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Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer is either tremendously smart or ridiculously mindless.
With his team cruising at 20-10 with about 20 minutes to go in South Africa’s Rugby Championship match against Australia at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, he made the amazing decision to replace his entire front row.
Powerhouse prop Jannie du Plessis was subbed in the 47th minute, while brother and hooker Bismark and fellow front-rower Tendai Mtawarira came off two minutes later.
Up until those key substitutions, the Springbok forwards totally bossed their Wallabies counterparts at scrum time and at the breakdown. And before the final whistle, all eight subs were on the field.
Talk about emptying the bench.
What was Meyer thinking? Could he have been thinking forward to a possible Rugby World Cup quarter-final against the same opponent? It’s quite possible given that the world tournament trumps the southern hemisphere competition.
He may have seen enough from his top chargers to know that they can own the Wallabies come the October 17 quarter-final showdown – assuming Michael Cheika’s men finish second to England in Pool A and South Africa win Pool B.
Then he gives his back-up players a run, thinking they could defend the 20-10 lead and win the game. But it wasn’t to be.
A win is a win in the Test arena but Cheika would be somewhat cautious following the Wallabies’ come-from-behind triumph after Tevita Kuridrani was adjudicated by the TMO to have scored a try after the hooter.
If the first three-quarters of the match is anything to go by, Cheika will know that his top XV will need to play extremely better than Saturday’s performance to come close to beating Meyer’s best XV. