What to expect from the Springboks

I have just arrived in Paris for an IRB Training and Working Group meeting and my information regarding the Springbok Vs Wallaby test is limited as my French is very limited. I hope to watch the game and this has led me to speculate on what might transpire.

You wouldn’t believe it but on Canal + Sport the first line of the Haka is being broadcast at every ad break.

Tomorrow’s game between the Wallabies and the Springboks carries with it more significance than ever this being the RWC year. Springbok motivation will be high because they are playing for their RWC jersey while the Wallabies will be wanting to get their pattern of play and the completion of all points scoring opportunities back on track.

What has to be realized is that the pragmatism of the Springboks’ approach to the game will result in winning being the most important and only thing and that the game offers options in which their well known “lager” or siege mentality can play off. It is an approach that limits risk and places great emphasis on possession, field position and points in the most convenient way at the time. They see little purpose when you need to grind out a win against the most worthwhile opponents to play open rugby.

The core of the Springbok approach is to not only gain possession, but in the process, grind down the opposition forwards. This makes them less effective around the field as the game goes on. So you can expect mauls, pick and go and attacks with the ball in hand being close to the source and seldom more than one pass wide. The bi-product of this is to flatten up the opposition defence pattern both in the front line and the back three. This has the dual effect of creating space that the ball can be kicked into and isolating the back two or three so that their chase pattern is more numerous on contact from the kick. If the ball can be challenged they have fast, skillful opportunists who can convert loose ball into tries or create penalisable offences from which they can score.

Should they be parked inside the opposition’s 10metre line for some time the reliable drop goal comes into play. This is relatively riskless rugby. When they do run the ball they run hard and straight exposing any frailty in the oppositions defence.

Like everyone if the lose the raise to the gain line momentum is not created but doing this from phase play following a strong kick and chase the chances of front foot ball are greater.

Who is to deny them their success and why change a winning formula? There have been some New Zealand coaches in the republic over the period of Super rugby and each has found it difficult to add more expansive options to the teams’ mode of play. The only factor that comes into play is the age of their team and their tried and true players’ ability to sustain a 6-week campaign that starts this weekend.

In addition to this is their defense. The ability of their forwards to force error at set pieces so the opposition, even if they win the ball, are forced to play in default, to play to their less preferred option. This allows them to win the raise to the gain line. What the last two tests have shown is that if they can’t get this platform space is conceded and their defence pattern can be exposed. This is because space between them and the attack creates uncertainty in the rush defence. Often their reaction is to increase the speed of the rush and, if the attack can force them to be square on, and the attack is spaced, opportunities are created on both sides of the tackler.

Both from set pieces and phase play, where like all defences, they may be more numerous than the attack, they have used outside in defence so that anyone from the second receiver out is likely to be tackled strongly and unexpectedly from their outside. From spilt ball they are able to exploit the situation in the same way they do from the high ball.

Outside-in defence can be overcome by overloading the channels around #’s 10 and #12; by kicking to the space the outside defender has come from and by making a miss pass to a player in this space. The miss pass has led to interceptions in the past; Habana and Rousseau come to mind. So you may have to play a flat line to distract them and a deeper line that avoids the intercept and goes around them.

So long as the Wallaby forwards front up it would be unwise for the team to deviate from what they do best, to play the rugby they play well, to cherish possession and to make sure they take all the points available. If the Springboks back off at any stage the Wallabies are capable of making good use of the time and space conceded to create momentum. Last week I thought their linear support was effective and here could be used as a way of compressing the attack so that the ball can be moved to an overlap. With them running onto the ball and if Cooper regains the ability to take it to the line, committing the defence and passing to a player in space they stand a chance. Sure they need to adapt and fine-tune but, like all team’s each is best at what the character of their team enables them to do best and reacting against an opponent for much of the game plan will not do this. Playing reactively, countering what they might do, conceded too much. You must be proactive.

Up front this may be may be “doing unto them as they are doing unto you” and in this way get both front foot ball and respect. This will create time for #9 and #10 in attack. I would anticipate kicking from #12 being on option based on the defence pattern. Add to this kicking your own goals. To build a score from penalties will take the Springboks out of their comfort zone and beyond their skill set. Playing catch up can expose them, as it does most teams, but more so them as it is so far from their familiar pattern.

• «Previous Post
• Next Post »