It took 43 minutes of play in the vibrant Springboks versus All Blacks Test at the Ellis Park coliseum (with visitors usually playing the role of the Christians about to be confronted with raging lions) for Handre Pollard to hoist his first high kick of the match.
Against the Wallabies at Cape Town, a week earlier, the Springboks put on series after series of ball-in-hand attacks, one of them reaching 30 phases.
Before these two important home Tests for the Springboks, the South African media had been giving the national side a battering for their kick-happy play and begging them, as Andy Capostagno did in the Mail & Guardian, to front up and prove that they are better than their results suggest.
In their first four matches of the Rugby Championship 2014, the Springboks had possession of the ball for only 13 minutes and 6 seconds in each match; the lowest possession of any team in the tournament.
The low rate of possession was not due to poor set pieces. The Springboks’ lineout, as demonstrated against the All Blacks, is the best in the tournament. The Springboks’ backrow too, especially with Duane Vermeulen in devastating form, has dominated all their opposition loose forwards in the break down area (again, as they did against the All Blacks).
The possession problem for the Springboks was due entirely to the brain-dead strategy of once winning the ball from set pieces or from rucks, then kicking it away to the opposition to use in whatever way they wanted. By way of highlighting this kick-first and then think-later approach, the Springboks averaged 33 kicks from general play each match before their last two Tests against the Wallabies and the All Blacks.
Out of South Africa, the Springboks could have been deemed one-trick/kick ponies.
Back in South Africa, however, a remarkable transformation in the Springboks game plan has taken place. If it weren’t for their green jerseys, you would have sworn the Springboks were the All Blacks.
The transformation had a slightly shaky start against the Wallabies. It was only in the last 10 minutes of the Cape Town Test that the Springboks’ multi-phase game overwhelmed the Wallabies and three tries were scored as the floodgates opened.
Against the All Blacks, the floodgates opened early on as the Springboks scored two sensational tries against the tightest defence in world rugby. One of the tries was from long distance, the sort of position on the field that the inevitable Morne Steyn bomb would be launched.
The All Blacks came back, as they usually do, but the Springboks forced the last two penalties of the Test, one of them converted by choirboy match-winner Patrick Lambie, and the other to end on the final whistle the last series of phases by the All Blacks with play inside the Springboks half.
Here we have to note the other major change in the Springboks preparation. The coaching staff have realised that it is all very well to aspire to the ball-in-hand game, but a team has to be super-fit (like the All Blacks) to do so. So the Springboks conditioner has deliberately aimed to produce lean and mean forwards, rather than the beefy monsters of the past who looked as though they had spent breakfast, lunch, dinner and a late super in a fast food hang-out.
There was just enough energy left in the Springboks’ tired bodies to repel that last desperate All Blacks attack. The Springboks’ fitness is the key to pushing on with their new, ball-in-hand game.
We only have to look at the way the Wallabies have been collapsing in the latter stages of their Tests to see that there is more to running rugby than merely expressing the intention to play this type of game. It only works if the energy levels remain high throughout the Test. Someone needs to tell Ewen McKenzie this simple truth.
The other requirement for the running game is that the playmakers, essentially the halfback and flyhalf, have to buy into the method. For the Springboks this meant dropping Steyn, not only from the starting XV but from the 23-man playing squad.
Pollard, the new golden boy of South African rugby (a deserved credit, incidentally) has provided a flat alignment, an instinct for running the ball, and a devastating break, as he showed with his try against the All Blacks, all in the manner of a young Dan Carter.
When he is substituted, Lambie comes on and attacks the line with more sinuous running, but the effect is the same. The Springboks’ backline in the last two Tests, especially, has been taking the ball into the contact areas and engaging the defence rather than trying to overwhelm the opposition by giving them the ball and then trying to tackle them into submission.
That all this is happening under the coaching regime of Heyneke Meyer is a revelation to Springboks supporters who see him as the disciple of the ‘Blue Bulls**t’ kicking game.
