Focus on flyhalves in penultimate round of Kick Off

The franchise coaches of the teams competing in the Rainbow Cup have generally come up with a mixture of youth or newness and experience as the preparation phase known as Kick Off 2021 hots up this coming weekend.

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Some teams are more experienced than others, with both the inland teams swaying more towards experience than their two coastal rivals in the games set to be played between the Rainbow Cup franchises.

The Vodacom Bulls host the DHL Stormers in Pretoria on Friday night and you just have to cue the home team captain, Nizaam Carr, after the recent game against the New Nations Pumas to pick up that regardless of the friendly status, there will always be a little bit of edge in a north/south showdown.

“We play the Stormers next and that is always emotional,” said Carr after his young team had scored an impressive win in Nelspruit.

Certainly, although both coaches are looking to broaden their depth and the experience the players get out of the game is more important than the winning or losing, neither team will want to lose. The Bulls will want to win because they will feel the need to retain their recent stranglehold over their traditional rivals, while the Stormers should love to win for the opposite reason - they won’t want Loftus to start becoming a hoodoo ground for them again.

As it stands, they last won in Pretoria in 2018, which isn’t that long ago, but some of the recent defeats at the Bulls’ home grounds have been quite humiliating. A good showing against the strong Bulls team that Jake White has selected for Friday night’s game might just translate into the Stormers taking more self-confidence with them on their next visit to Loftus.

INDIVIDUAL PROGRESS REMAINS A PRIORITY

But it is the individual progress that remains as important as anything else at this juncture of the rugby year, and this will be another weekend where a lot of focus will be on the fringe players as they jostle to get themselves into contention for the first-choice teams.

Flyhalf in particular should be a focus this weekend, or at least back up flyhalves, with three of the four Rainbow Cup franchises starting again with the players you’d consider to be second in line. The exception is the Emirates Lions, who host the Sharks in another appetising game on Saturday with Elton Jantjies, their regular captain, wearing the No10.

But with Tiaan Swanepoel not having really worked out in his switch from fullback to pivot for the previous preparation phase fixtures, the Lions’ focus on who should be backed as Jantjies’ back-up should be as acute as the other teams.

Indeed, you could say that their interest in the next flyhalf should be bigger than the other three teams given that they will certainly lose Jantjies when the Springboks are away. In that regard, former Sharks player Fred Zeilinga will attract a lot of interest when he comes onto the field from the replacement’s bench.

WOLHUTER ONE FOR THE FUTURE

The Stormers should be feeling a lot more comfortable about their flyhalf resources following Kade Wolhuter’s performances in the past few games. If anything, the Stormers coach John Dobson has been less enthused than he should have been about Wolhuter’s performances given his youth.

Another strong showing from Wolhuter against the Bulls could even propel him into becoming the first choice Stormers No10 ahead of Tim Swiel. Of the pair, Wolhuter certainly appears to have a lot more to his game and is the player with the potential to go onto bigger things.

The Bulls flyhalf Chris Smith is of course a lot more experienced now than his direct opposite number on the night because White gave him plenty of opportunities in both the Currie Cup and in Super Rugby Unlocked and there is no denying his ability. In this game he starts, with veteran Morne Steyn on the bench.

CHAMBERLAIN GETS HIS CHANCE

The Sharks have a strong pool of flyhalves, and although some of them could find themselves competing for the fullback position if anything happens to Aphelele Fassi, there are at least four No10s on the Durban franchise’s book that look capable.

Former Matie Jordan Chait might be the fourth choice at the moment after Manie Libbok’s good performance as an impact sub when the game had loosened up in Bloemfontein the other night, but I agree with former Lions coach Swys de Bruin, who in a recent edition of the Sunday night Supersport program, Final Whistle, described Chait as a strong defender and a player who likes to take the ball to the line and a man that De Bruin would like to see more of.

It is Boeta Chamberlain though who gets his chance and as a former age-group star who did well in his first Currie Cup season when he wasn’t long out of school, he has plenty of promise and could be the man to push Curwin Bosch for the right to be considered the Sharks’ first choice.

WEEKEND KICK OFF 2021 TEAMS AND TEAM NEWS (all games on Rugby Channel and Grandstand)

TOYOTA CHEETAHS V NEW NATION PUMAS (Bloemfontein, Friday 16.45)

The Cheetahs are giving Frans Steyn a rare rest in this game. Well, let’s rephrase that, Steyn is playing off the bench as coach Hawies Fourie looks at his back-up players. For the Pumas the headline news is the return from injury of former Junior Springbok prop Marne Coetzee, who will pack down at tighthead.

