Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2021 i SA RUGBY

TOULOUSE 22 LA ROCHELLE 17 TWICKENHAM, 22 MAY 2021 JUAN GASPARIN/MI NEWS/NURPHOTO Cheslin Kolbe and Rynhardt Elstadt of Toulouse celebrate with the trophy after winning the European Champions Cup. It was a historic achievement for the Bok duo as their French club became the first side to win five Champions Cup titles, and it was their first European win since 2010. SHARKS 22 STORMERS 25 KINGS PARK, 22 MAY 2021 STEVE HAAG/HOLLYWOODBETS Springbok World Cup winners Frans Malherbe and Bongi Mbonambi were reunited with Siya Kolisi when the Stormers and Sharks clashed in Durban. Kolisi, who moved from Cape Town to Durban earlier this year, produced a much-improved performance, but it was his old teammates who were able to celebrate an all-important victory in the Rainbow Cup SA. SALE SHARKS…

From their first trip to South Africa in 1891 to the dozen tours that followed over the next century and more, the Lions versus the Springboks has carried a magic with it at every step. Great Tests, immortal players, disgraceful violence, controversial trips in the apartheid era – it’s been an odyssey like no other in the history of sport. You could pick a hundred key moments and you’d still be leaving out dozens more. When Warren Gatland brings his players south, there will be 130 years of history behind them – the good, the bad, the brutal and the enduringly compelling. Here are 10 tales from past tours … WRECKERS AND KIPPERS, 1968 In 1968 there was a group called the Wreckers and one called the Kippers. The Wreckers…

A few eyebrows were raised after coach Warren Gatland announced his 37-man squad to tour South Africa. Johnny Sexton – one of the great Ireland players and a key figure In the drawn series against the All Blacks in 2017 – was considered surplus to requirements. Gatland opted for three flyhalves In his Lions squad: Dan Biggar (Wales), Owen Farrell (England) and Finn Russell (Scotland). Pollard admits that each player could pose a unique challenge to the Springboks. ‘There are some Interesting selections In terms of the coaches and the players. I think it’s a great mix and I am expecting a few surprises come the Test series.’ the Bok No 10 says. ‘We’ll definitely have a closer look at them when they arrive and play In the warm-up games…

Big series and tournaments tend to be decided by a single play or moment. The Springboks became world champions for the first time when Joel Stransky slotted a drop goal in extra time of the 1995 World Cup final. Jonny Wilkinson emulated Stransky when he nailed a late winner for England against Australia in the 2003 decider. Six years later, a rookie by the name of Morne Steyn came off the bench to kick the Springboks to glory in a series against the British & Irish Lions that would alter the course of South African rugby history. Fourie du Preez was taken out in the air by Ronan O’Gara on South Africa’s 10m line. Before captain John Smit had time to think about who should take a potentially series-winning kick…

The majority of the British & Irish Lions squad were given special dispensation to receive their first coronavirus vaccinations before the tourto South Africa. The squad assembled for the first time In London towards the end of May and were vaccinated after receiving clearance from government, with assurance that it would not affect the supply that will be available to the public. Finn Russell was the only player absent due to commitments with French club Racing 92. The Lions will play their warm-up match against Japan in Edinburgh on 26 June and the Lions squad were then expected to receive their second round of labs before the game. Those vaccinations will be administered at the team’s multimillion-pound training base in Jersey, where they will be In camp from 13 June.…

In the two post-isolation tours of South Africa, two encounters have been played between the Lions and the Emerging Springboks, who have since been rebranded as South Africa ‘A’, but both essentially serving as a second-string national team. The 1997 Emerging Bok side came nowhere close to challenging the visitors, who powered to a 51-22 win. It was 12 years later when the Dewaid Potgieter-led team came within a whisker of beating the Lions and causing the upset of the tour. In one of the more compelling non-Test games from that tour, the Lions got to a 10-0 lead by half-time in Cape Town. The contest was more closely fought in the early stages of the second half, but the Emerging Boks could muster only two penalty kicks off the…

