The early weeks of this year’s Super Rugby marathon have been quietly encouraging for South African rugby, and especially those whose focus for 2015 is confined to two simple words – World Cup.
As ever, local derbies have coughed up results that reaffirm the notion that form counts for bugger-all when friends meet on the field. The Stormers, ahead of last night’s coastal war against the Sharks, provided the best balance, and their greater enthusiasm to stretch teams has been refreshing.
As the Sharks learnt last season, dogged defence and a big boot will get you so far, but to win this competition, teams have to be able to hurt the opposition when the chances present themselves. With Gary Gold the latest headmaster at the Shark Tank, there appears to be more freedom for Pat Lambie to let loose his flyers.
The Bulls have also found a bit more structure, and the return of Pierre Spies, the emergence of some exciting youngsters, as well as some shrewd off-season purchases, have given them the look and feel of a former champion team, after a few years of mediocrity.
Down the road, the Lions are still finding fresh ways to lose home games, but they defied all logic yesterday, shaking off jet-lag and a pile of pressure to somehow stroll off with a priceless away win, and give the record-breaking Keven Mealamu and his Auckland boys the Blues.
The Cheetahs, the great entertainers of South African rugby, have again lost a bunch of their best players to bosses with deeper pockets. But, as is the way down Bloemfontein way, they simply roll up their kouse, and just carry on, as they did against the Sharks on the opening weekend.
The Sharks –with their newfound licence to thrill – have played well in patches, but still found a way to lose to both the Cheetahs and the Bulls. Of course, many a Durbanite – or indeed anyone residing outside greater Pretoria – will argue that the officiating at Loftus did a fine job of impersonating that great con artist of 2011, Bryce Lawrence, who deserved an Oscar for his portrayal of an international referee in that tear-jerking comedy, A Rucking Mess.
But those days are long gone now, and at the back of every South African player’s mind is September, and the chance to go to the World Cup. What must be hugely encouraging for Heyneke Meyer is the fact that several No10s are sticking their mitts up early, and stamping their authority on games.
Elton Jantjies looks trim and hungry for success again, Demetri Catrakilis has been assured, but it seems Handré Pollard and Pat Lambie still have the inside lane. They had a merry old scrap last week, but perhaps Lambie’s display in the rain against the Lions a fortnight ago caught Meyer’s attention.
He has long opined that he needs a man for all seasons, and Lambie’s burgeoning bromance with his scrummie, Cobus Reinach, won’t hurt his chances, either. Some of the most consistent international teams have been built around combinations formed at provincial level.
One needs only to look back at the Brumbies’ late ’90s pairing of a chirpy Zambian and his free-running sidekick, who went on to do amazing things for club and country. The George Gregan-Stephen Larkham stand at Canberra Stadium is a monument to their longevity, as well as the fact that you can’t mention one without thinking of the other.
Lambie and Reinach are a long way from that level of telepathy, but the signs are there that they are starting to understand each other better with every passing week.
Meyer will have plenty of selection headaches come late August, but things are already looking a lot rosier than they did on the end-of-year tour. Indeed, when a South African team burgles a win in New Zealand, one can even momentarily forget about the Proteas’ meltdown. - Sunday Indpendent