A well-informed friend of mine in South Africa sent me an email after the Springboks victory over the All Blacks saying this: “I cannot bring myself to like Meyer as a coach but am forced through gritted teeth to admit that he is starting to loosen the chains of conservatism which courses through the blood of a good Blue Bull.”
The test for Meyer and his Springboks’ devotion to the running game will come when the Springboks struggle to defeat a tenacious side or sides on their European tour this year or during the Rugby Championship in 2015.
The traditional psychological fallback position for Springboks side when they are under pressure is to adopt the laager mentality, circle the wagons and retreat into a fortress defensive mentality.
Meyer – whose history shows is clearly infused with the laager mentality – will have to encourage the break-out, attack mentality for his team, even when his instincts are screaming out for him to bring back old iron boots himself, Steyn.
The point here is that the ball-in-hand game has to be played with a certain nerveless efficiency to be truly effective.
What happens next for the Springboks is the crucial factor. Will they build on the gains made with their expansive game plan on the European tour? Or will they revert to type?
For now, though, we can speculate on what has happened and make the observation that the Springboks look like the team that will present a formidable challenge to any other side, including the All Blacks, in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
I would make one other point, which relates to the All Blacks. In the past when the All Blacks lost a Test there would be national grieving and predictions that they are rooned and might never win again. This is an age-old New Zealand meme. I remember as a youngster being told when our local team lost that “the blinds will be down in every house on the block”.
I have been impressed with the calmness and rationality the New Zealand media and public have taken. It started with Steve Hansen conceding that the better team won. The media has pointed out, as Sir Graham Henry did a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of an inevitable loss, that good teams learn a lot more from losses than they do from defeats.
The All Blacks will learn that Beauden Barrett is too passive at number 10. He tends to recycle rather than engage the defensive line. His best position may ultimately be fullback for the All Blacks. Israel Dagg misses too many tackles to be a totally convincing custodian. The pack needs someone like Vermeulen, who can really put dents and holes into the opposition defensive line with his charges. Brodie Retallick was being used, successfully, for this job and his absence was a factor in the All Blacks loss.
Getting back to the Springboks, now that Meyer and his team cannot be dismissed as one-trick ponies, the question is whether they can build on the momentum and excitement generated against the Wallabies and the All Blacks on their November.
If they can, then watch out everyone during Rugby World Cup 2015. The Springboks will be on the march.
sturugbymad
Guest
Well after reading some of the comments so far , I can truly say that all of you love rugby. Before looking ahead to 2015 lets see what 2014 has shown us. For me the main issue with the ABs is breakdown , breakdown , breakdown. After Sydney I aimed the guns at McCaw and considering his recent performances since I admit I was wrong and does need to be in the team but he still does not bring breakdown dominant performances that the ABs need. Sam Cane needs game time now this tour , not 15 minutes proper time. Next year in NH conditions it's going to be damp ,wet conditions where you need fighters to win ball . SA and Eng will do this all day to slow ball and in numbers ! Reid was taken out his usual roaming role because he had to do the donkey work that Retallick does at Ellis Park. That is a major weapon gone that stood out in 2013. The ABs need to match Vermuelen , Bismarck , Coetzee and Flouw as forward ball stealers. We have Coles , Retallick , Cane (for 15min) and maybe McCaw.....enough ? Smith , Piatau , Fekitoa at loose play breakdown great but they are not there in forward exchanges. We need dynamic back up at breakdown. It's too much of a gamble to rely on Retallick action man for the WC. What if he doesn't play ? Solutions ....Cane for more than 15 min , more aggressive coaching for breakdown work , who knows .... bring in Todd more regular ? As for EOYT Smith at fullback , Piatua and Savea wings . Just a thought
sturugbymad
Guest
