'Vulnerable': Steve Hansen warns Springboks over risky bench tactic

Former All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has used the Stormers’ six-two split outcome as a warning to Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks ahead of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.

Hansen’s claim follows the Stormers’ early injuries to halfbacks Imad Khan and Dewaldt Duvenage against the All Blacks, leaving their only bench back replacement, Wandisile Simelane, and the other outside-backs to monitor the base of the ruck.

Stormers head coach John Dobson opted for the popular six-two split on the bench, carrying an extra forward to provide impact and versatility against the All Blacks.

The tactic, used often at Test level by Erasmus and other Test sides, can work in the team’s advantage if everything goes to plan, and no backline players, or only one, get injured during the 80-minute contest.

Hansen, who was the head coach of the All Blacks for eight years, said that losing multiple players to injury, as the Stormers did, makes it difficult to have cover in every position if you have a six-two split on the bench.

“The 6-2 split didn’t work in favour of the South Africans this time. They roll the dice every time they do it, and they were unlucky in that they got two players injured in the same position,” Hansen said on the Rugby Unity podcast.

“I hear the commentators, ‘it’s changed the course of the game’, but you know that before you go in, I don’t think you can use it as an excuse for anything.

“If you’re going to play a 6-2 split, you’ve got to go through all the scenarios. They would have gone through them all, but it did for me show that you can be vulnerable if things don’t go the way you want them to go.”

The former All Blacks World Cup-winning head coach posed the question of whether what happened to the Stormers could affect other coaching staff’s tactics.

“That’s the risk you take, whoever’s doing it, it will be interesting to see if it changes people’s minds or if they keep doing it and are prepared to take the risk.

The All Blacks are yet to try a six-two split under new head coach Dave Rennie, but the head coach said during the three July Nations Championship fixtures that the coaching staff are open to it.

“We’ve had a lot of thought around where we want to see guys, and so everyone will get to play in that first week in South Africa. Give an opportunity for everyone to push for places. We’ve certainly talked about 6-2 splits, and the plan is to do one of those in South Africa in one of the provincial games.”

“Oh, 7-1. What about 4-4? Let’s go the other way. Let’s be innovative.

” I don’t think Barnes-y [All Blacks assistant Neil Barnes] will be excited about 4-4, but definitely 6-2. We’ve got the versatility. We think we can do that,” Rennie joked in Auckland before the Ireland Test.