'We were never going to change anything': Kolisi on late-game tactics
The Springboks’ less than compelling form heading into their 100th clash with the All Blacks had many writing off the world champions’ chances of securing a victory against their longtime rivals but it quickly became apparent that form wasn’t going to play a part in the result.
Although the All Blacks scored an exceptional try in the first three minutes of the match, the Springboks bounced back quickly after NZ wing George Bridge dropped a high ball inside his own 22 and Sbu Nkosi was on hand to scoop the ball off the deck and touch down to earn his side five points.
South Africa have drawn criticism in recent times for their kicking-oriented game plan, which culminated in the 2019 World Cup winners putting boot to ball an unprecedented 44 times in their second test with the British and Irish Lions earlier this year.
After changing up tactics slightly during the Rugby Championship (or perhaps simply not adhering to the game plan), the Springboks suffered two disheartening defeats to the Wallabies, in matches where South Africa made ‘just’ 26 and 28 kicks from hand.
Coach Jacques Nienaber evidently compelled his side to double down on the tactics that won the Springboks the World Cup, however, and they reverted to a box kick-heavy strategy against the All Blacks – which came very close to helping the Boks pull a surprising win out of the hat, were it not for a Jordie Barrett penalty in the dying minutes of the game that kept New Zealand undefeated for the season.
The Springboks made 38 kicks from hand during the closely fought encounter, with scrum-half Faf de Klerk contributing the vast majority.
Whether the Springboks were inside their own 22, making progress in the middle third of the field or on the cusp of breaching the All Blacks’ red zone, De Klerk hoisted the ball into the sky – which caused ample problems for the NZ back three.
It was a tactic that will win over few neutral supporters but one which has landed the Springboks a handful of key scalps in the past. Had South Africa emerged victorious from the game, the tactics would have likely been praised by fans of the Boks, but it was one crucial decision late in the game that had some up in arms.
After taking the lead with 13 minutes left to play through Handre Pollard’s fourth penalty of the evening, the Springboks looked to have the match under control. The under-pressure All Blacks were making even more mistakes than they had throughout the earlier stages of the match.
Still, the All Blacks continued to attack the Springboks with expansive tactics and after running the ball down the left tram lines, a loose Rieko Ioane pass was snapped up by fullback Willie le Roux. New Zealand’s reserve midfielder, Quinn Tupaea, quickly got over the tackled player and was rightfully awarded a penalty for Le Roux not releasing the ball – and Barrett stepped up to kick the less-than-regulation penalty.
The All Blacks knew exactly what the Springboks would be sending their way – so why did they still struggle at times with Faf de Klerk's constant barrage of box kicks? #AllBlacks #Springboks #NZLvRSAhttps://t.co/KR9XDH7qop
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 25, 2021
Down by two points with barely a minute to play, the Springboks found themselves just inside the All Blacks half shortly after the resulting kick-off. Possession, at that stage of the match, was crucial. Although sides defending narrow leads in dying moments of games have been known to commit penalties by sealing off the ball, the Springboks would be taking their fate out of their own hands and handing it to the All Blacks if they weren’t able to hold onto the ball.
With time almost up on the clock, the Springboks needed to adjust their tactics for the time and score but, instead, reserve scrum-half Herschel Jantjies again sent the ball to the heavens – and Barrett was on hand to defuse the bomb.
The All Blacks ate up another 10 seconds on the clock before Beauden Barrett belted the ball deep into Springboks territory, and not until the buzzer was readying to sound did the world champions manage to work their way back into their opponent’s half, with Franco Mostery ultimately coughing up the ball and ending the game.
The decision by Jantjies to kick was chastised on social media, with All Blacks, Springboks and neutral fans all questioning why South Africa didn’t adjust their tactics.
Why oh why on the 79th min do you kick the ball back when you have just won it
— Mark Keohane (@mark_keohane) September 25, 2021
That last box kick from Jantjies in that position of the field, I fail to understand, honestly. Thought it was an absolute gift from the All Blacks to begin with even ??????
— Yoza Qoshe (@Prince_Yyoza) September 25, 2021
South Africa don’t even want the ball with 1min left and they’re losing. So negative. #NZLvRSA
— Alby Mathewson (@AlbyMathewson) September 25, 2021
Cannot believe how we gave that away. Just didn’t want to win. Shocking give away of possession by Willie, Pollard, Jantjies and Faf in the last 5 minutes. We have no idea. I’m done with this kick everything game plan. It’s brain dead.
— Dean Oelschig (@DeanOelsch) September 25, 2021
Following the match, both coach Jacques Nienaber and captain Siya Kolisi backed the decision to kick, suggesting that the tactic had worked throughout the match.
“We were on the field in the 77th minute and the message was from the players – not from upstairs – stick to the game plan because that’s how we know how to play and it’s always worked for us,” Kolisi said. “So we were never going to change anything because that’s how we won the ball back. I really love that because it’s been working the whole day, why change it at the end?”
Nienaber was less forthcoming when queried whether it would have been worth changing tactics: “I don’t think so,” he said.
“We were in it at the end and we put ourselves in a position to win the game,” he later added.
“I am hurting yes, as we could have pulled it off. We believed that those kicks were effective, and all created one on one situations, which is something we wanted to achieve.
“We had opportunities, they had opportunities. A call here, a bounce of the ball there, that was how close it was.”
While some viewers may not have necessarily been enamoured with the Springboks’ strategy, they did keep South Africa in contention throughout the match and had them on the cusp of a historic victory.
Often, tactics are assessed based on the final outcome of a match, but if Le Roux had better support around him after snaffling Ioane’s pass, or Tupaea had been standing in a different part of the park, the result could have gone a different way – and neither of those situations were impacted by the tactics on the night.
The Springboks and All Blacks will square off once more on the Gold Coast next weekend and, in all likelihood, the Springboks will stick to the game plan they took into Saturday’s encounter.
Comments on RugbyPass
excellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to comments