Bok audacity has opponents pondering new posers

OPINION: South Africa’s performance in Port Elizabeth at the weekend will get opponents thinking about what the Springboks are brewing ahead of the Rugby Championship, and what they might unleash on the All Blacks this September.

Consider, as a starting point, the emotional significance of the occasion in Port Elizabeth.

Last Friday, assistant coach Mzwandile Stick fought back the tears after he was asked what it meant to play in front of the Eastern Cape faithful for the first time since 2018.

The Bok coaches and players paid tribute to Willie le Roux ahead of his 100th Test, to the point where it dominated the media conferences in the lead-up to Saturday’s match.

With the above in mind, it’s a wonder that the Boks managed to stay on task ahead the series-decider against Italy.

Expectations should have been tempered after coach Rassie Erasmus made 11 changes to his starting XV, and favoured a completely different Bomb Squad dynamic – including three Test debutants.

But on the day, the Boks produced an emphatic performance across the board, thrashing Italy 45-0.

The clamour inside the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium served to inspire rather than suffocate the Boks, and the team rose to the responsibility of playing for Le Roux.

The two cards aside, it was one of the Boks’ most complete and balanced displays in this World Cup cycle.

The Boks delivered on their promise to maintain their physical intensity for the duration of the contest – after losing momentum and focus in the second half of the first Test in Pretoria.

What’s more, they were brave enough to experiment with a couple of innovations in the most challenging of circumstances.

While it’s easy to get caught up in the trick plays and the fact that the Boks scored seven tries, more should be read into the execution of the basics and a memorable defensive display.

Clean sheets are a rarity at the elite level, and it’s been 12 years since the Boks last kept a tier-one opponent scoreless – in a 28-0 win against Scotland in Edinburgh.

Halfbacks Grant Williams and Manie Libbok brought some speed to the Bok running game, and kept Italy guessing with a series of well directed tactical kicks.

The Boks won the aerial battle, with their ability to regather as many as six box-kicks resulting in further attacking opportunities against a fractured Italian defence.

The Boks dominated the lineouts, especially in the second half, where they forced a series of turnovers.

After conceding a long-range maul try at Loftus Versfeld, they were determined to make a statement– although nobody could have predicted what happened next.

Erasmus took a page out of a Paul Roos Under-14 playbook, as the Bok launched two lineout and maul manoeuvres from the middle of the pitch, both of which resulted in tries.

Overall, the Boks managed to dominate Italy and switch between two playing styles, despite the fact that they were short-handed for much of the game.

Poor discipline was a problem at Loftus, and reared its head once more in Port Elizabeth (no pun intended).

Jasper Wiese was shown a red card for head-butting in the 20th minute, and the Boks were forced to compete with 13 men after prop Wilco Louw was sin-binned at the start of the second half.

While the discipline needs to be addressed, it’s worth noting how well the players responded to the challenge of playing with one man down for the better part of 60 minutes – and two down for 10 – and how hybrid players like André Esterhuizen came into their own.

A much-changed lineup never wavered. On this occasion, the Boks didn’t need double World Cup-winners such as Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, and Bongi Mbonambi – who were all seated in the grandstand – to dig them out of a hole.

The margin of victory will hog the headlines, but the mental response was arguably more significant, and it will be interesting to see how the display in Gqeberha shapes Erasmus’ selections going into the Rugby Championship next month.

Predictably, a number of critics have been quick to dismiss an emphatic performance against an Italy side missing so many senior players.

But the Boks were also without a host of more established players, as Erasmus stuck to the plan to rotate the squad over the course of the series.

Some of the trick plays led to tries and points, while others – such as the first kickoff that handed Italy a scrum feed – did not pay immediate dividends.

Those innovations should not distract from the fact that the Boks did the basics exceptionally well on the day.

When the forwards set an excellent platform, and the backs translate that dominance into territory, a team can afford to try something new and extraordinary when the moment is right.

Whatever the reasons for those tactical ploys, the absolute truth of the matter is that Erasmus and his team are less predictable than ever.

The performance in Port Elizabeth will get other teams thinking about what the Boks are brewing ahead of the Rugby Championship, and what they might unleash on the All Blacks in the marquee double-header in New Zealand this September.

@rugby365com

* Picture credit: Anton Geyser Media