SKI GOGGLES Toulouse ran out deserved winners of the European Champions Cup after beating a spirited La Rochelle side in the final at Twickenham. When the photos emerged of the post-match celebrations it was no surprise to see the customary champagne bottles being popped. Some of Toulouse’s especially well-prepared individuals had even donned ski goggles specifically for these effervescent exhalations! TRANS-TASMAN NIGHTMARE Any new competition is bound to have its teething problems but few could have predicted how hopelessly one-sided the Trans-Tasman tournament would prove to be. In the opening 15 games, Australia’s sides had just a single victory. The competition that has long been billed as Super Rugby’s successor has not garnered much praise among rugby fans. There will no doubt be a sense of schadenfreude for South Africa’s…

MATCH 1 Saturday 3 July, 6pm Lions vs the British & Irish Lions Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg MATCH 2 Wednesday 7 July, 8pm Sharks vs the British & Irish Lions Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg MATCH 3 Saturday 10 July, 6pm Bulls vs the British & Irish Lions Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria MATCH 4 Wednesday 14 July, 8pm South Africa ‘A’ vs the British & Irish Lions Cape Town Stadium MATCH 5 Saturday 17 July, 6pm Stormers vs the British & Irish Lions Cape Town Stadium MATCH 6 Saturday 24 July, 6pm Springboks vs the British & Irish Lions 1st Test, Cape Town Stadium MATCH 7 Saturday 31 July, 6pm Springboks vs the British & Irish Lions 2nd Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg MATCH 8 Saturday 7 August, 6pm Springboks vs the British…

There has to be optimism within the South African rugby public that the world champion Springboks are good enough to beat the British & Irish Lions. South African supporters tend to be more bullish when the Springboks are written off as pretenders and when the team plays as if they are the hunters. In my 30-year experience of covering the Springboks the supporters show the most positivity and bravado when the team is on the back foot. But they struggle to be bullish when there is an expectation that the Springboks should win. No sooner had I predicted a 3-0 series win for the world champion Springboks, I was taken to pieces on social media. I was called arrogant, disrespectful of the British & Irish Lions and told to shut…

When the springboks turn their attention to analysing the threats and danger men in Bristish & Irish Lions squad, there is sure to be one player who will come under the spotlight: Maro Itoje. He should be an automatic selection at No 4 when Lions coach Warren finalises his team to start the first Test at Cape Town Stadium on 24 July. Although just 26 years old, Itoje has a number of accolades to his name, and many pundits quite understandably believe that Getland erred straight out of the starting blocks by opting against handing the Lions captaincy to the powerful England lock. There is already an impressive list of Itoje’s standout achievements to date. In 2014 he memorably captained England U20 to victory in the Junior World Championship. Two…

After leading the Super Rugby standings before the competition was suspended in March 2020, the Sharks struggled to replicate that same form through the domestic Unlocked and Currie Cup season. To be fair, the Sharks were severely affected by Covid-19 outbreaks in their squad, which disrupted their progress. Nevertheless, the Durban side managed to grind out a Currie Cup semi-final win over Western Province, with a gameplan that revolved largely around their kicking. In the title decider against the Bulls in Pretoria, the Sharks raced into a 14-9 lead, but it wasn’t meant to be, as the Bulls scored in extra time to take the trophy. With the backing of American consortium MVM Holdings and a new global partnership with Roc Nation, the Sharks have not only held on to…

It has been a season of mixed fortunes for John Dobson and his team. The Stormers and Western Province finished second on the combined Super Rugby Unlocked and Currie Cup tog, but that was scant consolation when their campaign ended with a defeat in the semi-final against the Sharks towards the end of January. It didn’t get much better when the Rainbow Cup SA kicked off in May, with the Cape side slumping to back-to-back losses in their opening two matches against the Sharks and Bulls. At that stage, the alarm bells were starting to ring in the Cape, but mercifully there was a reversal in fortunes when Dobson’s charges snatched victory over the Lions before exacting revenge over the Sharks with a 25-22 victory towards the end of May.…

The Springboks’ 46-man squad for the British & Irish Lions series, announced on June 5, has question marks over key players, but also boasts some exciting attacking talent. The squad was expected to be relatively straightforward but there were a few surprises, particularly around those who were omitted. The Boks’ big concern going into the series was the untimely injury suffered by Duane Vermeulen. The No 8 was forced off the field in the first half of the Bulls’ Rainbow Cup SA clash against the Stormers with an ankle injury, making him the first serious casualty of the continuous SA derbies. Given how important Vermeulen is to the Boks’ gameplan, especially with the on-field organisation of the team’s defence, it is understandable that an extra onus of responsibility could now…

