The Boks' delicate dance of kick and chase not under threat by weather
Regardless of the weather in London on Saturday, the Springboks will stick to their tried and tested formula that has launched them to first place in the Rugby Championship standings.
Since the arrival of attack coach Tony Brown in early 2024, it was clear that the team would give the ball a bit more air to utilize their dangerous outside backs.
It is evident how essential kicking is to the Bok attack, and this attacking revolution is on the right path.
The box kick and up and unders aren’t always popular with the fans, but the Springboks have gradually struck a balance between running and kicking, especially in their last two outings.
Their accurate kicking, particularly executed by Cobus Reinach from behind the rucks, as well as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Manie Libbok, has sharpened the Springboks’ attacking threat by putting the ball behind the opposition.
This kick-and-chase strategy helped them score 110 points in their last two Test matches.
The players are starting to embrace the sheer power of the kicking game from the back, especially when a pass finds Feinbergh-Mngomezulu and he transcends it into a long diagonal killer blow.
Looking at the weather predictions at Twickenham for Saturday, some windy conditions could be on the cards.
Rugby365 asked Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus if this would force his side to adapt a more ball-in-hand approach when he sat down for a press briefing from the team hotel in London on Tuesday.
“We’re not sure what the weather will do on Saturday. You know, it feels like South African conditions, and obviously, it can change in a heartbeat.
“We played New Zealand when we were 0-14 down, and then it started raining. I hope I don’t sound like a broken record, but we try to play the situation, and what’s on the scoreboard.
“Argentina was fantastic in the air in the first half [last weekend], and I think they won the aerial battle hands down.
“Only in the second half, we started mastering that a little bit more. I do know we kicked about 15 kicks more than them, but it also resulted in tries.
“So, I don’t think the wind or rain makes a massive difference.”
#OPINION: @rugby365com columnist @jon_cardinelli runs the rule over Rassie Erasmus’ matchday squad for Saturday’s #RugbyChampionship decider in London. 👇#SouthAfrica #Springboks #ARGvRSA https://t.co/qMmJ5tI4PD
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The coach was quick to emphasise how good the Pumas were in Durban last weekend, especially in the first half.
“I think the final score flattered us a little bit. At minute 65, it was still a very close game.
“Then they ran out of reserves, and they were 14 men for the last 12 minutes, when we scored a couple of tries. We expect a big fight back from them.
“The focus for us is on what we have to do to try to win the competition twice in a row for the first time, so the stakes are high for us,” he added.
“Probably for us it’s a bit nerve-wracking because we have to win this game to win the Rugby Championship.”
“The reality is, we have to play against an Argentinian team that will be hurting. And we know when we have been hurting, we’ll pitch up next week.
“And I also feel having players like Eben [Etzebeth], Siya [Kolisi], Pieter-Steph [du Toit], Ox [Nche] … I can name a lot of really experienced guys, I don’t think we’ll fall into the trap of thinking [we’re perfect] all of a sudden.
“It was far from a perfect game [last week], 60 minutes into the game, the game was actually in the balance,” he said, adding. “There were brilliant performances, but if we lose this game, it won’t be because we think we are the business; of that I will make sure of.”