Teams

Toyota Cheetahs: Rhyno Smith, Malcolm Jaer, Chris Smit, Howard Mnisi, Craig Barry, Reinhardt Fortuin, Ruan Pienaar (captain), Jacques Potgieter, Oupa Mohoje, Chris Massyn, Victor Sekekete, Carl Wegner, Aranos Coetzee, Marnus van der Merwe, Cameron Dawson. Replacements: Wilmar Arnoldi, Schalk Ferreira, Conraad van Vuuren, Rynier Bernardo, Aidon Davis, Tian Meyer, Frans Steyn, Rosko Specman

New Nation Pumas: Devon Williams, Etienne Taljaard, Erich Cronjé, Ali Ngijima, Tapiwa Mafura, Eddie Fouché, Chriswill September, Willie Engelbrecht, Francois Kleinhans, Daniel Maartens, Darien Landsberg, Pieter Janse van Vuren (captain), Marné Coetzee, Simon Westraadt, Morgan Naudé. Replacements (from): AJ le Roux, Dewald Maritz, Ruan Kramer, Jaco Willemse, Kwanda Dimaza, Phumzile Maqondwana, Ginter Smuts, Wayne van der Bank, Sebastian de Klerk.

VODACOM BULLS V DHL STOMERS (Pretoria, Friday 19.00)

Bulls coach has many of his big guns back for this game, including the Bulls’ Players Player of the Year Cornal Hendricks, while Zak Burger, the former Griquas scrumhalf, makes his debut in a team that is again captained by Nizaam Carr and includes Marco van Staden and Trevor Nyakane.

The Stormers have also mixed and matched their selections, with a completely new starting front row giving an indication of the Cape team’s intention - they want this game to be a proper examination of their depth.

Teams

Vodacom Bulls: Richard Kriel; Madosh Tambwe, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Chris Smith, Zak Burger, Nizaam Carr (captain), Werner Gouws, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Janko Swanepoel, Trevor Nyakane, Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jacques van Rooyen, Jan Uys, Tim Agaba, Keagan Johannes, Morné Steyn, Diego Appollis, Nolan Pienaar, Raynard Roets, Marnus Potgieter.

DHL Stormers: Damian Willemse, Edwill van der Merwe, Ruhan Nel, Rikus Pretorius, Leolin Zas, Kade Wolhuter, Paul de Wet, Juarno Augustus, Ernst van Rhyn, Marcel Theunissen, David Meihuizen, Salmaan Moerat (captain), Sazi Sandi, Chad Solomon, Leon Lyons. Replacements (from): Scarra Ntubeni, Ali Vermaak, Neethling Fouche, JD Schickerling, Johan du Toit, Evan Roos, Herschel Jantjies, Tim Swiel, Chris Schreuder, Cornel Smit.

EMIRATES LIONS V CELL C SHARKS (Johannesburg, Saturday 16.15)

The Lions have selected a very experienced team for this game and will provide an acid test to a Sharks team that looks like a more experimental combination than the one fielded by the hosts. The Sharks were very good when they came back strongly into the game against the Cheetahs and will be looking for more of the same against opponents who should start as favourites given the strength of their selection.

Teams

Emirates Lions: Tiaan Swanepoel; Ngia Selengbe, Wandisile Simelane, Burger Odendaal, Courtnall Skosan; Elton Jantjies (capt), André Warner; Francke Horn, Vincent Tshituka, MJ Pelser, Wilhelm van der Sluys, Willem Alberts, Carlu Sadie, Jan-Henning Campher, Ruan Dreyer. Reserves: PJ Botha, Nathan McBeth, Jannie du Plessis, Reinhard Nothnagel, Sibusiso Sangweni, Ross Cronjé, Fred Zeilinga, Dan Kriel.

Cell C Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Lukhanyo Am (captain), Rynhard Jonker, Yaw Penxe, Boeta Chamberlain, Sanele Nohamba, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Mpilo Gumede, Henco Venter, Reniel Hugo, Le Roux Roets, John-Hubert Meyer, Dan Jooste, Mzamo Majola. Replacements: Dylan Richardson, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Thomas du Toit, Emile van Heerden, Thembelani Bholi, Grant Williams, Curwin Bosch, Marius Louw.