Ken Borland

The 1995 World Cup-winning squad enjoyed a luncheon in London on Thursday ahead of the Springboks’ semi-final against the All Blacks, and apparently they metaphorically raised their glasses to the Golden Lions team that will aim to complete a rare unbeaten campaign when they take on Western Province in the Currie Cup final at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The 1995 Springbok squad was, of course, predominantly made up of Lions (or Transvaal as they were then known) players, but it was Natal who won the Currie Cup that year and in 1996, when they went through the season unbeaten, the last team to do so.

Lock Mark Andrews was a pivotal figure and he said the main similarity between the Natal Sharks of 1996 and the Lions of today was their ability to create and sustain momentum.

“We were just talking about it at our ’95 World Cup lunch today,” Andrews told The Citizen on Thursday, “about how we spent a fair amount of time as forwards on ball-handling drills, but you have to have momentum on the field to use those, because that’s what gives you more time and space. You can’t really use those skills if you’re under pressure because then you’re always struggling to clear the ball away.

“Our Natal coach Ian McIntosh instituted a game plan based on momentum, the forwards getting over the gain-line and having good ball-skills and an ability to link with the backs, and I’m also impressed with the way the Lions can create momentum and sustain it. They do it by keeping ball-in-hand and they’ve shown that you can win games doing that, even from their own 22.

“In general, South African teams try and kick from their own 22 and put pressure on the opposition in their own territory and try and win penalties. The Lions have shown a different skill-set, it’s a refreshing approach for a South African team, much like we had an innovative strategy back in 1996,” Andrews said.

One big difference though between now and 1996 is that the Currie Cup doesn’t feature the leading Springboks anymore.

“All the provinces had all their Springboks back then, but you still have to give the Lions credit for their consistency. You need some luck too, but it comes down to preparation and belief in your structures. You need some kicks to go over as well to win the tight games, but if you are consistently getting over the gain-line and making your tackles, then you are very hard to beat,” Andrews added.

Natal went through 14 consecutive Currie Cup matches unbeaten in 1996 and beat Transvaal 33-15 in the final at Ellis Park, leading rugby writer John Bishop of The Natal Witness describing it as a display of “devastating brilliance”.

The bizhub Highveld Lions have a handsome lead at the top of the Sunfoil Series log after winning three of their four matches but, as their opponents this week from the other side of Gauteng would say, they are certainly lus for more.

The Lions hammered the defending champions, the Nashua Cape Cobras, by an innings last weekend in Potchefstroom and they can now take control of the four-day competition if they beat the second-placed side, their neighbours the Unlimited Titans, at Willowmoore Park in Benoni from today. The Lions are currently 16.22 points ahead of the Titans with the competition heading into a midway break after this weekend’s full round of matches.

“We’ve played some good cricket but we’re not looking at the league positions, the competition only really starts taking shape after seven or eight games. We just want to keep doing our skills right and do what we need to do to get results, that’s how we like to play. We want to make sure we break the opposition game down slowly, not try to win on the second or third day, but take it to the last day after tea,” Lions coach Geoff Toyana told The Citizen.

The other matches this weekend see the Sunfoil Dolphins, smarting from their defeat in East London against the Warriors, travel to Kimberley to take on the Chevrolet Knights, while the Chevrolet Warriors host the Cobras in Port Elizabeth.

The Lions married patient batting up front, led by Stephen Cook’s marvellous century, with disciplined seam bowling and penetrative fourth-day spin from Dale Deeb to beat the Cobras. Paceman Sean Jamison announced his arrival in franchise cricket with eight wickets in the match, while Dwaine Pretorius claimed four first-innings wickets.

With Pumelela Matshikwe also bowling steadily, the Lions have successfully adapted to the loss of almost their entire attack – Eddie Leie, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Aaron Phangiso, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Hardus Viljoen all being unavailable.

“The most pleasing thing was the way the guys who came in performed. I’m very happy with the depth here, because last season I wasn’t happy when they didn’t come to the party,” Toyana said.

Titans coach Rob Walter knows the importance of the clash.

