(John McCann/M&G)
The annual M&G Sport Audit is back.
After a year sidelined by the Covid-19 pandemic, international sport returned to our screens and stadiums in 2021. While much of the action was regrettably watched by empty stands, there was still much to get excited about across our nation’s major sporting codes.
Once more we have the opportunity to take our marking pen to their performance.
Proteas Men
On the field, the Proteas Men put in some mixed performances. In Tests, they beat Sri Lanka at home (2-0); lost to Pakistan away (0-2); and went on to beat the Windies (2-0), also away. Overall, South Africa came fifth of nine teams in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, a result that they’ll surely be aiming to better in the current edition. In one-day internationals, South Africa failed to win a series, losing to both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and facing the ignominy of a draw with Ireland.
But this was a T20 year, with the World Cup taking place in October and November. After losing to Pakistan in March, the Proteas went on to win series against the Windies, Ireland and Sri Lanka. Granted, none of these teams currently provide the strongest opposition; still, a win is a win. As is their perennial fate, the South Africans failed to make it out of the group stages in the World Cup; that said, four of five victories is nothing to sniff at.
Off the field, however, Cricket South Africa (CSA) continued to trundle in like a medium-pacer who can’t even get a little swing; one whose sole distinction is holding the world record for the number of no- balls and wides bowled.
The same old merry-go-round of board appointments and exits continued (space does not permit us to detail them here). And the CSA “social justice and nation building” hearings gave rise to distressing testimony from Makhaya Ntini, Ashwell Prince and Paul Adams (among many, many other black players) about the internal racism they faced as Proteas. How Mark Boucher is still the national coach after calling Adams “brown shit” during his playing years simply boggles the mind.
Then there was the Quinton de Kock (not) taking the knee furore that exploded, true to form, during the Proteas’ T20 World Cup campaign. Perhaps if CSA had allowed its players to discuss the injustices of the past (and, ahem, present) during one of its many “culture camps”, this could’ve been avoided.
Given what is clearly a supremely toxic work environment, it is a wonder the Proteas have managed to win any games at all this year. The one bright light is the exemplary leadership of short-form captain Temba Bavuma, who has displayed great maturity in fielding some tricky post-match questions. The CSA board and administration would do well to follow his example. — Theresa Mallinson
Bafana Bafana
Dare we say it: this Bafana Bafana team made the country proud this year. In the past this grade has offered a moment of catharsis. A chance to have an uninhibited moan about our football team. Shake our heads at the tactical mishaps. Wag our fingers at the cockiness of local star names who just can’t seem to get it together on the international arena.
But no. This year we’ve watched a hungry young group remoulded into the image of Belgian import Hugo Broos. Even with the Lion of Judah Percy Tau in the line-up, there are no standouts — just a hard-working unit that finds a way to produce results.
The coach himself acknowledged this week that the team he oversees now and that he took over five months ago is “night and day”. In that short period he has exorcised the failure mindset that has been entrenched in the team since back-to-back losses to Cape Verde four years ago — which made the story’s end this month all the more painful.
Bafana had put in an exceptional World Cup qualifying campaign. After grinding out a stalemate against Zimbabwe in Broos’s first competitive game in the dugout, the young band settled into a steady rhythm.
Goal: Bongokuhle Hlongwane scoring against Ghana at the 2022 Fifa
World Cup Qualifier match signalled the start of a new era for Bafana
Bafana. (Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
By the next game, Bongokuhle Hlongwane would side-foot in a winner in the 83rd minute to topple mighty Ghana at the Soccer City. With West African tussles usually leaving Bafana face-planted into the pitch, outgrappling them to a 1-0 win was the perfect way to signal the start of a new era.
And so it proved over the next three games against Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. An efficient South Africa scooped up all nine points on offer and conceded only one goal in the process. The run meant only one point was needed from the arduous trip to the Cape Coast.
What happened next has since been amplified across the country. It’s unlikely we’ll get to see a replay of the referee-fuelled loss to the Black Stars. For all of Safa’s bombast on the matter, it’s likely we’ll have to come to terms with losing out on the World Cup yet again. But make no mistake, this prodigious side is going places.—and that’s the first time we’ve been able to say that on the Sport Audit. — Luke Feltham
Proteas Women
The Proteas Women began 2020 like their male compatriots, falling at the semi-final of an international tournament. Reaching out, but not touching an ICC trophy. Then, they had to wait until 2021 to unleash their emotions on the pitch due to the pandemic.
But, unlike the men’s team, they actually came into 2021 with the aim of showing South Africans that one cricket team’s trajectory is in fact on an upwards motion, despite all the chaos surrounding CSA.
They began the year hosting Pakistan in a three-match ODI series and a three-match T20 series. They absolutely pummelled the Pakistanis in the ODI series, winning it 3-0, and narrowly escaped the T20s with a 2-1 series win.
The next test for the Proteas was much tougher when they toured India in March, especially after they were dismantled by India in 2019, in a tour that saw them fail to pick up a single victory.
This time however, they were not about to let the hard, dry pitches of the subcontinent derail them. They picked India apart in both the T20s and ODIs, winning six out of the eight matches played.
Lizelle Lee and Laura Wolvaardt were exquisite with the bat, while Shabnam Ismail and Anne Bosch took control of the attack with the ball on this tour and helped South Africa dominate the Indian batswomen.
Lizelle Lee celebrates and acknowledges the crowd after scoring a century during the women’s One Day International match between the Australian Southern Stars and South Africa at North Sydney Oval. (Photo by Matt King – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images/Getty Images)The Proteas jumped over their final hurdle of 2021 with an ODI series win over the West Indies and made history in the process, conquering the Caribbean for the first time ever.
