Will the Boks come up with something new?

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By Spiro Zavos, 16 Jul 2010 Spiro Zavos is a Roar Expert

Tagged:: All Blacks, british and irish lions, Rugby Union, Springboks, Test rugby, Tri Nations

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During the past two years, the Springboks have come into each of their Tests with a new ploy to match the specific occasion. Against the British and Irish Lions last year, they disrupted the tourists scrum so effectively that they got off to a strong lead, which created the series win in the end.

In other Tests against the All Blacks and the Wallabies they’ve had lineout drives from inside their own half, or terrific plays from scrums inside the opposition’s 22. Or on one disastrous occasion for the Wallabies, they targeted Timana Tahu, and scored four tries on his side of the defensive wall.

At Eden Park, I was looking for the ploy. It never came.

Perhaps the ploy was to drop kick the All Blacks into defeat. Morne Steyn has kicked 5 dropped goals in15 Tests compared with Dan Carter’s two in his long career.

From the way Peter de Villiers and John Smit are talking, we can expect more of the same as at Eden Park at Wellington on Saturday night. Smit thinks that what went wrong against the All Blacks was that the Springboks were not mentally alert.

Nothing wrong with the tactics of kicking the ball away most of the time. Just that they didn’t ‘fetch’ the ball from their kicks.

I must say that I was surprised the Springboks did not take the catcher out with false jumping all over him at Eden Park. Bryan Habana usually does this, but the tactic (illegal of course) was not used.

Presumably, it will be brought back for Wellington.

The Springboks team with only two changes, CJ van der Linde at tight head prop and Danie Roussow to replace the disgraced Bakkies Botha, suggests that coach de Villiers is happy enough with his personnel.

This, in turn, suggests he is happy with the game plan, too, such as it was, at Eden Park.

Now that Botha has been sent back to South Africa, the question arises who will be the Springb0ks enforcer. The tactic of taking out important opposition players very earlier on in a Test remained the one constant at Eden Park.

Victor Matfield (an elbow to the head of Byron Kelleher) and Shalk Burger (eye-gouging against the Lions) are two possibilities for the enforcer role who have some form with this tactic.

Looking back on the Eden Park debacle, it is obvious that Fourie du Preez was the power of one in the Springboks side.

Du Preez is one of the great players in the history of rugby. He provides the Springboks with most of their running attacks with his devastating running from the scrums. His defence against kicks in uncanny.

His own kick and chase invariably puts pressure on opponents.

But the shrewdness and expertise of his passing is the real key to his and the Springboks game. While he is switching the attack and picking out the correct runner to pass to, the Springboks game plan becomes a thing of beauty in its variety and effectiveness.

But without him, the Springboks game becomes as predictable as the temper trantrums of their senior forwards.

On Saturday at windy Wellington the Springboks have the chance to redeem their game plan and their chances of retaining the Tri-Nations trophy.

Will they do this by coming up with something new? Somehow, without the genius of du Preez, I doubt it.

I hope I’m wrong but I think the traditional ‘might is right’ tactics might be the way a team that should be better than this will go.

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The Crowd Says (102) | Page 1 of Comments

nicksa said | July 16th 2010 @ 1:08am | Report comment

Du preez is a fantastic player but he i still is 1 player. If the boks can implement their game plan they can win this test! They need to make the tackles, win the line outs and steyns boot has to be on song. I personally believe PDV is doing the right thing with going with the same strategy as 1 week is not enough time to prepare for another. having said that the boks will be heavy underdogs, my heart says boks my head says all blacks will take it…

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counterruck said | July 16th 2010 @ 1:28am | Report comment

Pienaar would have been more of a like for like replacement for DuPreez at 9, he has a decent kicking game and good distribution. I guess you can hardly blame PVD for sticking with januarie, he does have a has a history of performing well against the AB’s in NZ. But it creates other issues in the backline, especially when Olivier is at 12. A januarie-steyn-olivier axis is very predictable. they are all good players but they dont compliment each other at all. I’m expecting the boks to improve this weekend but it will be predictable and ultimately wont be enough to turn it around.