CRAIG LEWIS SAYS JASPER WIESE Towards the end of last year, when Wiese packed his bags for England - trading his familiar Cheetahs colours for the green, white and red of the Leicester Tigers - there were not all that many rugby followers who would have known his name. As fate would have it, a change of environment, a new challenge and a different set of circumstances have unequivocally brought out the best in Wiese. In the 2020-21 Challenge Cup, he emerged as the runaway leader in terms of carries and offloads, while he has also established himself as one of the Premiership’s most dynamic ballcarrying No 8s. The way he tucks the ball under one arm and powers into contact is reminiscent of another cavalier South African loose forward,…

Several weeks ago, Rassie Erasmus was moved to make an unconventional statement. Firstly, and in what appeared as a bolt out of the blue, an article from an overseas-based journalist gained real traction in global rugby circles. In no uncertain terms, it called into question the Springboks’ status as the best Test team in the world and their preparation for the British & Irish Lions series. ‘They are rightfully World Cup holders, but this era of Springboks rugby hasn’t proved to the world they are anything but a good side who won the World Cup with a helpful schedule,’ the New Zealand scribe wrote. ‘The Springboks have ducked competition and hid since winning the World Cup, trying to prop up an illusion that this side is the best team in…

One of the most unfortunate aspects of the Lions’ tour to South Africa this year will be the absence of the legion of travelling fans due to travel restrictions. In 2017, the ‘Lions Army’ of supporters were forever in full voice during the trip to New Zealand, and one chant in particular become a fan favourite. In the tune of a song by the White Stripes called ‘Seven Nation Army’, the Lions supporters could often be heard chanting for their cult hero: ‘Oh Maro Itoje. Oh Maro Itoje. Oh Maroooooo Itojeeeee’ the altered lyrics went, with the popular forward even developing a signature dance move to the catchy soundtrack, which has also been quickly adopted by his teammates. The sound of this compelling chant might be missed in South African…

‘The rugby,’ said Warren Gatland, ‘is going to be the easy part.’ These are deeply striking words for a British & Irish Lions coach to utter, a man about to lead a group of athletes who have never played together as a unit into the heart of one of rugby’s great superpowers, to face the might of the world champions in their own back yard. But this, of course, is no normal tour. It will be a voyage like no other, to cap a season unrivalled in its bonkerdom. For an age, Covid-19 placed the Lions tour in grave jeopardy, its putrid tentacles reaching across the lands, halting sport indefinitely. Even a year on from the first of several UK lockdowns, in March, there had been no formal, cast-iron guarantee…

COACHING AGAINST GATLAND We’re not friends; I don’t go and have a barbeque with him when I see him. But he’s one of the guys I’ve always felt is there with the right intention when coaching, there’s never this weird funny feeling before or after a match – win or lose. I enjoy him as a person and I think he, Jacques and I have similar mindsets in terms of coaching, that’s why I feel it’s always such a weird tussle when we play each other.’ WHETHER GATLAND HAS CHANGED HIS SPOTS ‘The way Warren has picked this side and his support staff, with the Scottish backline players and Scotland coach Gregor Townsend in there, I think he’s got something up his sleeve. I don’t think we’re going to see…

If most agree that the tour by the British & Irish Lions will be nothing like those that came before, the last such expedition to South Africa was unique too. For its weirdness, for its ferocity and for the greatest scrummaging performance of the modem age. The last time the Lions arrived, in 2009, the Springboks were world champions – as they will be for this edition – and were in decent form. They had won their six preceding Tests and were in the mood for whatever violence the Lions could muster. The squads matched up fairly reasonably, on paper at least, but the biggest difference came in coaching personnel. The Lions had Ian McGeechan, dapper and dignified in word and in deed. Peter de Villiers was in charge of…

There is a feeling in the air. It is coursing through South Africa with all the electricity of a Highveld thunderstorm. A sense of anticipation 12 years in the making and steeped in 125 years of history. Speculation is giving way to excitement as rugby’s kaleidoscope gradually comes into focus. For the chosen few who are readying themselves to summit rugby’s Everest, they carry on their shoulders the hopes of nations. LIONS’ STRENGTHS There is a genuine feeling among British & Irish fans that Warren Gatland has selected the strongest combination of Lions back rowers to front South Africa. One needs only look at the calibre of players who did not make the squad, such as CJ Stander, Billy Vunipola, Josh Navldl and Sam Underhill, to get an Idea of…