Springboks sealed their own fate with questionable use of bench
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but the Springboks’ uninspired final quarter in their 22-17 loss to the British and Irish Lions should hardly have come as a surprise to new coach Jacques Nienaber.
Although the Springboks started as the stronger side, leading the match from the 14th to the 63rd minute, it was the Lions who finished better, winning the second half 19-5.
Some of that was down to luck. In the first half, South Africa were far better in the air, comfortably plucking high balls out the sky as they bombed to earth and leaving their opposition clutching at thin air. That reversed in the second stanza, however, with the Lions at one stage winning three contestable kicks in a row within the space of just a few minutes.
There were other factors at play, of course.
With four nations worth of players to pick from, the Lions were always going to be able to put together a stronger bench than their opposition – especially when the Springboks haven’t had the matches to really their next echelon on players behind their proven starters.
Somewhat surprisingly, the much-vaunted front-row trio of Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe – who were so important to the Springboks’ World Cup success in 2019 – were comfortably accounted for by their Lions opposition.
Less surprisingly, the Lions’ reserve playmakers added considerably more spark and nous to their side’s attacking strategy than their young South African opposition.
The Springboks trio of Faf de Klerk, Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux are the key drivers in the backline, with De Klerk and Le Roux taking on the majority of the duties and Pollard stepping in when called upon to add a helping hand.
The three have played over 140 test matches between them and were key players in the World Cup triumph.
In the dying minutes of the game, however, all three were off the park.
Le Roux’s absence from the 67th minute couldn’t be helped after the diminutive fullback was left feeling the effects of a questionable lifting tackle from reserve Lions flanker Hamish Watson and into his role at the back stepped 23-year-old Damian Willemse, with seven caps (and two starts) to his name.
Less than five minutes later, coach Nienaber made another change to his playmakers, with Elton Jantjies taking over from Pollard at No 10. Jantjies may have played 37 times for South Africa throughout his career, but the fact that those games have come over nine seasons with the side should indicate that he’s never fully convinced as a test-level player, despite his solid performances at Super Rugby level throughout that period.
Finally, with time almost up on the clock, off went De Klerk – one of the top three halfbacks in the world – and on came Herschel Jantjies, who’s played just 10 matches for the Springboks and made just a pair of starts.
By contrast, the Lions were able to employ the likes of Conor Murray, Owen Farrell and Liam Williams off the bench, although Stuart Hogg remained at fullback. That key 9-10-15 axis possessed over 250 test caps between them. The Springboks trio boasted barely 50.
Upon De Klerk’s departure, the delivery to the players situated in the backline took a huge knock for the Springboks and suddenly forwards weren’t able to clatter onto the ball at speed. The playmakers further out from the ruck also suffered.
While Warren Gatland was able to inject the likes of Murray and Farrell early in the match, to give them enough time to actually warm-up and make a difference to proceedings, the less experienced Springboks were thrown into the lion’s den – and the whole team suffered for it.
The Springboks don’t have access to the same depth of talent as the Lions – that was always going to be a problem – but throwing young players onto the pitch with just 10 minutes remaining is a recipe for disaster and Nienaber will likely reconsider his tactics for the second test.
Perhaps that means swapping someone like the maverick Elton Jantjies out for the more experienced Morne Steyn – a man who’s well versed in closing out tight matches.
Perhaps it means not going to the reserves at all, unless absolutely necessary.
Or perhaps it might require a more left-field approach, such as starting the younger trio and bringing on the experienced player later in the game to take control in the final 30 minutes.
One way or another, however, the Springboks need to get better delivery and better direction from their playmakers in the final 10 minutes of their final two tests.
Comments on RugbyPass
Also, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
39 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
39 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
39 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to comments