Ken Borland

Lee-Anne Pace is South Africa’s most successful women’s golfer since the legendary Sally Little in the 1980s, but despite hitting the ball better than ever, she is without an overseas professional win since October 2014 and if one enquires after the reasons why, the 37-year-old says she is honestly not sure.

It all points to how massively competitive women’s golf has become, especially since Pace moved to the LPGA Tour in America, having pretty much conquered the Ladies European Tour with nine titles and two Player of the Year crowns.

Which is not to suggest Pace is struggling. She is still chugging along on the LPGA Tour, inside the top-100 on the order of merit, as she finished last year, following excellent top-50 positions in 2015 and 2016.

“It hasn’t been a particularly good year, but I’ve been up there a few times and I just haven’t finished the job. I do feel that my golf is getting better and better though, and I’m confident things will turn around soon. The tour has become super-competitive and it gets more difficult to win every year, with the equipment improving all the time.

“In America, most of the time you’re pitching straight towards the pin, it’s more like target golf and then it all comes down to putting. I’m hitting the ball probably the best I ever have, so I’m not sure really where the problem is. But in golf sometimes just a little bit of adjustment can make a massive difference,” Pace says.

The Paarl-born golfer moved from the European Tour to the United States in 2014 and, even though she won as a rookie, claiming the Blue Bay title (the tournament being held in China), she says it was still quite an adjustment to make, even for someone who had enjoyed a successful amateur collegiate career at the Murray State and Tulsa universities.

“The first few years were all about adapting and you have to be longer off the tee here, that was one of the things I had to sort out with just a few adjustments, as well as getting used to the different grass. But I managed to win one in my first year and I’ve had seven top-10 finishes as well. Slowly, slowly I’ve been getting better, making gradual moves upwards,” Pace says.

The psychology graduate is aiming to win a Major before her career is over and playing this weekend in the Scottish Open at Gullane Golf Club, where fellow South African Brandon Stone shot a final-round 60 to win the equivalent men’s event earlier in the month, is going to be great preparation for qualifying next week for the British Women’s Open. Given her strong start in the tournament, however, which has a stellar field co-sanctioned by the LPGA, Pace might not need to play in the qualifier at St Anne’s.

“The top three this weekend also get into the British Open so this is like a mini-qualifier. But I’m always eyeing the win, I had good early tee-times the first two days, so I had fresh greens and not too much wind. But with half the 156 golfers coming from the LPGA and half from the LET, it’s a really good, very strong field.

“Links golf can be quite a beast, all the holes are different and you have to decide whether to be aggressive or lay back. I probably tend to go for the pins more, I like to shape the ball into the flag, but over the next couple of weeks I’ll have to think really carefully about where you land the ball. I love Links golf,” Pace says.

An ever-present smile masks a tigerish competitor, but Pace embodies the true spirit of the game. Her previous Major appearance, at the PGA Championship in Chicago, ended in her disqualifying herself.

In her frustration she bashed her wedge against a hazard stake, not realising at the time that she had damaged the hosel of the club. A few holes later, she spotted the damage and, even though rules officials encouraged her to continue playing pending a review, she knew the rule about changing the condition of a club during play and it’s penalty – disqualification.

Unlike Phil Mickelson a couple of weeks earlier, Pace did the right thing and disqualified herself, saving a lot of time and effort.

Hopefully her reward will be a change in fortunes in the United Kingdom over the next fortnight.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-gauteng/20180728/282518659300966

Despite a poor final year in charge of the Springboks, there is little doubt Heyneke Meyer remains a top-class coach and it is a symptom of a sick South African rugby system that the 49-year-old is without a full-time coaching job despite making it clear that he still wants to make a difference to the game in this country.

Meyer was back at Loftus Versfeld a couple of days ago to launch the Beachcomber World Club 10s, a unique tournament for professional teams in a social environment, that will be held in Mauritius next month, but there is no doubt he still harbours a burning desire to be involved in the cauldron of top quality rugby again judging by the passion with which he answered a range of questions on South African rugby.

Although a great admirer of New Zealand rugby and a personal friend of All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, Meyer makes a good point when he says a drive to play like the Kiwis do is a case of chasing the wind for South African rugby.

He reckons it will take us 10 years to catch up to their style of play, by which time their game will have evolved and they will still be 10 years ahead of South Africa. It is perhaps a symptom of our insecurity as a nation that we are always trying to copy other teams – in the early 2000s it was Australian rugby that was the flavour of the month.

Meyer, who has been working with plenty of New Zealanders and Fijians in his part-time role as coach of the Asia Pacific Dragons team, points to a higher innate skills level as one of the main reasons South Africans will find it very difficult to emulate the free-flowing, expansive style of the Kiwis.

