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Nienaber reveals why he's gone for 7-1 split against Ireland
Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber has revealed why he has once again gone for the risky 7-1 split, this time against Ireland in their crunch Pool B match in Stade de France on Saturday.
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Nienaher has gone for a bench of Deon Fourie, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane, Jean Kleyn, RG Snyman, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith and just one back – scrumhalf Cobus Reinach.
The split was the main topic of discussion at the press conference on Tuesday.
“Like any team selection, we went with that because we believe that’s the best way for us to make sure we get a result on the weekend.
“We always try to be as physical and intense as possible. We always say you can’t plan for a good start, but you can always plan for an intense start. We will definitely try to be as intense as possible from the start, as I think they would as well.”
Nienaber insisted that the fact that the Boks used the same split in the warm-up win over New Zealand didn’t influence his selection against the world No.1s.
“It worked well in that specific game. The bench had a big impact, not only in that game but also on the weekend [against Romania].
“We analysed Ireland and after looking at them and what they bring and what we think we will need in this specific game from a tactical point of view and trying to counter everything they do – that’s the reason we went with seven-one.
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“I don’t think necessarily Ireland and New Zealand are similar in how they do things. It’s for this specific game.
“The ‘bomb squad’ that came on against Scotland also had a big impact. That’s what we want.
“I don’t call them finishers or stuff like that. The guys that start and guys who come off the bench have a role to fulfil. That’s why when we talk about our front-rowers, we don’t talk about first choice or second choice. It doesn’t necessarily work like that in our team.
“The guys who start have a specific role to perform and the moment we see that being achieved, we bring the other guys off the bench.”
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The tactic creates a scenario where forward could potentially haver to fill in for back if there are more than one enfocred change during the 80 minutes, a risk the Boks’ brain trust seem happy to live with, although he wouldn’t reveal who he would ask to do so with, saying “That is tactics!”
“Obviously people look at it and say it’s a risk, but for us it’s a calculated risk. There are guys on that bench who cover various positions, but that is not something I’d like to go into too much because it is probably more tactical.
“I don’t want to talk too much about tactics. We have a lot of versatility in the squad and we showed that on the weekend by playing four nines [scrum-halves]. But we are comfortable with the risk we are taking.”
(R) during The Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa Springboks at Mt Smart Stadium on July 15, 2023 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)
“It’s a week that you want to be involved with. It will be the same for them; the analysis they do on us and the plans they make for us, and the plans we make for them to see if it will work on Saturday. That’s the thrill of it.”
It was put to Nienaber that a new name might need to replace the ‘Bomb squad’ monniker that has become so widely used when referring to South Africa’s bench.
“That will probably be up to the media, they will decide that.”
“I won’t say I’m nervous, I’m excited. It’s going to be a proper test match [between] two teams that have a good skill set.
“If you look at their squad versus our squad, you’re probably going to find that they have a very experienced squad, probably between 29 or 30 years of age. We’re probably between 29 and 30 years of age.
“If you look at the amount of test cap experience we have on average per player, it will probably be between 40 and 45. If they select the guys that we think they’re going to select, it will also be around about 40 or 45.
“It’s going to be a clash of two teams that have good experience; good, cool, calm heads. They will be similar in the amount of guys that are over 30, so I think it’s two squads that will be very well matched on the day.
“That’s the exciting part, to see if our plans will work against them. Will we be able to handle the pressure they put us under? There will be ebbs and flows in the game. Will they be able to handle the pressure that’s on them? Because at the end of the day this is an important game for both teams.
“It’s only the third game of the pool, but if Ireland slip up in this game, their Scotland game becomes massive. (If) we slip against them in this game, our Tonga game becomes massive.
“So there will be pressure in this game. It’s exciting to see how the players will handle it.”
Comments on RugbyPass
So spiteful that the Springboks won again, they just had to change the laws so that they would stand a chance.
36 Go to commentsWhy would Eben lie? The guy has achieved so much. He saw it as arrogance. Any normal person who plays against the ABs year in and year out would have the same thoughts. Why even talk about the final when you have the biggest game of your lives next week in a stage you have never gotten passed? Rugly is simple in SA. Have fun but the most important thing is respect. I’m not buying any of this misinterpreted nonsense. Eben isn’t English, but no one during that interview was asking what did he say? He's speaking and therefore his understanding is perfectly fine. It was an arrogant thing to say, esp for a team that has never been to a final, never mind a semi. You guys up north can interpret it in a different way if you wish, maybe that s why you don’t win the biggest tournaments.
