RUGBY
Andy Capostagno
It is always harder to stomach defeat when it is unexpected. It is like living on a diet of milk and honey and then being sent to bed with a spoonful of castor oil. But Christmas is a time for giving, so how appropriate that the Springboks should end their tour of Britain with the biggest present of all, victory for England.
There have been recriminations aplenty, but if Nick Mallett had asked Santa for something in his stocking last year at this time he can only have been delighted at the old man’s largesse in allowing the Springboks to win all their Tests bar one in 1998. And when he sat down to write his letter last Yuletide he can little have guessed that by the end of 1998 there would be two St Nicks around this Christmas.
Let us assume the role of national coach for a moment. We sit down to plan our 1998 strategy and we see the enormity of our task. A relatively easy beginning against Ireland and Wales and then a tough one against England in Cape Town. Then Australia in Perth, New Zealand in Wellington and the same two in Durban and Johannesburg. That’s enough to let anyone choke on a week- old mince pie.
How many of those games do we think we can win? Well, with the exception of France, the Five Nations teams have never travelled well, so let’s assume we can win those. The first game against Ireland in Bloemfontein goes wonderfully well; Gaffie du Toit makes his debut and so does Stefan Terblanche, who scores four tries. Super! Now we have a back-up for Henry Honiball and a replacement for James Small.
Then we discover the reason why the English have struggled to rule Ireland for 200 years or more. The rematch in Pretoria should have been started by the sounding of a bell rather than the playing of the national anthems.
But any thoughts of seeking a World Boxing Council sanction for the next match go out the window when it becomes clear that Wales are not in the same class as the Falcons, let alone the Springboks. At Loftus the crowd are disappointed that the Boks fail to crack the 100 mark.
But a week later in Cape Town reality begins to creep in. An England third team that has lost 76-0 to Australia proves far happier in the mudbath of Newlands than a Bok team which has learned to sprint one week and is not prepared to don diving boots seven days later.
But 18-0 is not shabby and in fact proves to be perfect Tri- Nations preparation when a fortnight later in Perth the heavens open.
Joost van der Westhuizen beats James Small’s try-scoring record with what proves to be the winner and the Boks have won away from home in the Tri- Nations for the first time.
So what? The All Blacks in Wellington are the true test. And then the Blacks are beaten with a sublime try from Pieter Rossouw and we begin to sense that there may be some possibilities with this particular Bok side.
And so it proves with a win against New Zealand in Durban that would have had Houdini on his feet and applauding, and a comprehensive clincher in Johannesburg against Australia with Bobby Skinstad’s winning try seeming less like an act of rugby than the act of a new god. The Tri- Nations won, life is sweet. Now what?
Well, a stunning Currie Cup competition should have brought the curtain down on the best season since 1995, but resting upon laurels is only something which Oliver Hardy can do. Ollie le Roux must get off his butt and check that his passport is in order for the trip to England.
Over which we might wish to draw a discreet veil. History will tell us whether the Boks were tired, not as good as we thought they were, or that the lessons they have taught the Five Nations teams over the past three years have finally been learnt.
For now is the time to look ahead. What new worlds to conquer are there? The Tri- Nations will be harder to retain than it was to win and if the 1995 World Cup is anything to go by there will be more than a few players involved in the 1999 version who will not be available for the first game of the new millennium.
We may not have Van der Westhuizen, Teichmann, Honiball or Andrews to choose from. May they retire in peace, the future lies with the youth.
Given recovery from injury and steady improvement our scrumhalf for the year 2000 could be Kolekile Ralo of the Blue Bulls, a George Gregan terrier of a number nine. Our number eight will not be Skinstad, but another colossus, Johan van Niekerk of King Edward VII High School and, soon now, the Golden Lions.
Our flyhalf could be Andre Pretorius of the Lions and our lock forward Selborne Boome, a quiet achiever in the midweek side in Britain who may yet be better than Andrews was at his peak.
If the African National Congress leaves rugby alone players of colour will abound in the national set-up by the year 2000. I wonder if Mallett is dreaming of a black Christmas.
