OPINION: Springbok Speed Kills — The Importance of Controlling Tempo

Tempo and rhythm are words often thrown around the punditry world in rugby, but what exactly do these mean? While the importance of how fast you play is key for any team, it’s often not a big part of any discussion around South African rugby, or even in the lexicon, for that matter.

The Springboks’ game is built around physicality, with dominant tackles, aggressive defence, and hard runs being the order of the day. However, the Springboks have added another bow to their quiver in recent season, with a fast, wide running game complimenting the head-first approach.

With any running strategy, though, how quick you play is extremely important, and if the Ireland game was anything to go by, there is the risk of playing too fast. This is because the faster you play, the higher the likelihood of errors. This is why you have to get your tempo right. Get that right, and you build rhythm by racking up phases.

Right from the get-go, the Springboks looked like they wanted to surprise Ireland with a high-tempo play. At the kickoff, the ball was taken in by Willemse, following which immediately saw Faf de Klerk throw a long ball out to Kolbe (too long). It was evident that the Boks wanted to have these moments of frenetic speed throughout the game, but that requires immense accuracy.

These snappy plays continued throughout the match, with a ton of moments to recall. An innocuous but telling indication of this was Damian Willemse’s pass onto Damian de Allende later in the game, which he fumbled and resulted in a frustrated Willemse, slamming the ball into the ground. Their speed of play was off. Both players can run at different speeds to create deception, but that understanding of each other’s pace and the flow between two runners needs to be there, especially when it comes to getting your depth correct.

Another one is off the set piece just before the Irish tryline. From a 5 metre attacking scrum, Jesse Kriel crashed into the centre after a great deceptive play, but was pulled down by a sublime Bundee Aki tackle just before the line. Kriel then looked for a quick pop-up to Siya Kolisi rather than securing the ball. Kolisi was too close and the freneticism caused him to knock on; chance gone. Had they gone one more phase, they probably would’ve scored.

Playing a fast game where rucks only last a few seconds is a solid strategy if you have the fitness to pull it off. The Boks do, but with it comes a smaller margin for errors. With the Boks’ performance against Ireland, the set-pieces were domineering: lineouts, scrums, and mauls were causing the Irish a lot of grief. Furthermore, the general play was good: a welcome mix of clever kicking and running when the opportunity was there. The Boks just have got to have patience in those in-between moments and get a controlled tempo in place. If they can get their timing to click, then coordination, rhythm, and points will follow.

Photo cred: Springboks / Facebook