Coach Hilton Moreeng’s side is constantly looking like a team that is more assured and composed. Right now, it feels like they are a team that nobody would want to face, especially with two South Africans sitting at the summit of both the ICC batting and all-rounder rankings, while three bowlers occupy a place in the top seven of the bowling rankings.
Having not lost a series in 2021, they now must take all the confidence with them to the ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand in March, but as always, they must remember not to “choke” on that confidence. — Eyaaz Matwadia
Springboks
The Springboks have the boot of Quade Cooper to thank for their loss of marks. Before the Australian fly-half sparked a three-loss skid, the world champions had looked full worth for their title — which incidentally was the last rugby they had played until this year’s internationals.
As it were, the two defeats by the Wallabies and a third by New Zealand slightly sullied the year and ensured a poor third-place finish in the Rugby Championship.
But those Australasian results notwithstanding, the Boks are looking as imperious as two years ago. In characteristic pomp, it was the final game of the championship against the All Blacks that felt more defining of this team than the final standings. Despite its dead-rubber nature, the men in green scrapped and gnashed for every metre on the pitch. The raw embrace of teammates at the hooter demonstrated just what every battle means to this side.
This is a group that relishes taking opponents to dark and physical places. If you refuse to go along they’ll simply bully you in submission.
Makazole Mapimpi of South Africa breaks through to score his team’s first try during the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final between England and South Africa at International Stadium Yokohama on November 02, 2019 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by David Ramos – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)The only other Springbok loss came in the first game back in competitive action against the British & Irish Lions. And we all know how that series ended. Until that point, only one team from 13 attempts had won the series after losing the first game of a Lions’ South African tour – and that was in 1955.
But this squad is built differently.
The brutal front pack that can be shuffled at will during a game is rightly touted as the most powerful in world rugby. Meanwhile, the backline is similarly well-drilled and robust — epitomised by Makazole Mapimpi who is willing to do his part in grinding down the enemy until the inevitable moment arises for him to add to hisridiculous try tally. Indeed there is flair among the brawn: just ask Lukhanyo Am who gave us the highlight of the year with his behind-the-back offload.
Absurdly, no Springbok has gotten the nod for the rugby world player of the year nominations. — Luke Feltham
Netball Proteas
After building momentum at the International Netball Federation World Cup in 2019 by finishing fourth and claiming victory at the African Netball Championship in the same year, the Spar Proteas were looking forward to 2020, but like so many sports, netball also came to a halt because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But it may have been the break the Spar Proteas required to reset and remember that they were no longer just the best African side, but also the fifth-best side in the world and hot on the heels of those above them.
The team were meant to begin 2021 in January by competing in the Spar Challenge Tri Nations series along with former African champions Uganda and Namibia. However, the tournament would be postponed to March because of Covid-19 once again.
A lack of motivation could have seeped into the Spar Proteas camp because of this, but once the ball was in play, the Spar Proteas were concrete and efficient, beating each of their opponents three times to secure the series in a near-perfect manner.
Players were then involved in action for their domestic teams until October. The Proteas then left African shores for the first time since January 2020 for a tricky tour of the UK, where they faced Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
On a roll: The Proteas celebrate reaching the semifinals of the Netball World Cup in 2019. (Nigel French/PA Images/Getty Images)
The Proteas took the wooden spoon the last time they landed in the UK. However, this time, coach Dorette Badenhorst’s team conquered their competition with ease by earning comfortable victories in all five of their games.
The combination of Monique Reyneke and Phumza Maweni was the climax of this tour, as it showed that Reyneke, who earned her first cap at the end of 2019, was beginning to fit into the jersey comfortably.
Once they jetted back to Africa, the team had a date with the African Netball Championships on Namibian courts.
Defending their title, and dealing with pressure for the first time this year, the Spar Proteas once again ravaged opposition from all parts of the continent to retain their title.
While the team has shown mental fortitude and eliminated all comers in 2021, the Spar Proteas were favourites to win every time they stepped onto the court. They did not face any opposition ranked above them, which doesn’t quite help us understand if the hype is real or like many of our other national teams, they are stuck in the mediocre zone, better than the minnows and nowhere near the best. — Eyaaz Matwadia
Banyana Banyana
In a way, Banyana damaged this year long before it began. A poor loss to Botswana over two legs in September 2019 meant there would be no trip to the Olympics — a major step backwards for a team that dreamed of breaking into the upper echelon of women’s football in the near future.
Watching a delayed Tokyo 2020 from the sidelines a few months ago felt like an opportunity missed. This side has been most inspiring when they face up to the well-resourced titans of North America and Europe; when they give everything towards a shot at the impossible. Not playing on the international stage felt like a surrender to the status quo.
But what is truly disappointing is that Banyana were not even able to preserve their Southern African hegemony. The Cosafa Cup has become a formality — since its inception in 2002 the team has travelled to the final every year. But a bold Malawi would break that streak, scoring a late winner to dump out the perennial favourites with a 3-2 win at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Double disappointments: Banyana failed to make it to the Tokyo Olympics,
but Sibulele Cecilia Holweni (above) and the team also couldn’t beat Malawi in the Cosafa Women’s Championship.(Photo by Richard Huggard/Gallo Images)
Zambia would then eliminate the possibility of a silver lining, edging out a penalty shoot-out to claim the bronze medal.
On the positive side, Banyana remain on course to qualify for the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations. Coach Desiree Ellis gave her frustrated charges free rein to trounce Mozambique 13-0 on aggregate.
That sort of result against such opposition has been expected, however. What we need at this phase is visible, consistent improvement.
We do have the feel-good story of Sundowns’ march to the Caf Champions League final, but on the international scene it is largely disappointment that we have had to digest this year. — Luke Feltham
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