Ken Borland

The Sharks ensured their unbeaten record in the Currie Cup was not broken on Friday night but it required a mighty effort from last year’s finalists as a physical, combative Pumas side pushed them for the whole 82 minutes in Nelspruit.

The Sharks eventually prevailed 24-10 for their fourth successive win and their triumph, on the scoreboard at least, was entirely thanks to flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain, who succeeded with all eight of his penalty kicks at goal.

Although the Sharks shaded the territory battle and their scrum started to give the Pumas a really hard time in the second half, the visitors’ attack was disconnected and just lacking in the polish required to break down a manful Pumas defence.

The Pumas in fact scored the only try and a brilliant try it was, worthy of being try of the match even if half-a-dozen had been scored. It began deep inside their own 22 and was sparked by inside centre Eddie Fouche’s chip and regather. The end-to-end try saw 10 Pumas players handle, but scrumhalf Lucky Dlepu was prominent, before flank Anele Lungisa, who was a prominent figure with his huge work-rate throughout the match, went over for the try.

In a tough encounter in which any soft characters would have had to leave the field crying for mom, the Sharks were more clinical in terms of hanging on to the ball, although their failure to convert pressure into tries will be distressing for coach Etienne Fynn.

They kept their composure though and did not get blown off course by a Pumas side that was typically ferocious on their home turf.

Apart from Chamberlain, the likes of scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba, wing Yaw Penxe and flank Thembelani Bholi all advanced their cause in terms of getting into the Sharks’ URC side.

Proteas star Quinton de Kock on Thursday morning apologised to his team-mates and South African fans for his withdrawal from the T20 World Cup match against the West Indies, but said his refusal to take the knee in support of the BLM initiative was not because he is racist, pointing out that he comes from a mixed-race home.

De Kock said his issue with being forced to take the knee was that it infringed on his own rights and the directive was imposed without any discussion with the team, on the morning of a vital World Cup game.

“For those who don’t know, I come from a mixed-race family. My half-sisters are Coloured and my step-mom is Black,” De Kock revealed in a statement. “For me, Black lives have mattered since I was born. Not just because there was an international movement.

“I was raised to understand that we all have rights, and they are important. I felt like my rights were taken away when I was told what we had to do in the way that we were told.

“We were previously told we had the choice to do what we felt we wanted to do. … I didn’t understand why I had to prove it with a gesture, when I live and learn and love people from all walks of life every day.

“When you are told what to do, with no discussion, I felt like it takes away the meaning. If I was racist, I could easily have taken the knee and lied, which is wrong and doesn’t build a better society,” De Kock said. 

De Kock criticised the CSA Board in his statement for what their directive did to the team on the morning of a crunch game. A seemingly distracted Proteas team started poorly against the West Indies, but recovered superbly to avoid a defeat which would have been their second in a row and would have made it extremely unlikely that they would qualify for the semi-finals.

De Kock revealed that the team had discussions with the Board on Wednesday night.

“Since our chat with the board last night, which was very emotional, I think we all have a better understanding of their intentions as well. I wish this had happened sooner, because what happened on match day could have been avoided.

“I was shocked that we were told on the way to an important match that there was an instruction that we had to follow, with a perceived ‘or else.’ I don’t think I was the only one.

“We have had camps … sessions … Zoom meetings. We know where we all stand. And that is together. I love every one of my team-mates, and I love nothing more than playing cricket for South Africa.

“It would have been better for everyone concerned if we had sorted this out before the tournament started. Then we could have focused on our job, to win cricket matches for our country. There always seems to be a drama when we go to World Cups. That isn’t fair,” De Kock said.

The 28-year-old ended his statement by praising Temba Bavuma for being “a flipping amazing leader” and made a plea to be allowed to play for his country again. Although he made no mention of whether he would now be willing to take a knee.