Ken Borland

A top-class British and Irish Lions side that can play in a variety of ways awaits the Springboks at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

A World Cup winning Springboks side that has a simple, but highly effective game-plan awaits the British and Irish Lions at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

So who is going to win what should be a gripping encounter? Either way, it is surely going to be a Test that keeps everyone on the edge of their seats.

A lack of international rugby since winning the World Cup has been held against the Springboks’ chances, but perhaps a team that has a simple, more focused strategy is going to be able to deal better with what will be a high-pressure game full of intensity.

The Lions seem intent on playing a high-tempo game that stretches the Springboks in the wide channels, but having so many options at their disposal could actually be a negative. Running around like excited puppies is not going to win the tourists the first Test, especially against a side that relishes defending as vigorously as South Africa do. The defeat to the SA A side showed the Lions that they too are human and costly errors were made under pressure.

Obviously having great depth in playing resources is a positive, but the other side of that coin is that there may be a lack of certainty in exactly what the Lions are planning to do on Saturday. Coach Warren Gatland made a great deal of how he and his coaching staff all had different selections when it came to the 23 for the first Test.

Eventually the team was chosen by consensus, but the possibility of horse-trading exists and this could lead to a lack of a united, singular vision for the Lions.

So what are the potential weaknesses of the Springboks?

Their backline all played and shone in that World Cup final win over England in 2019, but key players in Handre Pollard, Damian de Allende and Makazole Mapimpi could be a little short of rugby.

But, as in all closely-contested Test matches, it is all going to come down to the forwards. The selection of the two players who did not feature in the World Cup – loosehead prop Ox Nche and eighthman Kwagga Smith – would seem to be all about mobility and being able to defend in those wide channels the Lions have used so effectively.

While Nche is a wonderful ball-playing prop, and a strong defender, all eyes – and possibly even the outcome of the match – are going to be on his scrum battle with Tadhg Furlong, who many consider to be the best tighthead in the world.

Smith made his name in the Green and Gold colours of the Springbok Sevens team and he is a wonderful athlete and potent with ball in hand. He will have a key role at the breakdown and in defending the wide channels with Pieter-Steph du Toit. But Smith lacks the physicality of his predecessor, the injured Duane Vermeulen, which could make a difference when it comes to the key gainline battles which South Africa need to dominate.

Re the gainline battle, it is going to be interesting to see how the Lions cope with the likes of Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx and Rynhardt Elstadt coming off the bench in the second half to back up the mighty Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert.

The fact that the phonelines have been buzzing between the Lions camp and WorldRugby over a South African TMO being appointed and Rassie Erasmus acting as a waterboy on the side of the field suggests the tourists are feeling the pressure.

In many ways they are the favourites, which has allowed Jacques Nienaber and the Springboks to go into the match a little more under the radar.

An epic test awaits, but what a pity there won’t be 55 000 fans cheering on in the ears of the players.

That there is enormous cricketing potential in this country is generally accepted, but due to a variety of reasons, it is tough for Cricket South Africa (CSA) to ensure all our communities get decent opportunities to play the game.

CSA’s development programmes are one thing, but what happens next? How do those talented young cricketers in the outlying areas then get to play enough decent matches, how are they transported to matches, what facilities do they have with which to hone their game? Are they given the love of cricket and then just left to their own devices?

CSA identified these problems and came up with the idea of hubs and regional performance centres (RPCs).

The RPCs have been a heck of a success in ensuring it is no longer the case that talented young cricketers from disadvantaged areas are lost to the system due to socio-economic circumstances. And, in tremendous news for South African cricket, it has been announced on Thursday that Standard Bank, the headline sponsors of the Proteas, will no longer be focused on just the pinnacle of the pipeline, but are now making a major contribution at grassroots level with their sponsorship of the RPC programme.

The implementation of the RPC programme means CSA are now making great headway in terms of building relationships with communities and local municipalities. And now this progress will be accelerated thanks to the support of Standard Bank, who have added this vital development initiative to their naming rights sponsorship of the national team.

“Standard Bank has been a key supporter and sponsor of the Proteas for many years and by sponsoring the RPCs we hope to develop the immense cricketing talent we have in our country.

Budding young cricketers in many outlying areas are still in desperate need of facilities and coaching, and this RPC in Soweto will assist in helping these players fulfil their true potential and turn their dreams into reality,” Vuyo Masinda from Standard Bank said at the launch of the new deal at the Dobsonville RPC in Soweto on Thursday.

There are RPCs in all nine provinces, with each having several hubs in their stable acting as feeders. Having a centralised venue dedicated to nurturing the disadvantaged talent in the vicinity allows CSA to pour resources into it, ensuring there is adequate infrastructure with which to develop quality cricketers.

Girls and women’s cricket is also included in this programme.

The quality of coaching is also of the greatest importance and each RPC must have a head coach who is Level III certified and an assistant coach who is Level II certified. The Hubs must have a head coach who is Level II certified and an assistant coach who is Level I certified.

The feeder system for the Hubs starts with the KFC Mini-Cricket programme and, thanks to the Momentum Friendship Games, the Hubs and RPCs get to play against the leading schools in their area.

Some of the franchise players who will be acting as mentors for the programme include Omphile Ramela, Malusi Siboto, Khaya Zondo, Mangaliso Mosehle and Temba Bavuma.