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'That pisses a lot of people off' - Players, coaches react to scrum annihilation
South Africa’s domination of the England scrum set the tone and the platform for South Africa’s 32-12 Rugby World Cup final win in Yokohama.
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Despite being 20kg lighter than the 920kg English pack, the South Africans won six scrum penalties in the first half alone, earning kickable points for Pollard and destroying any chance of a set-piece platform for the English.
Springboks’ head coach Rassie Erasmus was however reluctant to divulge too much detail of his plan to undermine one of his opponent’s primary strengths.
“I don’t want to sound very clever afterwards because that pisses a lot of people off. It is a spin-off the way we have played the last five games, keep it tight especially in the six-day turnaround.”
Loosehead Tendai Mtawarira admitted it was an area that South Africa were focusing on.
“As a Springbok pack we take a lot of pride in our set-piece,” noted ‘The Beast’. “All tournament it’s been working for us up front. We went out there to get ascendancy and it was great to get a few penalties in the first half.
“We wanted to get ascendancy up front. It’s something we have been working on for a long time to improve it. All the hard work paid off tonight. All eight made a huge difference.”
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He did however off his commiserations to England tighthead Kyle Sinckler. The Harlequin was forced off after just three minutes following an accidental collision England lock Maro Itoje.
“It’s never nice to see a player come off so early in the game. He’s had a great tournament and been playing really well, so I feel sorry for him.”
'When the scrum started to go south on England, when they started throwing passes on the ground, and they couldn't score after 20 odd phases, the doubts creep in' #RWCfinal #ENGvRSA pic.twitter.com/OUzEmiLhQl
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) November 2, 2019
Replacement Steven Kitshoff was left in awe of the job the Boks frontrow did on England.
“Beast, Mbongi and Frans (Malherbe) put on a massive performance when it came to scrum time. They put the English pack under so much pressure.”
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England forwards coach Steve Borthwick was magnanimous in face of the superior pack performance of the South Africans.
If there's one thing you can be sure of with a French ref, it's that their first impression of the scrum will last 80 minutes, regardless of whether they have a clue what's going on.#RWCFinal #ENGvRSA
— Duncan Casey (@BigDunc123) November 2, 2019
“Credit to South Africa for what they did, especially in that first half when they got the ascendancy. We’ll look at it. Do I have the reasons right now? No, I don’t. It’s something we have to look at closely and think about.”
South Africa assistant coach Matthew Proudfoot was understandably proud of his charges’ set-piece performance.
“There is incredible belief in our scrum, in what we do, it’s something the pack really thrive on. We’ve been seeking eight front row forwards.
The Beast is off but England's scrum woes continue. Yet another penalty conceded and Pollard makes it 15-6. #ENGvRSA
— Gavin Mairs (@GavinMairs) November 2, 2019
“We knew in play-off rugby it’s so crucial, we’ve been developing pressure points. I would not say England have any weaknesses at the scrum, they’ve been great. They put New Zealand under pressure.
“We take pride in our scrum. Losing your starting tight-head after a first few minutes must be tough to respond to. It gave us a chance to get a foothold and put pressure on them.”
“That first scrum allowed us to keep applying the pressure. we said after that let’s keep looking for more scrums.
Easiest way for England not to be in all kinds of scrum trouble is to stop dropping the ball. Sharpen up that handling and it won't be a decisive factor in the game.
— Alex Shaw (@alexshawsport) November 2, 2019
“I must say Beast (Tendai Mtawarira), a man who has 119 caps, stays hungry as anything. On Monday he said, ‘what can I work on in my game’?
“I said, ‘let’s just worry about the final’. He’s been really exceptional and wanting to end his career on a high note. I thought he was great tonight.”
Sam Underhill seemed in the ‘dark’ about what happened: “The dark arts are lost on me, mate, I just get my head down and push. We spoke a bit about it, the boys that needed to speak about it spoke about it. It did get better which is a good thing.”
Springbok tighthead Frans Malherbe: “The game worked out well for us. The scrums went well in the first half and, as a prop forward, there is nothing more you can ask for. Really, really happy with the performance from everyone.
“We tried to isolate ourselves from all those talks going on outside. We had our plan and tried to stick with our plan.
“We only had two training days and the focus was on executing our plan, and all the outside noise and mind-games or whatever.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Super Rugby desperately needs to lose at least 2, but up to 4 teams. Rebels quietly going bankrupt would have made that a bit easier. Teams like the Rebels and Force serve only to weaken Australian Rugby and Super Rugby more widely. In 13 years in the comp the Rebels are yet to win more games than they lose in a season, have never finished in the top half of the competition, and have come dead last a number of times. The Western Force, barring a brief stint of mediocrity under John Mitchell from 2007-2009 have been even worse. Sadly it’s hard to see a future for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby. Likewise I think the writing is on the wall for the Highlanders, it’s hard to see how NZ rugby can continue to support 5 SR teams, and population distribution suggests one team in the south island would make the most sense.
