered its last five minutes. There was much at stake, with the KwaZulu-Natalians needing a win to make the semifinals and the Bulls needing a bonus point to ensure they did not finish last on the log and therefore have to face a promotion/relegation match against the Griffons from the Northern Free State.

The Blue Bulls, who decided scoring four tries was the easiest route to that bonus point, were a team released, playing with a tremendous sense of freedom as they made the early running.

Inside centre Dylan Sage launched a superb counter-attack after a poor clearance by the Sharks, Kotze then blazing through on a great run for the first try in the 11th minute; and there were further tries by prop Lizo Gqoboka and flyhalf Manie Libbok, running hard and flat at the line and knifing through, just like Handre Pollard.

The Blue Bulls were 21-13 up after 33 minutes, but then Fassi took over in a top-class display of attacking fullback play.

He was the provider for flank Jacques Vermeulen’s try as he gathered a clearance kick inside his own half, but immediately spotted the opportunities a cluster of tight forwards on the one side of the defensive line provided for a man of his pace; Fassi burst through the weak spot he had targeted and sent Vermeulen charging over.

He was again prominent early in the second half, keeping the Sharks on attack after a Nohamba penalty attempt had bounced off the post, replacement JP Pietersen cleverly taking advantage of the Bulls’ back three being one man short with a grubber through that was easily converted into a try by centre Jeremy Ward.

The Sharks struck the killer blow in the 47th minute as wing Van Wyk counter-attacked off a kick and passed inside to 21-year-old Fassi, who burst through brilliantly before producing a sublime offload to Nohamba, who sent Van Wyk over for the try. Nohamba converted and the Sharks were 41-21 ahead.

The Blue Bulls managed to eke out that crucial bonus point in the 51st minute as wing Cornal Hendricks sliced through for their fourth try and the final quarter saw replacement flank Ruan Steenkamp and eighthman Tim Agaba both scoring as the home side earned respect for their character in hanging on in the contest despite being a man short.

While Fassi was a deserved man of the match, Chamberlain also caught the eye with a polished display. He has an astute boot and superb handling skills.

Soon after Kotze’s red card, it was Chamberlain who produced a moment of magic to ensure the Sharks took a 27-21 lead into halftime. Andrews stole a Bulls lineout after the hooter and Chamberlain then committed two defenders before a brilliant offload to Esterhuizen saw the Springbok cruise over for the try.

Then, with the Blue Bulls having closed the gap to 33-41, Chamberlain chipped ahead into a gap, regathered and quickly whipped the ball away to replacement Rhyno Smith, who raced over for the try.

While the Sharks look like a team on the up, with a pool of talent that is delivering, the Bulls are a side with surely just as much talent, but seemingly without the wherewithal or consistency to be a title-winning force.

The World Cup beckons for both the South African women’s and men’s hockey teams after coach Sheldon Rostron pulled off the remarkable feat of steering both sides to the African Cup of Nations title in Ismailia, Egypt, at the weekend.

While the women, who went through the Africa Cup tournament without conceding a goal, had already qualified for the 2018 World Cup in London thanks to their fifth-place finish in the World League Semifinals, the men were under severe pressure, in the last-chance saloon, to beat hosts Egypt and win the continental crown which also gets them to the World Cup, the men’s event being held in India.

With just two minutes remaining in the final, Jethro Eustice scored from a penalty corner to give South Africa the 2-1 victory.

“It was quite a daunting task in the beginning, but with the right preparation and planning it became a lot simpler. I was lucky to have really good support staff and I was really proud of both sets of players,” Rostron told The Citizen on Tuesday when asked how tough it was to coach two teams at the same tournament.

“The specific objective of the women’s side was to not have any goals scored against us, we were using a different structure, and I’m really pleased that worked out and that the ranking points we gained should lift us back to the 11^th spot in the world.

“The men’s side had qualification for the World Cup hanging over us, but we implemented a very good process which the players bought into and it was very good to see it come to fruition. In the final though, our plans didn’t work out so well, we were 1-0 down after the first quarter and we had to be more aggressive,” Rostron said.

Competing in Africa, where there is a wide range of strengths when it comes to the opposition, also meant the teams had to at times rein themselves in so as not to become too loose. For the men, this was especially important as a daunting final against Egypt, who beat them in the World League in July, was always going to be lying ahead.

“We had to be very specific, it couldn’t just be about scoring goals and going crazy, every match we played was about using the tactics we were going to use in the final. African teams are so unconventional and forever changing. But now there is a lot of positivity going forward in South African hockey,” Rostron said.

https://citizen.co.za/sport/sport-other-sport/1711538/smart-planning-key-in-sas-brilliant-hockey-double/