- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
In early 2010, I gave a newspaper clipping from the Sports Section of one newspaper to my son (who studies the Biomechanics of Sprinting). It was about why East Africans are good at distance running: because their navels are high, relative to Caucasian runners.
And the reason why Caucasian swimmers are good at swimming is that their navels are low (though my son took one look at the clipping and tossed it on his desk. He has a different hypothesis.)
I relegated the article to the back of my mind.
However, the notion that body shape can determine success in a particular undertaking returned to my mind while watching the first South Africa versus New Zealand Tri Nations match last year.
The consensus on The Roar was that it was one of the best displays of All Blacks skills against the Springboks.
Among other noteworthy instances of All Blacks superiority, Ohtani’s Jacket had remarked about the All Blacks defense – how they were tackling low, almost at the bootstraps, thereby stopping the forward momentum of the Springbok attack.
I thought: that’s the Springbok Achilles heel – the tendency to tackle high, as though unable to tackle low because they were barrel-chested and top-heavy.
I watched Victor Matfield particularly because he walks ramrod straight.
I’ve never seen Matfield tackle low.
In contrast, in that South Africa vs New Zealand Tri Nations match, Tom Donnelly, his opposite lock, was tackling low and giving it all he’s got.
I also watch Schalk Burger. He is tireless in the rucks, but his cleaning out is always high.
The amount of padding around the shoulders and chest cannot help the upper-body mobility of the Springboks.
Which brings me to last weekend’s “exhibition match” between the Crusaders and the Sharks at Twickenham.
Indeed, the Sharks forwards were massive.
As Ivan reports in Spiro’s article on the match, the Beast weighed 116 kg, Bismarck 114, CJ 122, Bakkies 116, Andries 120, Brussow 100, Louw 112, and Alberts 116. So when they ramped up their acceleration from the 43rd minute onwards, it was difficult for the Crusaders to stop them, and the Sharks were back in the game.
But some Crusaders remembered to tackle low, the most memorable of which was Dan Carter’s classic bootstrap tackle at the 57th minute (contrast it with SBW’s simultaneous, alleged shoulder charge).
And the two (relatively) small Crusaders wingers conjured a try in the 67th minute to give the Crusaders a comfortable lead.
Navels or barrel-shaped chests, I agree these are mere hypotheses.
But if the latter hypothesis helps defend against the Springboks, the conjecture matters not. The result is what matters.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.