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katzilla said | July 16th 2010 @ 3:01am | Report comment

I hope they come up with something new. Kicking the ball away isn’t going to cut it.
Im quite sure Rene Ranger will come in for a barrage of high kicks.
That will either work in the Boks favour or back fire horribly.
I’d imagine that Muliaina will be standing slightly closer to Rangers side of the field and calling his for anything thats not landing right on top of Rangers head. Then the offload to Ranger………….if he gets the same kind of kick chase game that Mills was running back into………..things could get very nasty for the Boks.
That being said I think the Boks will approach their kicks with a bit more enthusiasm, more chasers (well on Habanas side of the field anyway) and more contests for the ball (80% of which will be Habana)

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- TembaVJ said | July 16th 2010 @ 9:39am | Report comment
  
  Katz I have been wondering about the same thing, its a bit of a gamble to fully blood an inconsistent Rene against the boks game plan. I would have gone with a start for Dagg wing or fullback and MIlls wing or full back. playing Rene on wing is just as bad as playing Jean De Villiers on wing. The kicks chase game requires the oppositions back 3 to be experienced and on song if they are to counter this plan.
  
  The selection makes me think Henry has realised that missing Du Preez has broken the game plan for the boks and he is going for full on attack. I wonder if this is wise as the boks clearly did not pitch up for last weeks game and if they do lift it the AB’s might be a bit of trouble at the back.
  
  PDV with picking JDV and Habanna on the wings knew henry would tell his boys to run everything, hence Jeans ridiculous attempts at intercepts. PDV said win the lineouts push them back into their 22, make them run it and the intercepts will come.
  
  Kick chase is good when you don’t have to make up 20 points.
  
  The bulls as much as they are hated combined the kick chase game with a some awesome ball in hand running and scored plenty of 5 pointers in the S14 why cant the boks do the same?
  
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  - Ben S said | July 16th 2010 @ 9:56am | Report comment
    
    ‘The bulls as much as they are hated combined the kick chase game with a some awesome ball in hand running and scored plenty of 5 pointers in the S14 why cant the boks do the same?’
    
    Probably the same reason that the Wallabies don’t play like the Reds, Temba. Different ball game.
    
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    - TembaVJ said | July 16th 2010 @ 10:02am | Report comment
      
      I hear you ben my point is that surely the kick chase game plan can also include attacking with ball in hand?
      
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      - Ben S said | July 16th 2010 @ 10:11am | Report comment
        
        One would hope that a mixture could be achieved, especially from such an experience side. I still can’t work out why JdV is on the wing? He’s not a great kicker, but he isn’t that fast either, and he hasn’t played on the wing in years. Why choose a game based on kicking and chasing when one of the back three is an ageing centre?
        
        The weekend will answer all questions. We know that the SA super sides can play with the ball, and we know that the Springboks can. Maybe it will turn out to be one bad performance, or maybe the side needs some of the players that performed against Wales to galvanise the team?
        
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        TembaVJ said | July 16th 2010 @ 10:23am | Report comment
        
        If SA had a very experienced fullback I would have said fine play Jean on the wing but Zane is still green. That leaves Habanna and he can’t be chasing the ball and dropping back for defence at the same time.
        
        Every year it’s the same thing, lots of hope for the boks and along comes PDV with his weird selections. I know its only one game and way too early to ask for the coach’s head but the selection does not make sense. It’s crippled the back 3 and added nothing on attack. Fattie January seems slower the Gregan in his last year and lacking in kicking ability.
        
        Aplon on the wing, Pienaar at 9, bench Olivier and move De Viliers to 12…. Compliments the kick chase, better in attack and defence, ads another kicking options and brings back pace to the wings… simple hey?
- inkosi said | July 16th 2010 @ 10:05am | Report comment
  
  Katzilla – if Rene is on he’ll be fantastic to watch he’s definitely got that x-factor!
  
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  - TembaVJ said | July 16th 2010 @ 10:12am | Report comment
    
    And if he is not it will destroy his confidence and I have a lot of hope for him. Its doesn’t make sense to me playing him on the wing when you need solid back 3 experience for this match?
    
    I might be wrong, am I alone in thinking this, patriotic blinkers aside?
    
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    - Hayden said | July 16th 2010 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
      
      I’m wondering what Hosea Gear has to do do get back in black. He was in devastating form for the Maori. That said, I’m a big Ranger fan.
      
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    - katzilla said | July 16th 2010 @ 5:01pm | Report comment
      
      Your right Temba,
      Its a complete Gamble and maybe it shows Henrys plan to go for the throat.
      The safe option would have been the back 3 all fullbacks who are superb under the high ball.
      Dagg, Mulliaina, Jane.
      
      Reply
Ben S said | July 16th 2010 @ 4:33am | Report comment

‘During the past two years, the Springboks have come into each of their Tests with a new ploy to match the specific occasion. Against the British and Irish Lions last year, they disrupted the tourists scrum so effectively that they got off to a strong lead, which created the series win in the end.

In other Tests against the All Blacks and the Wallabies they’ve had lineout drives from inside their own half, or terrific plays from scrums inside the opposition’s 22. Or on one disastrous occasion for the Wallabies, they targeted Timana Tahu, and scored four tries on his side of the defensive wall.’

Don’t follow? SA have played the same way since the disastrous 2008 3N: accurate kicking, rush defence, accurate lineout, little backplay and good mauling. They haven’t entered each match with a new ‘ploy’, beyond focusing on their own strengths (which so many teams found hard to counter), and attacking occasional weaknesses of specific teams (NZ v the rush defence), which is basically what all international sides do. In any case, how can three scrums (v GB & Irish Lions) constitute a ploy, for example?

‘Victor Matfield (an elbow to the head of Byron Kelleher) and Shalk Burger (eye-gouging against the Lions) are two possibilities for the enforcer role who have some form with this tactic.’

Provicativeness for the sake of it? Methinks Matfield won’t be trying to enforfce anything, and that an isolated incident doesn’t suggest otherwise.

Anyway… SA will no doubt be more pumped up this week, and less lethargic. The question is whether players like Steenkamp, Van der Linde, Rossouw, Spies, Januarie and Olivier have enough ability to match NZ, and whether players like Smit, Matfield, Burger and JdV are finally nearing the end of their careers? Another point to consider is that the NZ play was close to flawless in the 1st Test. As skilled as the All Blacks are it would take a phenomenal performance to match the heights of last week. That PdV has spoken glibly of maintaining the same brand as last season means the NZ job might be that much easier. Without the creativity and accuracy of Du Preez, as Spiro notes, SA look one-dimensional, and flat. If the forwards can deliver then somebody else in the 10-12-13 channel will have to accept leadership.

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Lee said | July 16th 2010 @ 5:29am | Report comment

To me, it’s not just the absence of du preez but also brussouw and frans steyn.

Brussouw to slow the ball down obviously(something sa sides have always missed). Steyn to act as a reason why the opposition should kick it out, without steyn the opposition have no reason to kick the ball out.

Also, du preez was instrumental in the kick chase game, not just for his up and unders but also for his ability to drop back and field the kicks. The opposition think twice about not kicking it out(like the abs at Eden park in the first half) when you either have a massive boot like steyn or one of the mostaccurate like du preez.

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- Seiran said | July 16th 2010 @ 6:56am | Report comment
  
  ‘Steyn to act as a reason why the opposition should kick it out’
  
  Why because if they don’t he will take one of his hail mary drop goal attempts that more times miss than hit the mark? I don’t think so.
  
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  - Lee said | July 16th 2010 @ 7:41am | Report comment
    
    Or boot it back 50m…there is no doubt that his DG attempts were often useless but ask the Wallabies what happened when they wern’t.
    
    To be honest, I think it was much more FDP covering at the back that was a deterent to the opp not booting it back there. It is amazing how much ground the man covered.
    
    In my opinion, the fact that FDP is not around this tri-nations means that the Boks should have written off the kick chase game and used this comp to build the exciting newbies like Aplon and De Jongh. We know we have a side(with fdp) that can play the type of rugby you need to win a WC(not saying we will just that we can), so why not try out the players that are best suited to a running game and see if we can do that.
    
    Lets face it the odds of winning in NZ are slim, so why not experiment – unless the plan is to experiment back in SA where we are more likely to win?
    
    Reply
darwin stubby said | July 16th 2010 @ 5:47am | Report comment

The weather will have a massive say in how this test plays out … the AB’s will be just as motivated as last week – the boks will be closer but still no cigar if wet, if dry then expect the same … wet NZ by 12 … dry NZ by 20 + ..

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chris said | July 16th 2010 @ 7:19am | Report comment

Hey All,

Im in North america at the moment – Does anyone know what channel i can watch the Tri Nations on? (not keen to stream it on dodgey hotel wireless connection).
Doesnt look like setanta is showing it, nor espn. Im in Portland Oregon for work training.
Any help much appreciatied.

Cheers

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- Zolton said | July 16th 2010 @ 7:49am | Report comment
  
  Hi Chris, you should sign up to Rugbyzone.com — very reasonable monthly fee ($20 or so) and all the Tri Nation action, live and replayed.
  
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  - chris said | July 16th 2010 @ 9:15am | Report comment
    
    thanks zoltan – would have preffered to watch it at a pub – but just dont know if its broadcasted on a TV station thats playing over here.
    
    i remember someone from new york mentioning they watched super 14 on a tv at a bar. Not so keen watching by myself in my hotel room if you know what i mean.
    
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    - Brett McKay said | July 16th 2010 @ 10:50am | Report comment
      
      Chris, some Roarers back at the time of the Setanta collapse reported that Fox Soccer channel had picked up most if not all rugby coverage, and I’m pretty sure I recall someone saying they watched the Super 14 on FSC, so maybe look into that somewhere…
      
      Reply
    - ohtani's jacket said | July 16th 2010 @ 11:24am | Report comment
      
      Check out the Irish pubs — http://www.yelp.com/c/portland/irish
      
      Even if it’s not being broadcast, they may use an internet feed.
      
      Reply
allblackfan said | July 16th 2010 @ 7:42am | Report comment

Kicking high at Wellington on a good day is a gamble at best.
Kicking high on a bad night — uh oh!!

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Sam Taulelei said | July 16th 2010 @ 7:45am | Report comment

What about if the All Blacks come up with something new?

As Darwin pointed out the weather is always a great leveller when playing in windy Wellington. Executing the basics well in windy conditions will add to the pressure on both teams and ball security will be critical if playing into a strong southerly.

The wind will make winning lineouts more important, wet conditions will make winning scrums more important. Accuracy will be the watchword for both sides.

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- mother teresa said | July 16th 2010 @ 9:33pm | Report comment
  
  how many wellingtonians in the ab team;im sure they will adapt to conditions wet/windy better than bok.agreed?
  
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counterruck said | July 16th 2010 @ 7:55am | Report comment

a couple of questions for the kiwis out there : isnt a running/high octane game equally risky in those conditions? am i right in saying the boks havent won in wellington since 1998?

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- Jerry said | July 16th 2010 @ 8:27am | Report comment
  
  You would be right, but from memory they’ve only played there a couple of times since – there was one match in 02 and one in 06, I think.
  
  Edit – forgot, they also played there in 2008.
  
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