The Springboks game plan was validated by All Blacks' aerial showing
There are many ways to skin the proverbial cat when it comes to rugby.
So the vitriol directed at the Springboks for a game plan that revolves around kicking has been interesting. Sure, it is not the most exciting rugby ever played, and it has not borne winning fruit in their last three outings.
But last time I looked, a team should always play to its strengths. If that means 10-man rugby or, in the case of the Boks right now, nine-man rugby, then so be it.
South Africa would love to have the services of Cheslin Kolbe… mind you, he was criminally underemployed in the series win over the Lions. Kolbe is, outside of halfback Faf de Klerk, the only Bok back who can threaten opposition defences. So why would you think that an ageing Willie Le Roux or the limited Lukhanyo Am are going to slice up the All Blacks or light up the spectacle of rugby’s greatest rivalry?
The fact is that the Boks might have won a famous shock victory were it not for Jordie Barrett’s goalkicking under pressure. And they would have done so by contesting every All Blacks’ lineout ball, tackling like demons and persisting with a box kicking tactic that yielded a try and caused the flighty All Blacks consternation every time the ball went up.
There was a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth after the Townsville Test, a dreary spectacle, but at least the Boks emerged from the changing rooms with a clear idea of what they were trying to do for the 80 minutes, unlike in the second, dire, Test against the Wallabies. They were clueless and their pack untypically passive in that clash.
So there was actually much to like about how the Boks went about their work against the All Blacks. They forced turnovers and de Klerk’s box kicks were mostly on point. They will not care a fig if it was tedious to the neutral or New Zealand fan.
One could argue that the Boks were cynical, having much the worse of the penalty count, and Sbu Nkosi’s deliberate knockdown of an All Blacks could easily have incurred a penalty try.
But Test rugby is all about pressure and they put the squeeze on the All Blacks, who don’t function as smoothly when their ball is slowed down and they have to defuse bombs for nigh on 80 minutes.
One thinks back to the 2011 Rugby World Cup semifinal when Cory Jane gave one of the great aerial displays by a wing, catching every high ball that rained down. The crazy thing was that the Wallabies, on that night, never changed up their tactics, getting the same result when Will Genia et al hoisted the ball.
But the Boks had no reason to shelve the kicking as the All Blacks kept dropping the ball (looking at you here, I’m afraid, George Bridge) or it went loose when contested. So of course they were going to continue in similar vein.
Boks coach Jacques Nienaber talked about trying to “attack space.” I supposed space exists above the ground too and there’s plenty of it there.
The extraordinary thing is that the All Blacks knew what was coming last weekend and they know what is coming this weekend. But you can have the widest skillset in the world. A well-placed high ball with hungry chasers is still a valid tactic and can cause havoc with the best-laid plans.
It has been so since time immemorial.
This Boks side might be the RWC holder, but it is not a patch on the 2009 side that won the Tri Nations. That team possessed attacking threats such as Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie and Bryan Habana along with howitzer boots like Frans and Morne Steyn behind a formidable pack. Even then, they were often conservative in their tactics. But they took down the All Blacks in three straight Tests that season.
The Springboks are not trying to win friends and influence rugby people here. They just want to win Tests. So they won’t get sucked into throwing the baby out with the bathwater like England did, disastrously, in the 1991 RWC final.
Comments on RugbyPass
This team does not beat the ABs sadly
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
3 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
54 Go to comments