Sharks loose-forward Phepsi Buthelezi.

• Sharks back rower Phepsi Buthelezi said the Durban side might not have the bulkiest loose-forwards in the country but they punched well above their weight.
• The Sharks have changed tact from the time the Du Preez brothers, Dan and Jean-Luc, bossed the back of the scrum.
• Buthelezi said he appreciated the youth focus in head coach Sean Everitt’s team selection.

Sharks back rower Phepsi Buthelezi said the Durban side might not have the bulkiest loose-forwards in the country but they punched well above their weight.

The Sharks have survived on relatively lighter, fleet-footed, ball-playing loose-forwards who have seen them in great stead, especially earlier this year, after Sikhumbuzo Notshe moved there from Western Province.

It’s quite the change of tact from the time the Du Preez brothers, Dan and Jean-Luc, bossed the back of the scrum, with their traditional South African pure beef style of forward play.

READ | Phepsi Buthelezi and Scott Mathie reunite on opposite sides

Buthelezi, however, leaned more towards what he’s seen at the Shark Tank as a possible recipe for success.

“The Sharks are very blessed with loose-forwards,” he said.

“I think we’ve probably got some of the best loose-forwards in the country. Most of us are probably not as big as the other loose-forwards in the other teams.

“We are guys that generally like to play with ball in hand, we are very fast and very evasive and we’ve also got guys that are very good on the ground, which helps our game plan.

“Playing alongside Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, guys that have been around and have done their time and accumulated so much experience – being able to learn from them and grow – is really massive for me.

“We all know how amazing Notshe has been this year and to learn from a guy like that is a massive opportunity for me.”

The former SA Under-20 captain has been used as both a blindside flank and eighthman during Super Rugby Unlocked, playing well enough to force head coach Sean Everitt to find a place for him in the starting XV weekly.

Gradually, he has turned his potential into tangible, awesome performances in the senior team.

The Sharks have pinned their future hopes on young guns like him, JJ van der Mescht and Dylan Richardson, who are all 21.

Buthelezi said he appreciated the faith shown in youth.

“It’s very good and it’s something that we really appreciate as youngsters,” said Buthelezi.

“Especially to be backed in such a big game against the Cheetahs, who hadn’t lost a game yet up to that point. We know how exciting the Cheetahs are as a team.

“And to be able to have the opportunity to run out again, as youngsters looking to grow in this union and take this union forward, we appreciated that from coach Sean.

“The guys went out there to make sure they put their hands up and get the job done for the union.”

As for which position he prefers, No 7 or 8?

“Where the Sharks need me, I’ll always be willing to play there for the team,” Buthelezi said.

“But I would say, getting a chance at No 7 earlier in the season was probably really good for me to be able to see and experience the game from a different perspective.

“We all know that for a South African No 7, you need to be big, tall and physical. You’re basically the main ball-carrier.

“Defensively, your role changes quite a bit, you’re not always going around the corner but you’re mostly keeping the width on the blind.

“I needed to make those kinds of minor adjustments and I was able to make them.

“I prefer No 8, especially going forward, because I think I am better in the role of playing the link between the forwards and backs.

“At No 8 I am able to play generally in the wider channels. I feel like that’s where my strengths are. I definitely don’t mind playing No 7 but, looking at playing for the Boks and stuff like that, No 8 would be the better position.”

Buthelezi is expected to start again against Griquas on Friday night (19:00 kick-off). Everitt will name his squad on Wednesday.

The Bulls Duane Vermeulen (C) getting the attention of the referee during the Super Rugby Unlocked match between the Emirates Lions and the Vodacom Bulls at Emirates Airlines Park stadium in Johannesburg, on November 7, 2020. (Photo by Christiaan Kotze / AFP)

• The Lions have potentially laid down an important marker in terms of rediscovering their scrumming mojo after a fine showing against the Bulls.
• Despite their reputation as one of the strongest scrumming units over the past five years, 2020 has been difficult in that set-piece.
• But skipper Elton Jantjies hopes the performance convinces his pack that they can compete with the best.

Despite never lowering their emphasis on it, there have been some suggestions in 2020 that the Lions have lost their scrumming mojo.

They were the worst-performing scrum statistically in this year’s truncated Super Rugby campaign and there have been a few hiccups since local rugby’s resumption again.

Yet so compelling was the Lions’ scrumming against the Bulls at Ellis Park on Saturday night that it’s easily the type of showing that could see them go into overdrive again, much like the heydays under Johan Ackermann.

“It’s definitely a performance that can provide us with a lot of momentum,” said skipper Elton Jantjies following a narrow 25-30 loss.

“The pack really stood up nicely in this game. It’s actually one of our strengths. A lot of the chat has been around the set-piece and mauling and how we perform in those areas but we’ve been excellent, it’s just soft moments that we need to address.”

