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Ex-Springbok coach pooh-poohs calls for Scott Robertson to help Bok attack
Ex-Springbok attack coach Swys de Bruin does not believe the reigning champions need a consultant like New Zealand’s Scott Robertson to help retain the Rugby World Cup in France next year.
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Critics claims the Springboks have to broaden their kick based style to defend the trophy under head coach Jacques Nienaber but de Bruin told Sport24: “With the way the Boks play, I don’t think they will need to add an attack consultant ahead of the 2023 World Cup in France.
“Jacques must be the best defence coach in the world but he has also stepped up very well into the head coach role. Jacques has a different personality and is a typical left-brain kind of thinker. He’s very thorough in terms of what he does and will work a lot on what stats tell him.
“He backs his system and what he believes in defence, second to none. Jacques is very good and Rassie (Erasmus) wouldn’t have given him that job if he didn’t believe he was really the best.
“There have been some suggestions in the media that the Boks would be well-served adding a consultant to their coaching set-up to freshen up ahead of the World Cup. In a SARugby poll, Scott Robertson topped the vote. However, if I can be honest with you I wouldn’t even consider that route.
“Robertson is doing very well and is sitting there with the cream of the crop. He is doing nicely in a very settled franchise but I wouldn’t look for any foreigners in our situation at this stage. Foreign coaches bring fresh ideas at the right places but what the Boks are doing now is very good.”
The former attack coach also had fulsome praise for South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus who has just completed is ban for a video attack on match officials during the British and Irish Lions series and backs his former boss to help Nienaber.
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He added: “Rassie will know how to handle that and who to bring in and who not to as he is a master of that. I can tell you one thing for nothing, Rassie is a rugby genius. He has a feel before stuff happens and to me that is a true mark of a real visionary. He has foresight in the game.
“I must say in the last couple of Tests I found that the Springboks discovered a better blend between kicking and running. However, if I was still part of the Bok management team I would encourage them to attack and run much more than they are currently doing.
“For me, it isn’t a case of not kicking but rather how you kick. I believe you’ve got to kick for two reasons: to get the ball back and to apply heavy pressure. I don’t always enjoy when the Boks make it a 50/50 contest and don’t play (with ball-in-hand) in their half. Having said that, playing off number nine more than 10 is part of our DNA and with the team profile we have that is 100%.
“The Boks have number nines who can give a good box kick, wings who are sound under the high ball and very strong forwards. The Springboks play off nine because it’s a lower-risk game and is closer to the rucks.
“They don’t focus on that area but instead turnover and counter-attack. I must say I worked a lot on counter-attack during my time there – it was one of my main focus points – and it was very pleasing for me to see that when the pressure was up, they counter-attacked well.
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“There is a system they follow, which we started in 2018, and it revolves around how to get your loose forwards and hookers in the trams. If you get the turn-over, it can be a very dangerous weapon if you train that.”
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments