Boks need some structure
It’s been a busy week for rugby365 columnist Robbie Fleck – from launching an exciting new Tens rugby tournament in Cape Town, to rating the Springboks’ chances in their Tri-Nations Test against the Wallabies this weekend.
Either way you try and spin it, a 19-0 loss is not the best preparation for a double-header against the Wallabies – even with the comfort of playing at home.
Let’s face it, the Springboks were not good at Newlands last weekend, but, at the same time, I don’t think the All Blacks were that great either. They simply took their chances on the day better, plus they had two exceptional players firing on all cylinders.
It doesn’t take rocket science to work out who I am talking about, Richie McCaw and Dan Carter – two guys who I mentioned in the build-up last week – were simply superb. It seems once again that they are fighting it out for the title of the world’s best player this year – what a pleasure for someone like Graham Henry, who has been under pressure all year long.
At the same time, our key men, like Schalk and Butch – for instance, did not have the same kind of impact and that is where the game was lost.
Obviously, the breakdown was also an issue and we were very ineffective on the ground, where Bakkies Botha’s physicality was also missed.
The talk this week has been about South Africa not having any genuine openside flankers, which I find hard to believe. Schalk has done the job before and, believe me, Jerome Kaino and Rodney So’oialo do not help McCaw that much. McCaw fights a lone battle himself, yet, he even got the better of George Smith and Phil Waugh all on his own in their last Tri-Nations match in Auckland.
Of course, Smith and Waugh – and now us South Africans – are quick to accuse McCaw of cheating, which, to be frank, is the biggest load of bull I have heard in a while. The simple fact is, McCaw is the best openside in world rugby at present – he is better than Smith, Waugh and Schalk and they need to up their games to get back to his level.
As I mentioned above, the Springboks were really shoddy on the ground. Aside from missing Bakkies, the Kiwis were just hungrier than us to win that loose ball and they hit the rucks hard and cleaned out what little Bok support there was.
My biggest concern from last week, however (and something that has to be addressed before Saturday), was the Boks’ lack of structure. It’s great what Peter de Villiers is trying to achieve – and I have said so many times before – but they need to maintain an element of structure before going wide and ‘playing it like they see it’.
Another worry is that the backs and forwards don’t seem to be combining well either. When you play a high-tempo game you need everyone – backs and forwards – singing the same tune, especially when you are on attack, on the opposition line.
The Boks, for instance, had three scrums on the New Zealand line in the first half, yet they didn’t score a single point from any of them. On all three occasions they opted for the pick-‘n-go, which played straight into NZ’s hands. They never attacked the 10-12 channel of Carter and Nonu – who, as we know squares up on defence and is not a good ‘team’ defender – and the All Blacks simply loaded the rucks and stole the ball. Imagine what could have been achieved had the Boks gone wide just once?
The sign of a good team is one that scores when necessary, and when in a position to put points on the board, but while the All Blacks and the Wallabies have done just that during the Tri-Nations, the Boks, sadly, have not.
Looking at this weekend, I am actually a bit worried.
I remain optimistic about what this team can achieve, but we just seem to be a bit confused at the moment. And that’s what worries me!
The Aussies will be confident of winning in Durban and rightly so. Their record at the Absa Stadium is not too bad – it’s Ellis Park that scares them – after all, they beat us in Durban in 2000 and there is also the Robbie Deans factor.
The Springboks need to take a leaf out of the All Blacks’ book and dominate the Wallabies physically. In order to achieve this, they need some structure in their game, however, and they need to disrupt the Wallaby set-piece.
The Wallabies are worried about their line-out, as can be seen from them dropping Nathan Sharpe and recalling Dan Vickerman, but the Boks need to attack up front in every department in order to stand a chance of winning.
Interestingly enough, I was speaking to England’s new attack coach, Brian Smith, at the weekend. Brian is an old coach of mine from Bath and he is currently in South Africa on a fact-finding mission ahead of the November Test against the Boks.
He believes that a guy like Victor Matfield is struggling to make an impact under the ELVs because there are fewer line-outs – Victor’s forté – and more scrums and hard grunt to do around the park.
His theory makes one think, but it is also makes one realise just how important it is to play to your strengths.
Fleckie’s prediction: This really is a tough call… And I am going to chicken out this week and sit on the fence. It really is too tough to call and it all depends on which Springbok team pitches up on the day.
* Before I leave you this week, some of you might have read about my involvement in the recently-launched Cape Town Tens.
Myself, Bob Skinstad and a guy I met through playing Tens, Ron Rutland, are confident that this venture will not only get off the ground, but also take the city by storm!
I honestly believe Tens has the potential to become a feeder for 15-man rugby like Sevens rugby currently is in South Africa. Eddies Jones, for one, believes in the virtues of using Tens rugby on the training ground and I love the way it helps develops ones skills and abilities to take advantage of the space given to you.
For us, Cape Town, the city, is a brand and it’s a brand that we intend to sell to the world. Our rationale behind hosting this event here is to get past players, current players and just about anybody that wants to, to come out to Cape Town for the Tens instead of going to other countries for basically exactly the same reason.
Cape Town has everything here, from beautiful beaches, to beautiful women, to amazing scenery, wine farms and some pretty unique shopping. If people are prepared to travel somewhere to play rugby, they should come to Cape Town for the full package.
Without trying to make this a personal advertorial, watch this column and the press for more exciting news! This tournament has massive potential…
Chat soon guys,
Fleckie
* Email Fleckie at rugby365@365digital.co.za with any comments.
* Fleckie’s ‘Last Word’ will appear weekly on rugby365.com and iafrica.com, so log on next week for more exclusive views from him!
