Boks uncover All Blacks pitfalls after franchise coaches compare notes
Springboks assistant coach Felix Jones revealed how strong relationships with South Africa’s franchise coaches have given the national team valuable insight into the All Blacks after their recent encounters.
“Luckily, we’ve got a good relationship with Dobbo [John Dobson], JP [Pietersen], Cash [Ivan Rooyen] and coach Ackers [Johan Ackermann], and all of us chat pretty regularly,” he said.
“It’s been good to get their thoughts on their games, but a lot of it has been a confirmation of what we saw in the Nations Championship and how they’re trying to attack, how they’re trying to defend, what they’re doing in their kicking game and how they’re trying to develop there.
“So, a lot of it has been confirmation of what we’ve seen already.”
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However, the franchise feedback also gave the Springboks some additional insight into where the All Blacks could be exposed.
The teams had created plenty of opportunities against New Zealand, regularly working their way into scoring positions within 10 metres of the try line. Most of them also had multiple lineout opportunities in those areas.
“They were frustrated that they couldn’t score with their maul and it’s tough when there’s someone pulling you or trying to lift a leg or maybe just going off feet for a couple of seconds.
“So, I think there was probably those two common themes of what they weren’t too happy with, but a lot of it was confirmation.”
