Is the Boks' main weapon becoming a dud?
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids and prop Steven Kitshoff defended their team’s game plan, after a horror show against the Wallabies in Adelaide.
The Springboks headed into Saturday’s encounter as the favourites, but they looked far from it in the 80 minutes and they eventually slumped to a 17-25 defeat.
One of the main questions surrounding the Boks’ performance is their over-reliance on the driving maul.
Mauls are the Springboks’ main attacking weapon, but they didn’t get much value out of it against the Aussies.
Some might argue that Dave Rennie’s side produced some questionable tactics to nullify that threat.
However, the Boks’ maul also fell short in that second Test against the All Blacks in Johannesburg a fortnight ago.
“I don’t think there is a concern,” a defiant Davids said.
“As I said last week, we are still a work in progress.
“I think we got some great rewards there, and we got some rewards from the scrums.
“It is something we will continue to work on.
“Also, well done to Australia for making it very challenging in that area at times.”
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#⃣REACTION: #Australian scrumhalf Nic White was very fortunate that celebrated former referee @Nigelrefowens was not in charge of the @wallabies‘ win over the @Springboks
😳If you want to know how bad the #referee really was …💯#RugbyChampionship 🏆
🔗https://t.co/kQEoLu3UlE pic.twitter.com/OkzkpCZbN2— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) August 28, 2022
‘Fundamentals of rugby’
Kitshoff also focussed on the positives of having driving mauls as the cornerstone of the game plan.
“The big thing for us with mauls is that it is creating a platform to either strike from, kick from or gain points,” said the prop.
“Looking back at this weekend’s game, even though the maul didn’t get a lot of momentum, we still got six penalty advantages that we could play from.
“In my opinion, I still feel the maul is a big weapon and a big part of the fundamentals of rugby.
“Even though it doesn’t look like you are gaining 10 to 20 metres, you are still actually creating an opportunity to score three points or getting a free play under a penalty advantage.”
The Springboks face the Wallabies again in Sydney this Saturday in Round Four of the Rugby Championship.
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