CRICKET
Andy Capostagno
South Africa’s cricketers have achieved many things in 1998, but the abiding image of the year will not be that of Shaun Pollock receiving a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games or Jonty Rhodes defying gravity all over the world, it will be the sight of Makhaya Ntini – the first black African to play for South Africa – being hit on the pad by Darren Gough at Headingly in August. Ntini was out for nought and England won the game by 23 runs. It symbolised many things that have affected the game and will continue to do so.
Firstly, Ntini should never have been given out. Pakistani umpire Javed Akhtar thought the ball would have hit the stumps, most impartial viewers thought that it would not have hit another set. The performance of Akhtar in that game has come under scrutiny and there are more than a few mutterings about the involvement of bookmakers.
Secondly, it concluded the series in favour of England. South Africa had been 1-0 up and then had failed to apply the French lawnmower – the coup de grce – at Old Trafford. From that moment on things went against the tourists, from the injury to Lance Klusener, to the increasingly ineffective bowling of Paul Adams, to the failure of the openers on a regular basis and, naturally, to the failure of the umpires to apply the laws properly. England won the last two Tests and South Africa came home humbled.
Thirdly, Ntini’s sad trudge back to the Headingly pavilion was the last sight of him in Test cricket in 1998. Which seems odd, since he bowled well in every game he played and generally seemed to have the talent and the mental aptitude to establish himself in the side for years to come.
And yet, by the time the selectors sat down to pick a team to play the first Test against the West Indies at the Wanderers in November, Ntini’s name was no longer in the frame. Out of form was the word from the selectors, despite the fact that Adams had been picked in the 12 and was having trouble landing the ball on the cut part of the pitch.
Which brings us to the crux of the matter. Ntini’s dismissal at Headingly was unfortunate, but it was a cricketing act. Herschelle Gibbs’s inclusion for the second Test against the West Indies was unfortunate because it was a political act. During the darkest days of apartheid there were always those who would argue that politics had no place in sport. But the government of the time knew that politics was endemic to all sport and the present government has learned the same lesson.
With the second free elections in South African history on the horizon the politicians began to appreciate the easy mileage that could be had out of trashing the white sporting establishment. When Ntini was left out of the squad for the first Test against the Windies and Adams was asked to carry the drinks like some servile waiter from colonial times, the National Sports Council decided to bare its teeth which, hitherto, had been like those of the 20-year-old Rottweiler who had no bite, but could give you a very nasty suck.
What is very sad is that the United Cricket Board (UCB) fell for it. Its executive voted to force change in the provinces from next season on and to ensure representation for players of colour in the national side from the Port Elizabeth Test on. Which may well provide genuinely representative sides in the early years of the next millennium, but gives the message to current players from the previously disadvantaged communities that less than their best will do nicely, thank you.
But let us look on the positive side. >From next season many more players of colour will be given the chance to play first-class cricket. More players to choose from means a better standard of choice. When South Africa tours the West Indies in 2001 there will be no Allan Donald to lead the attack. Instead the new-ball pair could be Victor Mpitsang of Free State and Ntini of Border.
Paul Adams is still only 21 and if he can regain the focus required to play the game at the highest level he has the talent to succeed and become the best slow bowler to be produced in this country since AE Vogler was forced into retirement by World War I.
On the batting side we still await the new Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards. The current team is a great middle-order player short of becoming the best team in the world. Both Pollock and Richards were performing prodigiously before the age of 20 and there is no one currently in this country of whom that can be said. Johan Myburgh of Northerns beat Pollock’s record to become the youngest South African to score a double century last year. John Kent of Natal looked the other quality player in last year’s South African under 19 squad.
But the quality of the players coming through is largely irrelevant. What the UCB must ask itself as it looks into its crystal ball is this. Will an organised first-class structure in South Africa survive into the second decade of the new millennium? If it does it will be as the result of a few brave men telling a few politicians to look after their own backyards before they go accusing their neighbours of not sweeping up the dirt.