Boks let their defensive guard down in Loftus lemon

OPINION: The Springboks need to improve their defence and game management with a view to the second Test in Gqeberha – and the all-important Rugby Championship.

There’s so much to unpack from the first Test between the Boks and Italy in Pretoria.

We always knew that this four-match block would be about squad development and performance for a Bok team building towards the double-header against New Zealand in September, as well as the marquee Tests against France and Ireland at the end of the year.

While Rassie Erasmus remains on track to realise his goal of using 45 players in this period, the most recent performance at Loftus Versfeld lacked consistency and intensity.

Speaking at the press conference after the game, the Bok coach delivered a series of statements that summed up the erratic display.

An attacking return of 42 points and six tries is a reason for celebration, until you take into account that the opposition are ranked 10th in the world, and were without 12 frontline players due to injuries and rest protocols.

It’s also worth noting that 28 of those points and four of those tries were scored in the first half.

Afterwards, Erasmus admitted that the Bomb Squad failed to fire in the second stanza, where Italy outscored the hosts 21-14.

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Some have observed that the attack lacked variation, which is hardly surprising given the mix-and-match nature of the line-up and the fact that it was the first Test of the season.

Erasmus may be wary of showing his tactical hand at this stage of the campaign.

Indeed, the Boks may adopt a different approach in the Rugby Championship, and may kick a lot more than they did this past Saturday (just 21 times).

The line-out wobbled and the Boks failed to manage the attacking breakdowns.

These are the big work-ons, at least from an attacking perspective, ahead of the series-decider in Gqeberha this weekend.

The more pressing issues relate to defence and game management.

It’s hard to look past the stat of three tries conceded, and again, one needs to take into account who the Boks were playing and the standards they’ve set in the past before delivering a verdict on the performance.

Even at full strength, Italy were among the worst attacking teams in the Six Nations, scoring 10 tries over the course of the five-game campaign, and ranking last in most attacking metrics.

This begs the question, how did Italy put three tries past one of the best defensive teams in the world?

And how did they do it without a host of first-choice players, and with a squad short on experience?

Erasmus and defence coach Jerry Flannery will ask their charges these questions over the next few days.

To be fair, the Boks delivered a more complete performance in the first half, where they limited Italy to three points and zero 22m entries.

After the break, Italy lifted their intensity around the set pieces and breakdowns, and started to win the territory battle.

The Boks started to fall off tackles and allowed Italy easy metres.

The nadir of the second-half nightmare was Italy’s maul-try, from some 20 metres out.

Watching the action unfold from the Loftus press box – which is situated in front of the spot where Italy launched the initial line-out – I was surprised to see how easily the Boks were shunted.

I was also surprised by the overall defensive performance in the second half.

South African rugby has come a long way since the dark days of 2016 and 2017, and rarely concede three or more tries in a match.

The Boks conceded three or more tries on four occasions last year – against Ireland in Pretoria, Portugal in Bloemfontein, the All Blacks in Johannesburg and Argentina in Santiago. The latter performance contributed to a narrow loss.

What marked that game against the Pumas an anomaly was the fact that the Boks leaked four tries in the first half.

On Saturday at Loftus, the Boks conceded three tries in the second half for the first time since the clash with the All Blacks in Pretoria in 2018 (where they leaked four).

Under Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber, the Boks have developed a reputation for their second-half showings, with the Bomb Squad boosting the levels of accuracy and intensity in the closing stages of a Test.

On average, they score more points and concede fewer points during this period, and are especially dominant in the fourth quarter.

These stats and facts cast the recent second-half performance against Italy in a concerning light.

If we are judging the Boks by the standards they have set in recent seasons, it was one of the worst second-half performances they’ve produced in the Erasmus-Nienaber era.

Erasmus and his coaching team will search for answers, but the onus may be on the players to make the physical and mental shift.

Most of the players who featured on the bench at Loftus are veterans who have won two World Cups.

The match 23 was stacked with quality and experience, but the intensity and accuracy levels appeared to drop as the game progressed.

Erasmus has accepted that the performance wasn’t good enough, and the players may have a point to prove in the series-decider in Gqeberha.

Some will call for a clinical attacking performance at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium that yields 50-or-more points.

But with a view to building for the bigger matches that follow in the Rugby Championship, the Boks need to regain their defensive mojo, and the Bomb Squad needs to deliver a dominant showing on both fronts.

@rugby365com

* Picture credit: ohan Orton