“South Africans don’t have the same natural understanding of space that they do, but I truly believe any of our teams can still beat a New Zealand team, especially at home. But if we try and follow them then we’ll never be the best in the world. We have to rediscover what we stand for and play South African rugby – brilliant set-pieces, driving, strong defence. We must do what we’re good at and kick intelligently, not just kick the ball away,” Meyer said.

The national coach from 2012 to 2015 made the point that ex-Springbok coaches are practically driven out of the country and pointed to Eddie Jones travelling from Australia to South Africa and now to England as an example of the value of experience, even if it comes from losing a few games.

“Eddie lost eight games in a row with Australia and was fired, he then helped the Springboks and learnt a lot there. In fact England are now playing like the Boks used to – they have great set-pieces, a great defence and kicking game, they still score tries and they’re on a winning run. It would be 50/50 right now between them and the All Blacks.”

Many observers have pointed to the speed at which New Zealand teams play the game and Meyer said this difference was most marked towards the end of matches, due to the superior fitness of the Kiwis.

“The All Blacks have always been superior in terms of fitness. We have big, strong guys, but it’s harder to get them fit. New Zealand have smaller but more mobile players and they run you ragged in the last 10-15 minutes. Central contracting means Steve Hansen knows the fitness of all his players and whether they need to rest or work harder.

“But you can’t do major fitness work if your players are tired or injured and our guys going overseas makes it very difficult, I’m very concerned about all the guys in Japan because you can’t play for 12 months. Before the last World Cup, I did not see the players for eight months so I asked for fitness reports from the franchises and nobody sent them in.

“So when I got the players I knew we were in trouble and the guys were not fit for the first game against Japan. But the All Blacks get to rest for three months after SuperRugby, so they’re super-fit for the next year, but we’re playing Currie Cup or in Japan. It’s very difficult for the South African coaches,” Meyer said.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-gauteng/20170513/282578787965088

The South African women’s team will head into the rest of 2017 without the calming, stabilising presence of one of their greatest goalkeepers, as Sanani Mangisa announced her retirement from international hockey on Tuesday, 24th January 2017.

The 29-year-old Mangisa is into her 10th year of representing South Africa and has decided the time is right for her to concentrate on her career in the sports industry and helping to create opportunities, similar to the ones she enjoyed, for the next generation.

“I always love the freshness and optimism that comes with a new year and it is with that same freshness and optimism that I have decided to retire from international hockey. On 30th December 2006, I made my debut in Stellenbosch as a young 19-year-old and 10 years on it has been an immense honour to represent South Africa at the highest level.

“However, it’s time for me to focus on some passion projects, making sure other young players have the same opportunities I did and a job that I am enjoying. Hockey chose me and I will forever be grateful,” Mangisa said.

The South African women’s team will head into the rest of 2017 without the calming, stabilising presence of one of their greatest goalkeepers as Sanani Mangisa announced her retirement from international hockey on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old Mangisa is into her 10^th year of representing South Africa and has decided the time is right for her to concentrate on her career in the sports industry and helping to create opportunities, similar to the ones she enjoyed, for the next generation.

“I always love the freshness and optimism that comes with a new year and it is with that same freshness and optimism that I have decided to retire from international hockey. On December 30, 2006, I made my debut in Stellenbosch as a young 19-year-old and 10 years on it has been an immense honour to represent South Africa at the highest level.

“But it’s time for me to focus on some passion projects, making sure other kids have the same opportunities I did, and a job that I am enjoying. Hockey chose me and I will forever be grateful,” Mangisa said.

Mangisa thanked the South African Hockey Association and all other stakeholders in the game who have supported her in the last decade.

“Thank you to SA hockey for all the opportunities they allowed me to represent my country and wear the Green and Gold. Thank you to the different team-mates I have played with over the years – we shared a common goal and always worked hard towards achieving it. Thank you also to the coaches and trainers who always challenged me to be better.

“Thanks too to all the different sponsors, you believed in a kid, long before I believed in myself, and to the media – journalists and broadcasters – that feature hockey, I have to thank you specifically for working endlessly to highlight our sport. I hope everyone keeps supporting women’s sport not just because it’s women’s sport, but because we are breaking moulds and doing some cool stuff.

“And to my family, you have always been the grounding factor. Your support has been immense. Enkosi,” Mangisa said.

The Umtata-born Mangisa leaves the game with rich memories as one of South Africa’s most decorated players, having earned 112 international caps and appearing in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, as well as the 2014 World Cup and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She also represented South Africa at the 2007 Indoor World Cup and played locally for the University of Pretoria and Northerns, before moving to Southern Gauteng.

Marissa Langeni, the CEO of the South African Hockey Association, paid tribute to Mangisa.

“We have followed Sanani’s progress over the years and she has truly been a remarkable player, doing an amazing job in goal for South Africa. She enjoyed so many highlights on the field, but she was also a great ambassador for South African hockey. We wish her all the best,” Langeni said.

http://www.sahockey.co.za/tournaments/ipt-women/276-sanani-mangisa-announces-her-retirement-from-international-hockey

The Lions had to show they are able to win without the ball and they did that to impressive effect at Ellis Park on Saturday night as they beat the Crusaders 42-25 in their SuperRugby quarterfinal.