41 Go to commentsNice that Connor Evans is happy to stay on here, that JD Schikerling is returning and Steven Kitshoff. Dobbo is careful to bring back just anybody but having a new financial lease of life, it has made the Stormers a more attractive club. On top of being good quality, having the financial backing helps a lot
1 Go to commentsEngland-qualified too, I believe.
1 Go to commentsThis might turn out to be emblematic of a real issue in Irish rugby. Ireland have one of the best -if not the best - senior sides in the world, and one of the best under 20s sides as well, but don’t seem to be giving graduating under20s players many opportunities to break through into URC starting lineups. There is a risk that a lot of the junior talent they are developing will either be wasted, or lost to other nations.
1 Go to commentsYou ask good questions, Nick. The group who have put together the proposal to play out of Tarneit and participate in the growing of the ground’s capacity are not a bunch of white knights who have been dragged in post-crisis; they were around whilst the Rebels accummulated $23m in debt. Why do we come up with ideas that might make the franchise affordable after it’s broke and not when it might have prevented the trainwreck this offseason was? As for Gordon/Kellaway v Lolesio/Wright, they are both good options. I think the former are better rugby players but the goal kicking of Noah may be decisive when Schmiddy makes his choices. I know Harry Jones has the hots for Edmed but I think it’s one of his few poor choices and he and Jorgensen aren’t close to the other pairs. By coincidence, the wife and I went into town over the weekend to watch Brian Cox and Patricia Clarkson in Long Day’s Journey into Night. Beautifully acted but it was 3.5 hours in the chair and very hard work. Like the Rebels, there were only small bursts of joy to go with a lot of bad news and a depressing story line. In the end, I was hoping it would end and I could give my sore butt a break. Again, familiar.
41 Go to commentsGood decision, very good player but not international quality. But so was Jamison Gibson Park …..
3 Go to commentsLoose forwards always look good going forward and winning. It’s the same loose forwards for the Crusaders and the Canes this year as last year. Too much of the shiny new things getting noticed here while older consistent ones getting bagged. It’s early days. Calm the farm.
6 Go to commentsThanks Nick, and on the money. We tend to be apathetic until something REALLY BAD happens, then we aren't! At least this applies to the Reb players and coach, if not the spectators. They seem to be getting very quick ball at times. Have they altered something, or is it just all of the skills coming together at the right time? It seems almost the opposite of the Reds, who started the season with quick ball, but haven't been showing that in the last 3 losing games. Is it attitude (McDermott hasn't looked “right” to me for 3 weeks), or something else?
41 Go to commentsGood summary. As said, Sevu Reece has been electrifying for the Crusaders. Great try and he has been everywhere. Amazing he is now equal with Caleb Ralph , club record of 52 tries for the Crusaders. That record beckons. Good to see Dallas McLeod getting regular starts at last. A big few weeks are ahead.
6 Go to commentsGood article/interview.As was said Christian Lio-Willie was barnstorming when he came on for the Crusaders. What happened at the end, self-explanatory.Captain fantastic Scott Barrett is due back soon as well, once they are back from Aussie. Great to see Ethan Blackadder back last week.
1 Go to commentsYou must have been watching one team, Andrew - and even then you missed the brightest star in the Chiefs pack - Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 2 turnovers, genuine line-out presence and grunt around the field, and the soft hands of a back.
6 Go to commentsHaha what a crock of sh!t these headlines are. Moorby’s best year was that first. Still doesn’t seem to have the same game about him as when he was fresh but has bounced back well this season to be playing consistent tight accurate footy
3 Go to commentsIt’s even dumber than Bernard Foley not kicking the penalty to touch in the Melbourne Bledisloe in 2022.
3 Go to commentsYes, they are traveling well but it’s early days. The Chiefs were in front with 20 to go while they snatched a last minute win v the Reds. Keep calm.
1 Go to commentsThe failure of the Irish system / rugby playing style to produce their own backs has them looking elsewhere for innovation and flair - not that Jordie has much flair. He’s a converted fullback. The Canes have plenty of other younger options.
10 Go to comments1.Watch Wallace Sititi be the wild card AB. A genuine full time no 8 2. Luke J like Sotutu has not delivered. 3. Chiefs have all the right cattle but badly miss the leadership of Webber. LJ is about as unconvincing as Sam Cane when under the pump. They had the winning of that game in the second half then fell apart.
6 Go to commentsYes the Rebels are showing signs of life because they are literally playing for their live -lihoods and thanks to their Australian attack coach. However they are still playing an essentially dull boring south african style for the rest of the time. And Geoff Parling must be the most useless lineout coach ever. Worse than Steve Hansen even. Interestingly we are starting to see more cheap shots and attempts to get away with cheating by Australian players, now they are being influenced by Joe Schmidt. It was exactly the same when Rennie started out as Wallaby coach and thru his tenure. Trying to teach Australians to play like kiwis doesn’t work, as the last 20 years has conclusively demonstrated. Especially when we are not as good at it as kiwis. Which of course is the whole idea …..
41 Go to commentsGreat signing, not sure where he’ll fit in though. As for him ‘playing alongside RG Snyman, that’s highly debatable given the likelyhood that the latter will spend most of the season on sick leave.
10 Go to commentsWowee!
10 Go to commentsEvery team that has played a game in Africa this Champions Cup season is already out of the competition - including the SA teams. Could be a concidence.
30 Go to comments