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All Blacks credit Springboks' clever 'double bluff' ahead of tactical change
While the Springboks suggested during the week that they would double-down on their kick-heavy game against the All Blacks this weekend, the signs from the get-go were that the Boks were looking to give the ball plenty more width on attack and make the most of their talented outside backs.
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It took barely five minutes for the Springboks to score their first try of the game in their Rugby Championship rematch, with inside centre Damian de Allende touching down following an outrageous around-the-back pass from midfield partner Lukhanyo Am.
That try was a product of an All Blacks error, with Codie Taylor shelling a pass inside the NZ 22 after captain Ardie Savea had nabbed the ball from South Africa at the breakdown, but even in the build-up to that turnover, the Springboks looked to be more interested in sending the balls into the wider channels than they had a week earlier.
In Brisbane last weekend, the Springboks put boot to ball 38 times and made just 66 passes. On the Gold Coast last night, South Africa kicked just 27 times and made 97 passes altogether – an increase of almost 50 per cent.
New Zealand coach Ian Foster had indicated during the week that although the Springboks have shown in the past they are willing to change up their tactics, the All Blacks weren’t expecting a shift from the intense kicking display in the first match.
“I think they’ll be looking at their game and thinking they were probably one goal kick away from having a win,” he said, “and they probably trust some of the tactics they went about to do that so I don’t think [we’ll see] massive variations.
“[But] we’ve got to come prepared for that because we’ve seen them do that in the past. We’ve seen them do that in the second test against the Wallabies.”
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With their more expansive play, the Springboks were able to score almost twice as many points last night to take out the match 31-29.
Following the match, halfback Brad Weber acknowledged the clever work the Springboks put in during the week to prime the All Blacks for another kick-heavy display.
“The South Africans kind of switched it up a little bit on us, held it in hand a little bit more,” he said.
“I don’t think [they caught us unawares]. We knew the aerial attack was coming but a [they performed a] bit of the old double bluff, talk it up to the media and then come out with something slightly different was quite smart from them. We were prepared that maybe they would try and attack a little bit more while also sticking to that aerial attack as well. They just probably got the balance right tonight.”
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There were some exceptional performances in the All Blacks' loss to the Springboks… And thenthere were some less than savoury showings. #RSAvNZL #AllBlacks #Springbokshttps://t.co/WMdO6dDLSm
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 2, 2021
All Blacks captain Ardie Savea also praised the Springboks for their balanced play but again indicated that it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
“They showed different pictures and I thought they did that extremely well, put us under a lot of pressure,” he said. “We kind of expected that it would come, along with their high-ball game and their kicking game. That’s a credit to them and how they managed the game and put us under pressure in that third quarter of the game. That’s something for us to look at and grow in.”
The win has put the Springboks back into top spot on the World Rugby rankings, with the All Blacks falling to second. Both sides will now prepare for their respective tours to the Northern Hemisphere, with NZ kicking things off in three weeks’ time in America against the USA Eagles.
Comments on RugbyPass
Will rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
2 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
2 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to comments