Super Rugby star highlights how the Springboks can beat All Blacks
Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall says the All Blacks need to front up in two key areas of their game if they are to defeat the high-flying Springboks next month.
After a two-year absence from international rugby amid concerns regarding Covid-19, the Springboks backed up their 2019 World Cup triumph with a test series win over the British and Irish Lions over the weekend.
Their status as World Cup champions, World Rugby’s top-ranked side and the first team to defeat the British and Irish Lions in a test series in 12 years leaves them as the team to beat on the international stage.
It also sets up a tantalising return to the Rugby Championship for the South Africans after they dropped out of the competition last year in the midst of the global pandemic.
The Springboks, who won the truncated 2019 edition of the Rugby Championship in their last tournament appearance, will mark their return to the competition this weekend when they host Argentina in Port Elizabeth.
The headline acts of this year’s Rugby Championship, though, are the back-to-back clashes between the All Blacks and Springboks scheduled to be played in Dunedin and Auckland in September and October.
Those matches will be the first contests between the traditional rivals since 2019, when the All Blacks and Springboks drew 16-all in the Rugby Championship before the Kiwis beat the South Africans 23-13 in the pool stages of the World Cup.
However, given South Africa’s recent successes, the Springboks may fancy their chances heading into their upcoming matches against the All Blacks in what promises to be a pair of box office encounters.
Speaking on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, Hall highlighted two key areas the Springboks will look to take advantage of against the All Blacks as they aim to extend their unbeaten run on Kiwi soil to three straight matches.
One of those key areas, Hall said, is the aerial contest, which was a big sticking point throughout the Lions series, while the other is the battle at the breakdown.
The three-time Super Rugby and two-time Super Rugby Aotearoa champion halfback suggested that South Africa’s big, heavy forward pack are capable of slowing the opposition’s ball down at the ruck.
That, he said, nips the opposition’s attack at the bud and allows the South African defensive line to get set and provide line speed pressure that nullifies an already stagnant attacking line.
The All Blacks may have one hand on the Bledisloe Cup but they’ll need to up their game ahead of the upcoming Rugby Championship, kicking off this weekend. #NZLvAUS #AllBlacks
?? @PatMcK6https://t.co/tUQhzF4G5O
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) August 10, 2021
Hall added the precision of South Africa’s box kicking and their efficient escorting ability proved to be key in their series success over the Lions.
“Two things that they [the Springboks] would probably have to nail is obviously the aerial battle,” Hall told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“You see, in the Lions series, they were really good at the kick execution, and then flooding the rucks to be able to slow down the ball for then their line to get set and get width and then to bring that line speed pressure.
“Especially with the big, physical men that they have, they have the ability to slow down the ball and, in turn, set up the Lions to not be able to play, and then to be able to execute with their box kicks.
“So, I think it’s going to be really important, our attack off their kick escorts and being able to escort right to get our guys an opportunity to win the ball, and our attack off that, and then I just think our breakdown is going to be massive.”
Hall made note of how the All Blacks thrived during their 33-25 Bledisloe Cup win over the Wallabies over the weekend when they were able to gain ascendency up front through dominant ball carries and effective breakdown play.
“If you look around the weekend, when we’re playing well and we’re playing on top of teams, when we did score our points, we were going through them with boys going through, good footwork, going through them, really good cleans, and then quick ball for Nuggy [Aaron Smith] to be able to play on top of them.”
However, the 29-year-old also acknowledged how the All Blacks have failed in that area since the last World Cup as he pinpointed their inability to win the breakdown battle as they key reason behind their losses to the Wallabies and Los Pumas last year.
While the All Blacks remain undefeated this year, they have again encountered problems at the breakdown over the past few weeks, most notably in the first test against Fiji last month.
Hall said those shortcomings on the physicality front need to be addressed if the All Blacks are to defeat the Springboks.
Nothing less than a polished 80-minute performance by the Wallabies on Saturday will stop the All Blacks from retaining the Bledisloe Cup for an 19th straight year. #Wallabies #BledisloeCup https://t.co/zKVoQ24801
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 10, 2021
“If we don’t get that right, and we saw scenes of that last year with Argentina and Australia in the test matches that we did lose, we lost that breakdown battle,” he told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“So, if you’re the South Africans, you’re probably thinking, ‘If we can nail that physicality battle’, knowing that us Kiwis want to play a little bit more, then we’re going to fall back into their trap of some of the things that the Lions did … and then the South Africans were able to pounce on that.”
Ex-All Blacks hooker James Parsons added the New Zealanders will need to find a way to negate South Africa’s defensive line speed.
The former two-test international suggested attacking kicks and taking advantage of the experimental 50/22 law could prove to be valuable assets for the All Blacks against the Springboks.
Parsons also highlighted Springboks midfielder Lukhanyo Am as a particularly astute defender who could deny the All Blacks space out wide to attack from.
“I think they [the All Blacks] would have to work out how they can manipulate their D [the Springboks’ defence], work out how they can manipulate their D, change their D to work on their terms,” Parsons told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“Whether it was attacking kicks or utilising this new 50/22 or somehow making their rush D have to adjust.
“It could be a classic chip and chase with Richie [Mo’unga] or Beady [Beauden Barrett] in behind, because there is a bit of space in behind there.
“Not over there [in the outside channels], because … Am is quite good at covering both and getting back, but there could be some space in behind there [the defensive line].
“It would be that balance of attack and run and kick and how you manipulate their D to open up opportunities for yourself on attack.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments