Ken Borland

Watching South African rugby on television at the moment may be a bit like being in a canoe stuck in a stagnant backwater – the still water means not much is happening – but there is a deadly waterfall up ahead if the Independent Communications Authority (Icasa) get their way.

Icasa, which regulates broadcasting in this country, are concerned that subscription TV, i.e. Multichoice, have a monopoly on showing live sport in this country and they want to make the market more competitive. To do this, they propose that broadcast rights can only be bought for a maximum three-year period, there are to be no exclusive deals and rugby’s properties must be split and dispersed between as many broadcasters as possible.

But as SA Rugby so ably illustrated in their presentation to Icasa during public hearings this week, these so-called remedies will have the exact opposite effect. Because they will have such a drastic economic impact on the sport, for whom the sale of television rights makes up 58% of their income (sponsorship, which largely depends on TV exposure, makes up another 26%), the market won’t be competitive at all because professional rugby, already brought to its knees by the Covid-19 pandemic, will all but cease to exist.

Spreading the rights around may sound like a lovely socialist plan in an ideal world, but in the real world of free market economies, and the absence of any other broadcaster remotely capable of doing and paying what SuperSport does, rugby is in the canoe going over the Victoria Falls if they can no longer sell their rights as a single package, in long-term, exclusive contracts.

Given the abysmal record of almost all parastatals in this country, I have a healthy scepticism when it comes to them poking their noses around wherever they sniff money or gravy. But I was squirming with discomfort when, following SA Rugby’s presentation, one of the Icasa councillors asked if the federation would consider producing movies, documentaries or news if they could no longer do rugby.

I was so shocked by the sheer idiocy of the question, coming from someone who is no doubt earning a healthy slab of taxpayers’ money and is in a position to draft laws for the people of this country, that I fired off a derogatory tweet. Shortly thereafter, after a rant by the Chairperson about people disrespecting authority on social media, I was removed from the virtual meeting.

It’s a bit like asking a company that specialises in making hand sanitizers if they wouldn’t mind switching to car manufacturing because the government wants to fiddle with the market.

As SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux pointed out, it costs millions of rand to build a competitive rugby system that will find a player with talent in the grassroots pipeline, take them through the youth age-levels, through provincial and franchise rugby and hopefully then to the Springboks. That money largely comes from the sale of television broadcast rights and sponsors who are willing to pay for the exposure they get on TV.

Apart from their clearly undemocratic and anti freedom of speech tendencies, Icasa also failed to do a Regulatory Impact Assessment before drafting their findings, according to SA Rugby’s legal counsel, Ngwako Maenetje SC. He also accused Icasa of paying scant regard to a written submission SA Rugby had previously made, which gave a thorough indication of the dire financial impact the proposed regulations would have on rugby.

A court date undoubtedly beckons for Icasa if they continue with this idiocy.

Roux also mentioned SA Rugby’s mandate is to produce compelling content and the current standard of the Currie Cup has been a subject of much discussion recently. It certainly has not been a top-class spectacle, but there have been mitigating factors for that such as the heat, humidity and rain at this time of year and the disruptions caused by Covid outbreaks.

But a look at the laws of the game could help. I like a suggestion made by coaching gurus Nick Mallett and Swys de Bruin that being able to mark a kick anywhere in the field should be considered, scrum infringements should initially just be free kicks and the attacking side should not be held to the same offsides lines as the defence.

A career-best 11-wicket haul for fast bowler Daryn Dupavillon paved the way for the Dolphins to beat the Knights by five wickets in their 4-Day Domestic Series match at Kingsmead in Durban on Wednesday.

Dupavillon claimed four for 66, to back up his phenomenal first-innings figures of seven for 38, as the Knights second innings collapsed from their overnight 150 for two to 213 all out, leaving the Dolphins with just 77 to get for victory on the third day.

It was a bit of a struggle for the home side as leg-spinner Shaun von Berg took three for 12, but Keegan Petersen scored 28 not out to ensure a five-wicket win for the Dolphins.