The Lions probably only enjoyed about 40% of possession and territory, but their defence was superb and they showed a ruthless streak when they did have the ball, clinical finishing giving them five tries.

It was one-way traffic in the first 10 minutes though as the Lions scored two tries to settle their nerves and give them a 12-0 lead which the Crusaders chipped away at, but could never entirely eliminate.

After flank Warwick Tecklenburg had barged over the advantage line, scrumhalf Faf de Klerk made a good decision to go left and wing Courtnall Skosan showed lovely footwork to step past a couple of defenders and then race away from the halfway line for a superb second-minute try.

De Klerk was once again prominent in the Lions’ second try five minutes later as he intercepted a pass and led a breakaway from their own territory, Skosan loomed up in support and was stopped just short of the tryline, illegally, leading to a penalty.

Sensing blood, the Lions kicked to touch and got the rolling maul going and this time there was no avoiding a yellow card for the Crusaders when they sacked it illegally, lock Luke Romano being sent off the field by referee Craig Joubert.

That penalty was also kicked to touch and, a couple of phases after the lineout, bulldozer centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg went over for the try.

Elton Jantjies converted and seven minutes later he added a penalty after De Klerk had linked well with his forwards and backs and decoy runners had caused some confusion in the Crusaders defence.

The Lions were 15-0 up but they spent most of the second quarter pinned in their own territory and having to defend courageously, making tackle-after-tackle, to keep the Crusaders out.

While the visitors showed excellent ball-retention, most of the Lions’ problems were related to their poor tactical kicking and not getting enough distance on their clearing kicks.

Flyhalf Richie Mo’unga kicked a 19th-minute penalty and the Crusaders eventually made their territorial dominance count in terms of tries when another telling dart by wing Johnny McNicholl, who had been a handful on attack, led to outside centre Ryan Crotty dotting the ball down on the side of the post.

Mo’unga’s conversion closed the gap to 15-10 and the momentum was certainly with the Crusaders.

But the Lions brushed aside the difficulties of the last half-hour, a power scrum winning a penalty, which was again used to set the rolling maul, from which hooker Malcolm Marx scored.

Jantjies converted and the Lions were far more comfortable on the scoreboard – 22-10 up – than they were in reality at halftime.

But the Crusaders are a skilful side good at building pressure and they kept the ball through multiple phases at the start of the second half, trapping the Lions offsides and earning Mo’unga another penalty (13-22).

The Lions are perhaps too reliant on De Klerk using clearing kicks from the base, which are inevitably going to be more like an up-and-under than a long, raking touchfinder, but when Jantjies did manage to kick long and force the Crusaders back for a 22 drop out, it led to a penalty advantage and the flyhalf slotted a neat drop goal for the Lions to rebuild their lead.

The Crusaders were disappointed with the penalty count against them and they gave Jantjies another shot at goal in the 61st minute, the Lions getting front-foot ball as Janse van Rensburg crashed through the advantage line yet again.

The kicking game of the Crusaders was much better than the Lions’ and it earned them their second try when fullback Israel Dagg put pressure on the home side trying to field an up-and-under, the ball went loose and was tidied up by Mo’unga. He made it inside the Lions’ 22 before feeding replacement scrumhalf Mitchell Drummond for an easy run-in.

Mo’unga’s conversion made it 20-28 and the result was obviously back in the balance with 17 minutes remaining.

But the surprise substitution of the outstanding Janse van Rensburg brought immediate rewards. His replacement Howard Mnisi put outside centre Lionel Mapoe away with a sublime first touch, the Springbok incumbent racing through and then showing good composure to wait for the arrival of wing Ruan Combrinck in support. The power finish of the new international completed probably the try of the match.

On a special evening for the Lions, it was fantastic that some of their unsung heroes like Mnisi, Skosan and Tecklenburg produced some of the biggest plays.

Mnisi was in the thick of things again just five minutes later as his big tackle on McNicholl led to a turnover, which was sent wide, Mapoe chipping infield and replacement scrumhalf Ross Cronje getting to the ball first and then fighting his way over the line.

Unfortunately, he injured himself in the process and his fitness is a concern for next weekend’s semi-final at Ellis Park.

With Jantjies’ conversion making it 42-20, the Lions no longer had to worry and an attempt to run the ball in their own 22 instead gave the Crusaders a consolation try through replacement flyhalf Ben Volavola.

But the Lions were convincing winners and by beating the seven-time champions and playoff experts, they have marked themselves as strong contenders for the title.

If they are as clinical on attack and as determined in defence as they were against the Crusaders, it would be silly to bet against them in their home semifinal next weekend.