Presidential candidates lurk in the shadows

Super Rugby starts next month and preparations for next year's Rugby World Cup kick into high gear. Liam Del Carme looks at five things that will shape this season.

1) Saru's presidential battle

Less than two months before Saru's elections you'd expect battle lines to be drawn. It is eerily quiet on all fronts, however, as candidates lurk in the shadows waiting to show their hand.

If rumours are to be believed, moves are afoot to preserve the status quo, which means Regan Hoskins is likely to make himself available for an unprecedented third term in office.

All kinds of explanations are offered why this might be a good idea for South Africa in the global scheme of things but, at face value, it just looks like another president trying to cling to power.

2) Victor Matfield's return

Matfield's return, or the Second Coming, if you believe those north of the Jukskei, has been long in the making, but no one could pinpoint the time of arrival.

At 36, the big question is whether he will rise to the heights that made him one of the game's most decorated players.

Will he again command the presence in the lineout that made him the most feared man to opposing teams? From all accounts, he will be wrapped in cotton wool and deployed sparingly by the Bulls, which begs the question whether it is the most prudent way to prepare for test rugby.

3) Getting the Kings into the premier division

You would almost surely have read something along these lines recently.

After being relegated following a brave display in their maiden season in Super Rugby, the Kings suffered further ignominy by not qualifying for the premier division of the Currie Cup.

Getting them there makes sense on several fronts, but the deal has not been sealed. The next, and perhaps final, attempt to get the vote passed will take place at the end of the month.

4) Comeback kids

The Lions' return to Super Rugby was about as effective as filling a pothole with Prestik. With a young and inexperienced squad, they have an awful lot of convincing to do.

They start from a low base but, in that, they may find the opportunity to fashion their future in the way they prefer. A high-risk, high-reward approach can only stand them in good stead.

No one expects them to go the distance, but the Lions need to put some distance between themselves and what the doomsayers predict.

5) Schalk Burger's comeback

Burger's afflictions could fill a medical journal. However, the Bok flank is rebuilding a career that threatened to come to an abrupt conclusion.

Two knee surgeries since 2012 and a potentially lethal brush with bacterial meningitis would see the curtain drop on most careers.

But Burger, we know, is made of sterner stuff. Maintaining his fitness would be his immediate concern, and then regaining his place in the upper echelons of South African loose forwards. What we know for sure is that he will give it a proper go.