Extraordinary times rob us of fitting Super Rugby send-off

Covid-19 has taken a lot away from the world through this extraordinary year and, although what the sport has been through should never be compared to the real tragedy of sickness and death, just lately we in South Africa are being reminded more and more that rugby has not been exempt.

This should have been an emotional and special weekend for South African rugby as the culmination of the Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked competition represents the end of an era that has lasted a quarter of a century.

Well, okay, maybe we should adjust that a bit - if this was a normal year, and there was no coronavirus, the rank-and-file provincial players would be in the off-season and the Springboks would be in the northern hemisphere busy with an end of year tour.

But the point doesn’t change - Super Rugby has been around for one year longer than the character in the Smokey song lived next door to Alice without having the guts to tell her how he felt about her, and you’d think that the last games we will see in the competition would deserve better than to go out with the whimper that this final round will present.

There wouldn’t have been a crowd but the finale that was originally scheduled, the coastal derby between the Cell C Sharks and the DHL Stormers in Durban on Saturday night, would have been at least part fitting.

Those two teams have had some titanic clashes over the years and have both been what you could call “nearly teams” in the competition, in the sense that they challenged strongly at times, but never won the trophy.

But even that game has been denied us after a couple of Sharks players tested positive early in the week and the decision was taken on Tuesday to cancel. It was the third game in Unlocked to be cancelled (originally these games were supposed to be postponed, but that has changed) and we could have a fourth if any of the Covid tests conducted on Thursday on the Phakisa Pumas players turn out positive.

EVEN THE BULLS SHOULD FEEL HOLLOW

The cancellation of the Loftus game wouldn’t impact on the Bulls’ right to lift the Unlocked trophy, something they undeniably deserve to do based on the form shown early in rugby’s restart after lockdown. But even the most successful South African team of the Super Rugby era should feel that it is a hollow way to end given some of the anomalies in the Unlocked season.

For a start, the Lions will finish this portion of the season, meaning the Super Rugby part of it, having only played four games. That would be against the Bulls’ six if they do get to play on Saturday. If the Bulls do play, they would also have played their fourth home game in six. Had the Stormers got onto the field in Durban, it would have been their fourth away game in six. How is that a fair competition?

But while maybe there should have been more care taken over the fixture list if the first round of what is essentially a double round Currie Cup was going to count for a meaningful trophy, most of the other disruptions wrought by the ravages of Covid just couldn’t be helped.

Perhaps, in retrospect, more of an effort should have been made to play the competition in a bio-bubble, which would have minimised the risk of Covid intervening. But that would have been hellishly expensive, and money isn’t raining out of the clouds onto South African rugby, or indeed any rugby union at the moment.

PERHAPS SA RUGBY SHOULD CONSIDER FORFEITURE RULING

There are probably some things that SA Rugby could do though to make the impact of Covid cancellations fairer on the teams that are affected. Why were the Cheetahs punished because the Lions players got Covid, is it fair that the Stormers get penalised for a coronavirus outbreak in the Sharks' camp?

The France/Fiji game in the northern hemisphere competition was cancelled the other day because Fiji players tested positive. France were awarded five log points, with the match recognised as a forfeit. That is a ruling that should probably apply here, and with the Currie Cup portion of the season just about to begin, it is not too late to do it.

Stormers assistant coach Dawie Snyman was asked if he thought it would be a good idea to apply such a ruling in South Africa as it would at least go some way towards ensuring that the players are disciplined about following Covid protocols and ensure that coaches enforce that discipline. Making them pay for their mistakes in a concrete way would ensure that discipline.

Snyman answered in a non-committed way, pointing out that “maybe in a few weeks' time, it will be us that has the positive tests”.

Maybe, but then isn’t there a swings and roundabouts scenario that comes into play. The Lions would have lost all their points if they had forfeited to the Cheetahs but would have got five points back for the cancelled game against the Pumas.

ROUX MUST BE SEETHING

It wasn’t difficult to read SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux’s mood when he stressed in a press release after the Sharks game was cancelled that players need to be disciplined. He was seething. And so he should have been.

You can pick up Covid anywhere, but a disciplined approach minimises risk, including the risk to livelihoods, and maybe in the absence of an enforced bubble, the teams should be more hard-core about their own isolation.

Perhaps enforcing a forfeiture ruling, even if some aspects of it wouldn’t appear entirely fair, would be the way to go. It would also stop the speculation that Stormers head coach John Dobson alluded to at some point - that some teams might be happy to share points for some games they are less likely to win.

