Analysis: What makes the Springboks edge defence so hard to crack and the play that cost England in the final
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near” – Sun Tzu, Making Plans – The Art of War
During this uncertain and torrid time, boredom can often creep in. The mind can wander, and it’s not enough for us to keep physically fit, but to regularly stimulate and fire up our mental side as well, to prevent us from going mad in our wise, but incredibly tedious self-isolation.
When we think of rugby players and coaches, most of whom are embedded in the unrelenting routine of physical exercise and study, this can manifest itself in workaholics like Eddie Jones and Ian Foster being driven to new heights.
This is because they know they’re not world champions, and not number one, whereas the Springboks are world champions, number one, and have a defence that the rest are going to have to beat to attain this place.
What is exciting is that this defence is innovative, and therefore as we will show, teams are going to have to come up with something outside of the box to beat it.
The Fist and catch-up
Whilst the details of the ‘fist’ defence has been described, we need to show what the Boks do that makes their defence so hard to beat.
This involves exploring the dynamics of their ‘catch-up’ and how their make-up allows them to consistently snuff out wide opportunities.
Like all astute defences, Jacques Nienaber has his tight five defending close to the ruck, his back row and jackals further out, and then on the edge, the backs in either a 2-3 split as seen above, or the 1-4 split as shown below.
In terms of backfield defence, they fluctuate between a 13-2 and a 12.5-2.5, with Faf de Klerk playing the ‘adjusting defender’ role that we will discuss later.
This defence is incredibly effective at stopping ‘modern pattern’, with decoy pods and deep play a necessity for it to work.
This defence is just very good at covering all the likely options that structure is designed to present, with even grubber kicks accounted for. Not to mention the players South Africa have are perfectly suited for this sort of defence.
The ‘Catch-Up Defender’ (CUD)
The ‘catch-up’ portion is the dynamic the backs execute when the overlap is on.
The Bok defence on the edges is very unique. It is so successful, because it has so many accurate decision-makers within it, with de Klerk, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe and Jesse Kriel being instrumental in its efficiency.
It is a very strong ‘out-to-in’ rush, with the two edges – be it their ‘two’, ‘three’ or even ‘four’ – set starting wide and moving in in a rampant rush to push the attack back inside towards their jackals.
This doesn’t account for the backfield defender, who also comes up in standard pendulum formation.
This means the angle of the hit allows the Boks a greater chance of making the tackle and gaining dominance in the hit, as they’re not meeting it head-on, but re-diverting.
The catch-up dynamic is designed to put the first receiver under pressure, but the real pressure is placed upon the second receiver. The catch-up defender is whichever player is in line to close down the second receiver.
The second receiver assignment is the do-or-die tackle for the Boks, as executed by Jesse Kriel below.
The second receiver is a playmaking back who takes the pass behind a decoy forward pod, providing the link for the dangerous outside backs.
By cutting him off, the danger is nullified.
In each of these examples, we see the defenders in the catch up close down the second receiver, snuffing out the wide opportunities.
These defenders are often the last two in the defensive line. This is where the magnificent decision-making comes in to make it all work.
If the decoy by the attack is run wide enough, the second man in will have to bite, leaving the second receiver for the winger, Cheslin Kolbe, below.
As we can see here, the second man in leads up (Handre Pollard), but the man outside him (Cheslin Kolbe) stays in line with him, only moving past when the next pass is given.
Against Australia, this was shown to great effect.
They come up as a line, each player is coming on their out-to-in line and moving past the inside defender as the pass is delivered. This means each receiver fields the pass under intense pressure.
If the rush also involves the loose forwards, that means the third and even fourth receiver can come under pressure as he takes the ball, as there are more defenders to come in and pressure the pass.
The Adjusting Defender (ADJ)
The adjusting defender is a very unique concept that was responsible for holding England out in the final, and is often given to halfback Faf de Klerk.
At the start, we stated that South Africa half switch between a 13/2 and a 12.5:2.5 in terms of backfield defence.
It is the principle by which the Boks reload an undermanned edge when the opposition has the overlap on the far side.
As we know, many teams are engrained in structure. An overlap might be on, but the ‘three-pod’ off No. 9 is too well-drilled, and a team will carry instead of going wide to the space.
Here we see Jesse Kriel push Handre Pollard to move out to the opposite edge as Wales have numbers going back left.
The Welsh pod carries, buying time for this reload to complete before the ball gets wide.
Against Scotland, we see Kriel fulfil the role of the ADJ.
This overlap is down to an error on South Africa’s part.
After first phase ball, the Boks are supposed to reload their edges in a split decided by the defensive captains.
On this occasion they did not, meaning Pollard should have been on the far edge. Kriel moves over to fill the gap and join the catch-up portion.
However, he doesn’t get there in time, this means the catch-up can’t snuff out the second-third receiver link and the ball gets out wide, eventually leading to the try.
It was the result of a system error, but Scotland went wide immediately, at a good depth of alignment to get around the midfield rush in particular.
This gave them the time and allowed space that nowadays, the Springboks are too well-drilled to give them.
Rugby World Cup Final 2019
De Klerk saved South Africa on multiple occasions during this game, and his responsibilities and freedom as the ADJ meant he could make act as he saw fit – and he did.
He saved a few chances, and a try that could have swung momentum in England’s favour.
We see de Klerk here acting as the sweeper for the kick through. England’s prevalence to target the blindside meant this was a very real danger, and his placement here allowed this option to be covered.
He starts here, before England prepare to work the numbers.
The problem is that England’s alignment off No. 10 is not what it needs to be to exploit this and, more importantly, the first phase play off No. 9 is very well telegraphed, meaning de Klerk gets one hell of a head start to circle round to the opposite side.
The ball is passed to Ford who is put under severe pressure.
He chooses the right option and passes deep to Elliot Daly, who is in the best position to unlock the wingers in Jonny May and Anthony Watson.
A grubber from Daly here would’ve seen Watson potentially score, with de Klerk a slight chance to obstruct the kick lane.
A floated pass to Watson on a much flatter alignment and greater width would have put him in, but these would require difficult skill sets that are hard to execute under normal circumstances, let alone a final.
The pass is too lofted, allowing the defence to close in on Watson and force England to register a big net loss. It was a pivotal moment to prevent England from scoring a try and eventually settle for three.
However, there are ways an attack can break down this defence which will be covered in part two. To beat this regularly, there will need to be a huge focus on unusual skill sets and innovation, as well as changing the structure of an attack quite significantly.
But it is possible, and with what it’s going to take, will be very exciting for the game.
Comments on RugbyPass
Geez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
20 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
7 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
72 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
20 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
7 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
20 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
20 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
20 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
2 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to comments