Well after reading some of the comments so far , I can truly say that all of you love rugby. Before looking ahead to 2015 lets see what 2014 has shown us. For me the main issue with the ABs is breakdown , breakdown , breakdown. After Sydney I aimed the guns at McCaw and considering his recent performances since I admit I was wrong and does need to be in the team but he still does not bring breakdown dominant performances that the ABs need. Sam Cane needs game time now this tour , not 15 minutes proper time. Next year in NH conditions it's going to be damp ,wet conditions where you need fighters to win ball . SA and Eng will do this all day to slow ball and in numbers ! Reid was taken out his usual roaming role because he had to do the donkey work that Retallick does at Ellis Park. That is a major weapon gone that stood out in 2013. The ABs need to match Vermuelen , Bismarck , Coetzee and Flouw as forward ball stealers. We have Coles , Retallick , Cane (for 15min) and maybe McCaw.....enough ? Smith , Piatau , Fekitoa at loose play breakdown great but they are not there in forward exchanges. We need dynamic back up at breakdown. It's too much of a gamble to rely on Retallick action man for the WC. What if he doesn't play ? Solutions ....Cane for more than 15 min , more aggressive coaching for breakdown work , who knows .... bring in Todd more regular ? As for EOYT Smith at fullback , Piatua and Savea wings . Just a thought
sturugbymad
Guest
Well after reading some of the comments so far , I can truly say that all of you love rugby. Before looking ahead to 2015 lets see what 2014 has shown us. For me the main issue with the ABs is breakdown , breakdown , breakdown. After Sydney I aimed the guns at McCaw and considering his recent performances since I admit I was wrong and does need to be in the team but he still does not bring breakdown dominant performances that the ABs need. Sam Cane needs game time now this tour , not 15 minutes proper time. Next year in NH conditions it's going to be damp ,wet conditions where you need fighters to win ball . SA and Eng will do this all day to slow ball and in numbers ! Reid was taken out his usual roaming role because he had to do the donkey work that Retallick does at Ellis Park. That is a major weapon gone that stood out in 2013. The ABs need to match Vermuelen , Bismarck , Coetzee and Flouw as forward ball stealers. We have Coles , Retallick , Cane (for 15min) and maybe McCaw.....enough ? Smith , Piatau , Fekitoa at loose play breakdown great but they are not there in forward exchanges. We need dynamic back up at breakdown. It's too much of a gamble to rely on Retallick action man for the WC. What if he doesn't play ? Solutions ....Cane for more than 15 min , more aggressive coaching for breakdown work , who knows .... bring in Todd more regular ? As for EOYT Smith at fullback , Piatua and Savea wings . Just a thought
Nigel owen
Guest
Coconut from what you read on here the nz public seems like they are very disturbed by the loss the only two games this year played at highest level the all blacks are 50% the two bok games people need to get real the bledisloe is very weak at the moment and dont forget a draw against a pathetic wallaby team the only strong showing from nz was the thrashing of aus in auckland against weakest aus team in maybe 20 years For a team that has never won an away world cup hansen would be concerned id put boks and england favourites on that alone i doubt they give a toss about the rc the all blacks need to get real winning the bledisloe is now no big deal
Jerry
Guest
"When Bakkies Botha headbutted Cowan after the ball had moved on the TV was looped again and again before the ref even spoke to Bakkies.. Did it influence the decision? I dont know but when there are such replays there will be the potential of this happening" I think I can answer, no it didn't influence the decision cause there was no decision from that. It was missed by the ref & assistants entirely. Bakkies got yellow carded for an unrelated professional foul (killing the ball on the Bok tryline) about 5 minutes later.
Coconut
Guest
Actually for once Ivan I agree with you, they should do away with the RC in WC year....
Coconut
Guest
So by that measure you'd give the SBs a 2/6? ;)
Jerry
Guest
Ivan - Burger didn't stay down. He gets up, receives a pass two phases later, shovels it on to Le Roux then follows up for a pick and go. He's standing right beside the ruck that gets blown up leading to the turnover about 30m downfield.
Jerry
Guest
Not exactly immediate. The play is stopped, the replay starts so for the next 40 odd seconds there's no live footage. The replay of the Burger tackle takes place 12 seconds after the scrum is blown up (during which we hear Barnes explaining the reasons for the turnover), immediately after we hear Barnes say "Are we good?" then "Stop". About 12-15 seconds after that we hear Barnes start a conversation with JDV as he's talking to him when live footage resumes. So even if JDV was the one Barnes said "Are we good?" to (and I suspect he wasn't because it doesn't appear as if Barnes is having much of a discussion following that) then the issue wasn't raised till after the replay.