“If we can get a win then we’ll be in a great position for the second half of the competition, but if the Lions win then they’ll open up a big space on the log at the halfway mark,” he said.

The Titans’ first priority is to absorb the loss of batsmen Dean Elgar (wrist injury), Theunis de Bruyn and Farhaan Behardien, as well as all-rounder David Wiese. Graeme van Buuren should play his first four-day game of the season, having regained form with a century this week against Holland, while Heino Kuhn and Henry Davids will also have key top-order roles.

The Knights are having an even tougher time in terms of losing batsmen, with Gihahn Cloete, Reeza Hendricks, Rudi Second and Rilee Rossouw all unavailable. Gerhardt Abrahams, Michael Erlank, Patrick Botha and Diego Rosier are their replacements against the Dolphins. But in Quinton Friend, Dillon du Preez, Malusi Siboto, Corne Dry and Werner Coetzee, coach Sarel Cilliers is able to field one of the better attacks around.

The Dolphins have lost Craig Alexander to a hamstring injury, with coach Lance Klusener calling up promising pacemen Mathew Pillans and Graham Hume.

The Warriors are the most settled of the franchises at the moment and they welcome back Simon Harmer for their match against the Cobras, who will be hoping the experience of the returning Justin Kemp can change their fortunes.

Danny Willett called it a “ridiculous” amount of money as he cashed in to the tune of $1.25 million by winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City on Sunday, but his sensational final round of 66 to head the elite 30-man field by four strokes deserved no less.

It is a triumph the 27-year-old will no doubt cherish, being just his second, but he also maintains that one of the most lucrative tournaments on the European Tour is extremely special in its own right.

“It’s a ridiculous amount of money to win, but a week like this won’t be matched anywhere, not even on the PGA Tour. It’s great to win against a very good field, because it says I’m improving and I can compete against the best,” Willett said.

The win takes the former amateur world number one into the top 60 on the world professional rankings and means a definite place in the Majors is beckoning, never mind the Ryder Cup points earned by one of Europe’s rising stars.

It was a win based on his aggression off the tee and his deft touch around and on the greens.

“We [he shared the credit with caddy John Smart] had a good game-plan, this course is visually intimidating off the tee, but we wanted to be aggressive and take it on, I trusted my driver. We would take on shots where others would lay back.

“I also felt comfortable on the greens, they remind me of home without much grain on them. The grass around the greens is also not as sticky as elsewhere, it feels similar to home,” Willett said.

With that positive attitude, he perhaps caught the other Englishmen in the final three-ball napping and Luke Donald and Ross Fisher were still trying to get into their rounds by the time Willett had roared to three birdies in the first five holes.

“I hit a lot of driver on the first few holes where a lot of other golfers would hit irons. It meant I had a five-iron into two, a nine-iron into three, where the others are hitting five or six-irons into narrow greens. There was no hanging back for me,” Willett said.

Donald endured a frustrating day on his 37^th birthday with a one-over-par 73, but the overnight leader had the good grace to rave about Willett’s performance.

“I could have played a bit better but I still would have had to shoot five‑under just to tie with Danny.  He played really focused golf today and hats off, he’s a deserved winner.

“He just had a red‑hot putter, didn’t seem to miss and did everything really well. He just drove it amazingly well around here, which is a very tough, tight golf course. There’s a lot of trouble, and every time when the pressure is on, he hit it down the middle,” Donald said.

Willett had reason to be smug as he was barely challenged in the final round, but he admitted that he still felt the pressure.

“It was always comfortable enough, but you still put pressure on yourself, you’re saying ‘well I can only throw this away from here’. Three-putting on nine after I hit two good shots in gave me a kick up the backside and it was a good one to win … “ he said.

He was worth it all the way, particularly on the weekend when he shot 65-66, and the richness of the event means he now has a sizeable head-start on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai.

“It’s obviously a real boost, I’ll be leading the Order of Merit and hopefully the other wins will come along the way,” Willett said.

The quality of his play suggests that win may even come next weekend at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.