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First Kick-off 2021 games provided just what was needed

rugby01 March 2021 06:35
By:Gavin Rich
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Sharks © Gallo Images

It was the shortest of off-seasons but the difference between the old and new was stark as the preparation series, officially known as Kick-off 2021, delivered and then some more on exactly what was needed to pep up interest in South African rugby.

Perhaps how chalk and cheese what we saw at the weekend was in comparison to what we saw in the last weeks of the return to play competitions, Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked and the Carling Currie Cup, was best summed up by how out of place it looked when Sharks replacement scrumhalf Jaden Hendriks launched a kick from the base of the scrum.

It wasn’t long after he had come onto the field and well into the second half. It was the sort of kick that was the staple in the rugby we watched in December and January, and yet in the game between the Sharks and the Griquas it suddenly felt like it was a departure from the script. You almost wanted to shout out, “Hey, where did that come from?”

Of course, no-one is suggesting box kicking, or contestable kicking as a whole, should be taken out of the game. It’s a big part of the game, for some teams it is a massive part of their arsenal. It was just great to see the Sharks in particular relying on something else, and the teams in general working hard at being better at speeding up the game and becoming more all-encompassing with their attacking game.

WHITE’S WORDS SHOWED SHIFT IN EMPHASIS

The shift in thinking was mirrored in something that Bulls coach Jake White said when he was interviewed by the television commentators during the first half of his team’s rout of Eastern Province at Loftus on Sunday. It was suggested to White that he should be pleased with the way his team’s forwards were dominating and laying the platform.

But no, White was not happy. He said he wanted more. He made it plain that he wanted to see the exciting talent he had in his back division given an opportunity to show more. He got that wish later in the game, though question marks have to be placed on the preparedness of an EP team that, considering many players haven’t played for the best part of a year, showed quite a bit of pluck to just see out the 80 minutes.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt, asked a similar question when, on the scoreboard at least, his team was struggling in the later game on Sunday, said he was pleased with the intent his team was showing to try things with ball in hand. Ditto Stormers coach John Dobson, who although his team lost narrowly to the Cheetahs in the opening game at Cape Town Stadium should have been pleased with the encouraging signs that were shown in his often-maligned attacking game.

And Sharks captain on the day, Jeremy Ward, made statements in the post-match television interview that might have been interpreted as a pretty blunt assessment of the team his game was playing before the break. To sum up, Ward was emphatic that “this is the rugby our fans want to see”. He’s right too.

CREATING A BASE FOR COMPETITION RUGBY

No-one will pretend that the landscape is quite different now to what it was just over a month ago when the Currie Cup season was coming to an end. There were no competition points to play for at the weekend. There were no coaches fighting for their survival. Just lots of players eager to show what they can do and why they belong in the big time, something they knew, and their coaches knew, they could not do if they didn’t try things. By trying things they create a base to take into the competition rugby that comes later.

The rugby department at SA Rugby played a big part too. Apart from the stipulated changes like stopping the clock for scrum resets, the hurrying up of the kickers when kicking for poles by introducing a timer, the referees all worked hard on ensuring that there weren’t the drawn out stoppages, and the endless on field team meetings, that have become the bane of modern rugby.

It appeared to have an impact too on the staying ability of the players. There were times in the Cape Town and Durban games that players from both sides looked like they might be close to being out on their feet. But that is a good thing if it keeps on like that, for it will improve fitness. Kudos there to director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus.

REFRESHING TO SEE FASSI PLAYING TO HIS STRENGTHS

The litmus test on how the teams will approach the real challenge of winning games in the Rainbow Cup when that arrives is something we will have to wait for. But for now it should be enough that a base is being built, both skill levels and fitness levels are being challenged. And just like players are no longer saying in pre-match interviews that “We just mustn’t make mistakes”, so it is clear that someone like Aphelele Fassi hasn’t been instructed to kick as his first option.

It was refreshing to see the Sharks fullback playing to his strengths again. Of course, to be fair, he was out for much of the previous season because of injury. But on Sunday he looked back to full fitness and his running from the back played a big part in scripting the impressive Sharks win. Impressive because the players only returned from their off-season break five days before the game.

Given that they hadn’t played in a while there was rust, and the inevitable mistakes across all the games. For the time of season though, what we saw was encouraging. It was certainly a weekend where it felt like the entertainment was back, and that should really be the bottom line.

And to hear the commentators talking about running lines, timing of passes, skip passes and passing the ball into space was probably as refreshing for them as it was for those of us who were watching.

Weekend Kick-off 2021 results

Lions 32 Pumas 28
Stormers 33 Cheetahs 34
Bulls 87 Eastern Province 10
Sharks 35 Griquas10

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