Coconut
Guest
How do you know what he was talking about Deano - he might have been talking about the game which decided the Bledisloe and the one which decided the RC. In which case, here's a fact for you - they were 100% successful in both. In any case though, those were the ones that mattered to me as an AB supporter, and I would suspect, a pretty big reason why the NZ rugby public aren't too fussed about the weekend result - they know, as everyone else does here, that that Ellis Park game could easily have gone either way, its been a long campaign, and in the end, the ABs have all the silverware locked away in the trophy cabinet for another year.
Coconut
Guest
Hmmm... really? I suppose there hasn't been since 2003 eh 'King'? Or was that 1999?
Common Sense
Guest
God I hated him.
Coconut
Guest
Yeah well, I'm guessing if it gets talked about much longer, some including myself are going to be accused of sour grapes, so I'll leave it there. I thought it was strange at the time, mainly because play had carried on, and was thinking, man, how far back do they go with this stuff? But I accept your interpretation of it BB, and besides I still think the SBs edged the ABs on this one, and so deserved the win regardless.
44bottles
Roar Guru
Who do you think should be starting 5? Matfield is the best in the lineout, but does he the most around the park? Where's the balance.
44bottles
Roar Guru
You said something positive about Hooper. You should know better than that ;)
IvanN
Guest
Coconut - Not sure if you watched the game live ? but from my account at Ellis Park... Burger gets hit high, goes to ground, the ruck ensues and is recycled where teh ball is lost - play stops and burger stays down. At that same time, de Villiers walks over the Barnes to chat. The TV replay is shown as Div starts talking to barnes and the crowd howls. De Villiers asks barnes to check the tackle which he duly does. For my money, thats fair and has been done by every captain of every good team in every test ? What was so untoward about that ? regardless of the TV replay - Div was already going to ask Barnes to check hte tackle, because Burger stayed down.
Jerry
Guest
The difference is the Botha replay had no material effect on the match as the Replay protocols didn't allow the ref to review for foul play. The Messam replay had a large material effect obviously. If they're gonna allow refs to check for foul play, there need to be some sort of protocols to ensure that the selective replay from the broadcaster isn't a factor.
IvanN
Guest
David, this has been happening for years in Aussie tests especially - I always notice how selective the TV coverage gets, I cant give you example off the top of my head but many times I have spotted an incident where a wallaby has done something wrong, and we get no replay of it - often hte player was not even cited so good was that video editing. When a bok does the same, the replay is shown over and over from various angles, and of course the crowd goes bananas. I guess thats always going to happen now. Your suggestion is probably the best solution, but unlikely its going to happen. People want to see the replays . I say, let it be - if theres an incident that was missed - the TV ref can stop play and speak to the ref. It should also help fix discipline, especially when playing against team who do alot off the ball like Samoa, Fiji and Argentina.
Usually Matfield, Pieter Steph du Toit for the SHarks, but Meyer thinks he was intimidated in his starts to tell the senior players where the ball must go, I suspect Meyer believes he is still too young. I know he tried Etzebeth a few times, but it seems he wasn't happy with him. FLip v d Merwe can also call the line outs. Biggest issue is all the callers are injured bar Victor.
IvanN
Guest
We ran them close in both tests, i think this year we are closer to NZ than 2013 - despite that great test at Ellis Park, we still lost it by more than 10. This year... a win and a loss in NZ by 4 where we really could have won and finished stronger than NZ.... when last did that happen ? Its not that NZ has wilted in any way, but that SA has made some good improvements towards the latter part of the RC. We always had the pack to compete, but Pollard and an inform Hougie adds more to our game and brings the backs into play. For my money, this was a successful RC for south africa - Had we not thrown the game against Aus... who knows ? Then bring back Malherbe, PSDT, Flo and Willem to compliment this pack - get the conditioning up even more, im quite happy with where we are 1 year out.