Dupavillon stamped his mark in his first over of the day when he had in-form nightwatchman Migael Pretorius caught behind for 8, off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen then bowled Patrick Botha for 6, and when opener Matthew Kleinveldt was run out for a tenacious 77, the Knights were really on the skids inside the first hour of play.

Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy also chipped in with a three-wicket haul as the Knights lost their last eight wickets for just 63 runs on Wednesday.

The Imperial Lions, meanwhile, will have to put in another day at the office as a determined batting display by the Warriors held them up at St George’s Park.

Set a mammoth 513 for victory, the Warriors had reached 219 for five at stumps thanks to captain Yaseen Vallie’s defiant but positive 85 and Rudi Second’s obstinate 76 not out.

The in-form Sisanda Magala dismissed Vallie and claimed the big wicket of opener Ed Moore to lead the Lions bowling.

Earlier, Wiaan Mulder showed why he is one of the country’s most promising batting all-rounders as he cruised to a brilliant 100 not out off 109 balls to set up the Lions declaration on 241 for five shortly before lunch.

Mulder and Rickelton (59) put on 93 for the fourth wicket before Mulder cut loose with 13 fours and three sixes.

A draw looks the most likely result at Centurion, although there is still space for a Titans win as the Cape Cobras go into the final day on 33 without loss, a lead of just four runs.

The pitch is starting to misbehave, with Cobras openers Jonathan Bird and Pieter Malan having to keep their wits about them in the nine overs they had to face before stumps as deliveries started to keep low.

The Titans had earlier made it to 440 all out with two centuries being scored: Aiden Markram reached three figures for the third consecutive innings as he stroked a commanding 113, and Neil Brand showed great judgement in sticking around for six-and-a-half hours and scoring 115.

Sibonelo Makhanya played some marvellous strokes in his run-a-ball 55 and there were useful contributions too from Theunis de Bruyn (35) and Dayyaan Galiem (38) as the Titans took the lead.

New Cobras signing Calvin Savage was always at the batsmen in 22.4 persevering overs and was rewarded with five for 77, his first five-for for his new franchise.

Barring the sporting equivalent of a miracle or the intervention of the weather, the Imperial Lions are well on their way to a second successive victory in their 4-Day Domestic Series match against the Warriors in Port Elizabeth.

The Lions took their first innings score to 389 all out on the second morning on Tuesday and then a fine all-round bowling display saw the Warriors skittled for just 118.

Tladi Bokako set the tone up front with brilliant figures of 13-5-14-2, but he had excellent support from Delano Potgieter (2-22) and Malusi Siboto (2-40) and Sisanda Magala wrapped up the innings with three for 37.

Leading by 271 runs, the Lions then reached 125 for three by stumps, with Wesley Marshall following up his superb 145 in the first innings with a fluent 48 off 60 balls, with 10 fours. Ryan Rickelton (32*) and Wiaan Mulder (23*) then added 40 before close of play.

Already 396 runs ahead, the Lions will be contemplating a declaration sometime on Wednesday that will give them almost a day-and-a-half in which to bowl out the Warriors a second time.

Aiden Markram has already shown that his game has all the equipment needed to succeed at Test level and the 26-year-old definitely also has the confidence and form to ensure he will soon be opening the batting again for the Proteas as he led a decent Titans batting effort on the second day of their match against the Cape Cobras at Centurion.

Markram followed up his century in each innings last week against the Warriors with a classy 80 not out that led the Titans to 136 for one when lighting and rain ended play just before 4pm. He collected 13 fours and was particularly authoritative on the drive.

He received strong support from Neil Brand (38*) as the pair added 104 for the second wicket after Corbin Bosch had produced a brute of a delivery that brushed the glove of Dean Elgar to have him caught in the slips for 9.

The Cobras began the day on 351 for five and took their score to 411 all out, with all-rounder Calvin Savage scoring a useful 40 and Bosch adding 28.

Thando Ntini finished with three for 66 and there were two wickets apiece for Lizaad Williams and Okuhle Cele.

