COACH’S BOX
Running a rule over SA super rugby hopefuls
There’s a Xhosa adage that describes the way I feel about the start of this year’s Super Rugby tournament, especially with regards to South African teams.
“Yazuba iyakuzala nkomoni.” Loosely translated, it’s a sigh a person might emit when they wonder what kind of calf will be born from a pregnant cow.
As usual, the premier Southern Hemisphere competition is pregnant with expectation, more so in this World Cup year. I wonder what will be born from the huffing and puffing, tinkering and tampering, prevaricating and pondering of the off-season.
There are so many unknowns and many changes that it’s difficult to tell what kind of season the Lions, Stormers, Bulls, Sharks and even the Jaguares, who are in the South African conference, will have.
The men from Argentina have lost flyhalf Nicholas Sanchez to Stade Francais while the other five-eighth Juan Martin Hernandez has called time on a stellar career. But, make no mistake, there is still some talent and experience there.
Their revered captain, Agustin Creevy, will want to make this year a notable one, considering that, at 33 going on 34, it could be his swansong season.
If you look at their forwards, Tomas Lavanini, Juan Manuel Leguizamon and Guido Peti, you really get a sense that they will want to follow up their maiden quarterfinal appearance of last year with another playoff place.
The men that took the Argentinians out last year, the Lions, have probably the best blend between youth and experience. The player drain in Johannesburg will not be without its effects, however. Ruan Dreyer, Corné Fourie, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Franco Mostert, Jacques van Rooyen and Jaco Kriel have all left the City of Gold.
It was critical that they plug those holes and Swys de Bruin and Co. did their best by bringing in Stephan Lewies from the Sharks and promoting Hacjivah Dayimani as well as Wandisile Simelane into the senior 23 for their trip to Buenos Aires this weekend.
They may not have won in Argentina in the past but they have kept the bulk of their workhorse players such as Warren Whiteley, Malcolm Marx, Marnus Schoeman and experienced players like Lionel Mapoe, Elton Jantjies, Courtnall Skosan and Ruan Combrinck.
But my money is on the Sharks. For me they will top the South African conference. They are blessed with a glittering backline and a bunch of forwards that can put in the hard yards
The Sharks haven’t brought in marquee names and have instead dug into their own reservoirs. Aphelele Fassi, Curwin Bosch, Lwazi Mvovo, Sbu Nkosi, Makazole Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am and Jeremy Ward should make the Durbanites the envy of all their compatriots.
If you add to that, they have retained the experience of Boks Beast Mtawarira, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Andre Esterhuizen and Akker van der Merwe.
I have reserved my concern for the two North-South derby rivals that will lock horns at Loftus this afternoon – the Bulls and Stormers.
Robbie Fleck’s Stormers come into the competition on the back of a bloody coaching tempest. Despite probably having the most talented team in South Africa, on paper, the management team is out of kilter. They need a consultant that’s used to handling big dressing room personalities and, most importantly, used to winning things.
In Pretoria, they have gone for the bandage-over-the-wound approach. They signed old heads Duane Vermeulen and Schalk Brits in the hope that they will turbocharge their title challenge.
Vermeulen definitely has his eye on a World Cup place, while Brits, at 38 this year, will be in a constant fight to prove his fitness. The Bulls might find that they have to rely more and more on Handre Pollard and Jesse Kriel for results, which could have a negative impact on the Boks later on.