And if you are one of those conspiracy theorist types, it is possible to ask questions. For instance, the story announcing the Sharks’ decision to cancel Saturday’s game suggested they were “erring on the side of caution”.

The Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee spoke about needing to ensure that the chances of his team playing their next scheduled game weren’t impacted. It did not escape some in the Stormers camp that the Sharks’ next game is at home against the Pumas.

THE SHARKS' DECISION WAS THE RESPONSIBLE ONE

At the same time, you can’t possibly argue against the contention that the Sharks took the responsible decision. Had they played Saturday’s game with some players possibly infected, it could have set off a series of positive tests in the Stormers camp next week. When they are due to start their Currie Cup campaign at home against the Bulls. And so on and so on.

The long and the short of it is that nothing is perfect right now, and while those of us who work in the game and were excited about rugby’s restart are now understandably feeling deflated, perhaps it should just be viewed as a positive that there is some rugby being played. Club and school players not played any rugby this year.

WEEKEND PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Toyota Cheetahs v Tafel Lager Griquas (Bloemfontein, Saturday 16.30)

At the start of this week, the Central Union derby would probably have been the least interesting match to be played in this last round of the Unlocked season to neutrals. The Sharks/Stormers game would have been the headline clash, and the Bulls still needed to do a bit against the Pumas to ensure they won the trophy. But now it is the only game we know will definitely be played.

The Cheetahs have Rhyno Smith back from injury and ready to provide X-factor to their attack, and there are a clutch of other changes. Their captain Junior Pokomela was still doubtful late on Thursday pending the results of scans on his injured wrist. Griquas, after their good performance against the Sharks last week, have made just one change, with Carl Els coming into the starting team at No 8.

While the race for Super Rugby silverware is over, the Currie Cup race is still very much on. It has not been lost on the Cheetahs that they are the reigning domestic champions, so they will be desperate to get back onto the winning trail after a month of frustration - first the cancelled game against the Lions and then the two successive defeats to the coastal franchises.

Teams

Toyota Cheetahs: Clayton Blommetjies, Rhyno Smith, Howard Mnisi, Frans Steyn, Rosko Specman, Tian Schoeman, Tian Meyer, Jeandré Rudolph, Junior Pokomela (captain)/ Aidon Davis, Andisa Ntsila, Carl Wegner, Ian Groenewald, Hencus van Wyk, Reinach Venter, Boan Venter. Replacements: Jacques du Toit, Cameron Dawson, Khutha Mchunu, Oupa Mohoje, Aidon Davis/ Chris Massyn, Ruben de Haas, Reinhardt Fortuin, William Small-Smith.

Tafel Lager Griquas: Masixole Banda, Ederies Arendse, Harlon Klaasen, Johnathan Francke, Eduan Keyter, Tinus de Beer, Zak Burger (captain), Carl Els, Stefan Willemse, Gideon van der Merwe, Cameron Lindsay, Adre Smith, Ewald van der Westhuizen, HJ Luus, Mox Mxoli. Replacements (from): Monde Hadebe, Andrew Beerwinkel, Madot Mabokela, Ewan Coetzee, CJ Velleman, Theo Maree, Andre Swarts, Daniel Kasende, Bandisa Ndlovu, Sibabalo Qoma, Ashlon Davids.

Prediction: Cheetahs by more than 15

Vodacom Bulls v Phakisa Pumas (Pretoria, Saturday 14.00)

Even if this game isn’t called off because the Pumas tests don’t bring the right results, it has already been impacted by Covid in the sense that Bulls flyhalf Morne Steyn is sitting out because he is being isolated after coming into contact with the virus earlier in the week.

Given that they haven’t had any cancellations as yet, the Bulls will be opening up a big gap at the top of the table, and hence taking a strong grip on the race for home advantage in both the semifinal and a possible Currie Cup final, if the game is played and they get their expected win. A decision on whether the game will be played is to be made later on Friday.

Teams

Vodacom Bulls: David Kriel; Travis Ismaiel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Chris Smith, Ivan van Zyl; Duane Vermeulen (captain),Arno Botha, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Trevor Nyakane, Corniel Els, Jacques van Rooyen.

Replacements: Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marcel van der Merwe, Sintu Manjezi, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Clinton Swart, Marco Jansen van Vuren.

Phakisa Pumas: To be confirmed

Prediction: The Pumas haven’t trained so Bulls by a lot.