The Lions thrice put the pedigreed Bulls scrum that included Jacques van Rooyen, Trevor Nyakane and Jason Jenkins in reverse, even making the front row pop up.

It truly was a feather in the cap for a pack whose most experienced member is a 28-year-old hooker (and former Bull) Jaco Visagie.

“It’s good that we had this game. I’ve said it before,” said Jantjies.

“There was going to be a lot of learnings. The biggest lesson I hope we’ve learnt is that we really are good enough and that we keep on believing. Naturally, there are still a few areas where we can improve.”

While a youthful Lions combination can still work on playing the percentages better, there’s little doubt that a fine effort up front added a lot of value to an already firing attack.

“At the end of the day, there’s real pressure on that field and you have to lay a platform first,” said Ivan van Rooyen, head coach.

“We’ve scored some blinders in Super Rugby Unlocked already and scored some good tries in this game too. That was down to the pressure we created and may we continue to do that, with or without ball in hand.”

That was no more evident than in the build-up to centre Burger Odendaal’s opening try, where patient phase play and a brilliant pick-up from No 8 Len Massyn saw fullback Gianni Lombard go on a fine angled run and fired a brilliant scoring pass.

There was also a breathtaking score from the gifted midfielder Wandisile Simelane, who stepped and essentially dragged himself over the line after a lightning counter-attack from wing Courtnall Skosan.

“We changed things up after we met under the posts when the Bulls scored points. It was good to see that plan coming together. It showed that we’re adaptable,” said Jantjies.

“Hats off to the boys in the build-up to that try.” 

John Smit during the British and Irish Lions Series Launch at FNB Stadium.

• Former SA skipper John Smit has given the mental edge to the Boks ahead of next year’s British and Irish Lions Tour.
• Smit said he was “pro” the move to play in the Northern Hemisphere, where the Bulls, Sharks, Stormers and Lions will play in 2021.
• Smit added that to even play in for the Sharks versus the British and Irish Lions in 1997 was enough of an honour.

Former captain John Smit gave the Springboks the mental edge over the British and Irish Lions ahead of next year’s hotly anticipated tour.

Smit, speaking at SA Rugby’s big reveal of Castle as the official tour sponsor, said last year’s Rugby World Cup events, where the Boks beat both Wales and England, gave his former side the mental edge over the Lions.

However, those two respective semifinal and final losses to the Springboks in Japan last year would rev up the intensity, warned Smit, who captained the Boks to a World Cup final win over England (2007) and to the Lions tour win in 2009.

“Having won the World Cup, and beating the Welsh and English in the process, who will make up a big part of the British and Irish Lions team, will give the Boks a mental edge,” Smit said.

“They go in there as world champions and they’ve beaten those teams individually. From a mental point of view, they are in the best position they could be.

“The flip side of that is, those teams feel like they were helluva unlucky to lose those games and will want to prove a point.

“Tell you what, it’s all fun and games when you’re having a Castle afterwards, but before hand and during that Test match, it’s tiddly winks. It’s war out there.

“I played with a lot of the Lions players and they are very competitive, very capable and very determined to try and fix what they thought they messed up last year.”

SA Rugby recently confirmed their participation in the Rugby Championship for at least the next 10 years, but the big four South African franchises were exiting the Southern Hemisphere to play in the old PRO14.

Smit, whose last club was Saracens in 2013, said this put South Africa at a unique advantage of playing in both the “Test match style” Northern Hemisphere environment, and keep their toes firmly dipped in the intricacies of battling New Zealand, Australia and Argentina in the south.

“Maybe I’m a bit biased but I’ve been pro this move to the north,” said Smit.

“Maybe it’s because I played rugby over there, quite recently, and ended my career there, but the quality is high.

“Continuing with the Rugby Championship means it gives us the benefit of both sides. You have to play in a very different way in the Northern Hemisphere.

“There’s a lot more opportunity to practice Test match rugby in the north versus the south. I do think it would help us to have our franchises playing in the PRO14.”

Smit added that there was much joy to be garnered from playing against the Lions, even for the players that will not represent the Boks next year, who will play in the tour games for the Stormers, Bulls, Sharks or the SA “Invitational” team.

“One of my best experiences, and one of the best stories about my career I ever told, was about the experience in 1997, playing for the Sharks against the Lions in Durban,” he said.

“I was 19 years old and I think it was my second First Class game and to be able to go on 12 years later and experience it full on was a privilege.

“The youngsters that get those opportunities … even if I only ever played against the Lions in 1997, I would have held onto that memory. I’ve still got that jersey.

“It’s just something you can’t mimic anywhere else and that experience is what will get them super hungry and to fight for that green and gold jersey, and then to hold onto it.”