OPINION: Forget the Drama! Where did the Springboks Go Right & Wrong Against the All Blacks

Whether you simply write it off as banter or part of the fun, it seems like the rhetoric around every Greatest Rivalry rugby game has become a bit of a circus lately. After the first two tests between the Springboks and All Blacks, everything from scrum angles and time-wasting to spying and coach whinging has been discussed ad nauseum.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying discussing on-field moments is valid, but the ‘he-said, he-said’, gossip-filled back-and-forth being fuelled by media personnel who just want a catchy headline is getting a little… well, lame.

And weirdly, the New Zealanders seem to be producing the worst of it too. I’ve never seen more overemotional overreactions to Saturday’s All Blacks loss than I have in my life. And somehow, the emotional outbursts or disappointment in ‘their’ team losing seem to be redirected as anger towards the Springboks. Of course, not all Springbok fans are innocent either – some of the comments and takes towards the All Blacks are horrendous at best. But when the worst and most petty comments are coming from ‘journalists’ (and I use that term in the loosest of ways) on both sides, I think some self-reflection is needed.

I saw a grown man almost brought to tears about something Rassie Erasmus said. It’s getting wild out there.

Anyway…

The good

Let’s get back to the rugby, which was fantastic! The Boks played a far more strategic game in Cape Town than they did in Test 1. I feel like they got the balance right of kicking for territory and using those high-pressure moments to force penalties, and then (most importantly) kicking for posts and taking points when they’re on offer. The first test in Johannesburg saw the Springboks getting into a habit of requesting re-scrums every time they had a penalty or opportunity to work their way up the field, even when they were in the All Blacks’ 22-metre area. While it’s become a highlight to see the Springbok scrum, the age-old test rugby tenet remains: take the points.

The Springboks’ strategy to rack up points through the boot of Cheslin Kolbe boded well, because even when the All Blacks outscored the Springboks in terms of try-count, they were always chasing the game, and this gave the Boks the buffer they needed to wear down Dave Rennie’s men.

Because, even if the lineout maul is working well or the Boks think that one more scrum will result in a yellow card for an All Black prop, it’s sometimes better to just take the 3 points, and reset.

Furthermore, the lineout was a standout, with Eben Etzebeth and Ruan Nortjie being absolute menaces and contesting every time they could, even forcing the All Blacks to go for the short throw to the front or right to the back.

The bad

There’s no denying that the All Blacks are still the kings of fast-ball, counter-attacking rugby. Their skills and speed of passing are impressive, and two moments in the game (one in the first half and one in the second) saw them get some quick width with excellent passing, putting Will Jordan and Leroy Carter in some space.

The problem is that the Springbok rush defence (while fantastically executed and can stop a team’s momentum) can also have its drawbacks. The All Blacks did a good job of making overlaps by having extra players wrap around the open-side to make an overlap (in this case, Leroy Carter has come off the left wing all the way over to the right side as an extra man). This puts the Springboks’ last defender in the line in a predicament where they ‘jam in’ to make a hit on the second-last ball-carrier, opening up space for the winger.

An option for the last defender is to read the situation and backpedal, causing the attackers to second-guess whether to pass or not, and (more importantly) allow cover defenders from the inside to make their way across and get the ball carrier while the last defender focuses on the winger.

Perhaps the instruction to the defenders is to hit the ball carrier first and foremost, but sometimes, hanging off a bit can allow for reinforcements to arrive, even if you lose 10 metres or so.

You can see that moment in action here:

All in all, a pretty impressive performance from the Springboks who found the balance of taking points and small victories when needed, along with relying on the set-piece to give them the upper hand. And from a spectator’s perspective, it couldn’t have panned out better, and the 1-1 score in the Series now sets Soweto as the stage for absolute fireworks.