151 Go to comments> with Sky TV in New Zealand saying it has seen an 11 per cent lift in overall viewership this year. It’s easy for these kiwi “journalists” to throw around meaningless numbers to make it seem that things are improving, but if you look at the stats behind this 11 percent it says that after 10 rounds of rugby there is only a paltry 160k cumulative viewers in total.. That is on average 16k viewers watching a single round of Super Rugby. I very much doubt any of the other numbers that Gregor so proudly “reports” on.
36 Go to commentsGoode is a Prop that played Flyhalf…. Who gives a Sh@#t what he thinks anyway!
151 Go to commentsOne would hope when a player of such caliber is approached for transfer is traversed a lot more carefully. The question I ask, “is the players agent raising red flags in the first instance of contact”. By what I read assumptions are made by nzr based on player welfare provided to them. So what is that? Is it a wholistic approach where family balance is taken into account. Because thay’s what’s in the mix when players go off shore. I realize the money is a huge factor but when negotiations are initiated is nzr involved. As Lendrum says having our best players available is paramount to our success So here’s hoping they are effectively communicating.
4 Go to commentsPSTD, I salute you.
6 Go to commentsWhy don't they just give up on scrums and lineouts, cut the number of players to 13, and call the game ‘rugby league’? These idiots are determined to destroy the game as we know it, and instead of ‘attracting youngsters to the game’ as Beaumont suggests, it’ll deter a lot of the less skilled, maybe overweight kids who it is perfect for. World Rugby is detestable. And as for the 20 minute ‘red’ - why not teach the players to tackle better? (Like the current tackle height trials are supposed to do, but will probably be squashed by the NZRU as usual). I despair for the union game, I really do.
36 Go to commentsHere’s hoping the emphasis on how the tmo interfaces on game infractions is taken into account more seriously than what was adjudicated during the 23 wc. That was a shambles, plus Barnes the abs ref never contested some of the calls, something he’s known for. And then we're left with wr opologizing after the game that smith’s try was legit. I was even more pizzed. And as for the red card if the infringement is clearly intentional foul then the individual is out of the game and after 20mins the bench replacement comes on. So, there’s then the degree of seriousness taken into account within the 20min stand down.
36 Go to commentsNot sure they the article doesn’t hit on TMO this year, that’s were they were putting focus right. The fact the other areas haven’t improved shows just how poor the comp is at focusing on its direction. There should still have been further gains in both those areas this year even it if didn’t have the same focus as others. The whistle to restart time, like touch finders of 26 seconds, surely has to be a key focus area next year. Why should a side be given so much time to kick for touch? Cut that down to 5 or 10 seconds, penalties both become less of key stalling/defensive strategy, and become more ‘live’ with tap kicks becoming much more favourable quick actions. Theres absolutely no reason we have to wait over 10 secs for the preferred kicker to walk up and try and take maximum advantage, especially when half the time its just a delay tactic to give the forwards time to plan, as the kicker hardly even trys to find the corner with his kick, anyone could have kicked it straight out for the lineout.
36 Go to commentsShame. Hope something else can be arranged.
3 Go to commentsTitans of under-20s rugby …. Reporters tired verbiage akin to calling every player a “star” and any Fijian side as ”Flying”. The French English and Irish are the Titans of U20 rugby. Noone in the South is now. This tournament is however, good prep to regain titan status.
1 Go to commentsWill be humbling coming back and playing second fiddle to Dmac.
4 Go to commentsSounds like quite a bit of development has occurred regarding Mo’unga’s situation. Either NZR has stepped up their offer (big time) or RMo has had a reality check on what it will be like to be outside of the high performance environment of AB rugby. Maybe both. It reads like there are only a few remaining details to be sorted out before it is a done deal.
4 Go to commentsCurrently, a prop that has been substituted can go back on field if his original replacement gets injured. Can a red carded prop go back if his replacement gets injured, or will it be uncontested scrums?
13 Go to commentsWhat about a free kick from a scrum? Can you call another scrum? Or are they just giving straight penalties now?
36 Go to commentsLoved that comment by Andrew that the ‘water boys’ rule was changed in 2020 just to stymie the Boks!
36 Go to commentsOne of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
6 Go to commentsThe real deal.
6 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
22 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
13 Go to comments