In Durban, the Knights have erased the Dolphins’ considerable first-innings lead of 137 with just two wickets down as they reached stumps at the halfway stage of their game on 150 for two.

Opener Matthew Kleinveldt is doing a great job for the Knights on 67 not out, but the Dolphins have picked up a key wicket with Raynard van Tonder being caught at silly mid-off off left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy for 46 shortly before bad light stopped play.

The Dolphins had earlier reached 253 all out in their first innings thanks to Grant Roelofsen’s tenacious 73 and Prenelan Subrayen’s hard-fought 44, a crucial contribution considering the Dolphins were 169 for seven when he came to the crease. Fast bowler Daryn Dupavillon backed up his seven wickets with a useful innings of 19 as he and Subrayen added 40 for the ninth wicket.

Paceman Gerald Coetzee and off-spinner Patrick Botha took three wickets apiece.

Jake White was clearly having a bit of a laugh when he said his Bulls team might go to Newlands on Saturday and not kick at all in their Currie Cup opener against great rivals Western Province at Newlands, but the canny World Cup winning coach has already had the last laugh with the way he has turned things around at Loftus Versfeld.

White has always given a good press conference because he is engaging, loves a chat and he is not averse to playing a few mind games, especially before the big matches. In domestic terms, it seldom gets any bigger than the Bulls against the Stormers/Western Province, the famous north versus south derby.

Probably the most impressive feature though of White’s coaching at Loftus Versfeld has been the way the Bulls have shown the ability to play different kinds of rugby. The general expectation when he arrived in Pretoria was that the Bulls would play a conservative brand of rugby, going back to their old strengths of almost 10-man rugby: a powerful pack dominating the tight exchanges and then the halfbacks kicking the leather off the ball and the stuffing out of the opposition.

And while White has recently been giving hints that they will need to perfect the conservative approach once they start playing in the Pro16 competition in the miserable European winter, the Bulls backs have been playing with a new-found verve and sparkle. Sevens Springboks seem to be having a much bigger impact in XVs these days, but White has gone further than most in choosing three of them in his backline – Kurt-Lee Arendse, Stedman Gans and Cornal Hendricks.

White has never been a great publisher of his strategic thinking in the build-up to his campaigns, but there was barely a hint of Hendricks’ move to inside centre before it happened in the official opening friendly of the season, the Bulls’ game against the Sharks on SuperFan Saturday.

While many viewed the decision with trepidation – especially those used to the normal big bruisers who have played inside centre for the Bulls – White’s eye for talent and shrewd rugby brain has once again been proven because Hendricks has been a revelation in the No.12 jersey. He has been the key to the exciting backline play they have produced, while he has also shown no signs of vulnerability defensively.

The thing about White is that he is a true student of the game and his attention to detail is second to none; from prop to fullback, the coach will be very precise in what he wants from his players.

It has been remarkable how the Bulls have gone from the lower reaches of the 2020 Super Rugby log, winning just one of their six matches before Covid-19 struck, to the champion team in South Africa, but that’s what happens when hard work is backed up by tactical excellence and a coach who has the experience and nous to get the little things, that make such a big difference, right.

While White’s lateral thinking has taken him to the perimeters of rugby wisdom at times, he also puts great store in the importance of the basics. Little wonder then that in his recruitment and his selection thus far he has concentrated on building the most physically intimidating, formidable pack in South Africa. Their dominance of the gain-line has been key to everything else they have tried to do on the field.

There are many who wrote White, who will turn 57 in two weeks time,  off as one of the antiques of world coaching, but the value of having an experienced, well-travelled coach – he has also worked in Australia, France and Japan – has become very apparent at Loftus Versfeld.

A great forward-planner, White has also worked hard in his position of director of rugby to put together structures for the entire Bulls system. The art of coaching is not about gimmicks or fancy moves, but mastering the basics.

White seems to be doing that at Loftus Versfeld, and a powerful Bulls team is good news for South African rugby as a whole.