Wednesday, and the whole week is leaning towards Durban. Kingsmead on Friday, Moses Mabhida on Saturday. But this morning everything comes back to the Proteas v Australia first Test, and to one right hamstring in particular.
1. The Big One: the Proteas v Australia first Test and the Rabada wait
Nobody is rushing this one. Batting coach Ashwell Prince says the Proteas will leave the decision on Kagiso Rabada as late as they possibly can. The fast bowler, coming back from a right hamstring injury, got through the two-day intra-squad match in Durban and will keep training with the group right up to the Test. Lungi Ngidi, nursing a hamstring of his own, is already out of the first Test, which starts at Kingsmead on Friday 9 October.
Why it matters: with Ngidi gone, a fit Rabada changes the shape of the whole attack. That is exactly why the Proteas are using every hour they have. Kagiso Rabada, the player.
2. The Matchday Move: one Saturday, three big games
Saturday 10 October is the kind of day South African sport rarely hands out. The afternoon belongs to the URC: Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria gets the Bulls against the Lions, then DHL Stadium in Cape Town gets the Stormers against the Sharks. The evening belongs to the MTN8 final, Sundowns against Pirates in Durban at 18:00 SAST, and that one is already sold out.
Kick-offs, from the URC’s own match centre: the Bulls and the Lions at 13:30 SAST, the Stormers and the Sharks at 16:00 SAST. That puts four and a half hours between the first kick-off and the last. The Stormers, before derby day.
3. The Talking Point: can anyone prise the MTN8 off Pirates?
Orlando Pirates have won this cup four years running. When they beat Stellenbosch in last year’s final, the club says, they became the first South African team to win the same domestic cup four years in a row. Saturday is about a fifth.
Sundowns are the last side to have won it before the run, back in 2021, and it remains their only MTN8 title since 2008. That is a strange gap for a club this used to lifting trophies.
Sundowns also carry injury worries into the week. Teboho Mokoena and Aubrey Modiba were hurt in Bafana Bafana’s win over Guinea, and Bathusi Aubaas went off early against Eritrea in Cairo. The reports since have not agreed on who will be fit for Saturday.
Our view: finals reward habit, and Pirates have the habit. But Masandawana have every reason to want this one more. Who blinks first in Durban? Mamelodi Sundowns, the club.
4. The Stat That Matters: 24
Twenty-four. That is how many years it has been since South Africa last beat Australia in a Test at Kingsmead. In March 2002 the Proteas chased down 335 and won by five wickets. Australia have won Tests on the ground since then, in 2006, in 2009 and most recently in March 2018.
So when play starts on Friday, the Proteas are not only taking on the side they beat in last year’s World Test Championship final. They are taking on a ground record that is nearly a quarter of a century old. Kingsmead owes them one. The 2002 Kingsmead scorecard.
5. The One to Watch: Thalente Mbatha
A knee injury in August took Thalente Mbatha out of the Pirates midfield just as the season was getting going. He is now back in full-team training and pushing hard for a place in Saturday’s final, though he still has to prove his fitness to the coaching staff before anyone pencils him in.
Watch for him in the warm-ups, and watch the team sheet. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, a fit Mbatha gives Abdeslam Ouaddou a familiar option in the middle of the park on the biggest night of the season so far. Orlando Pirates, the club.
One for the fans without a ticket, flying a little under the radar: eThekwini Municipality and the PSL have set up a free public viewing area at the Bay of Plenty on the Durban beachfront, open from noon to midnight on Saturday (IOL has the details). So, braai question: Loftus, Cape Town or the big screen on the sand?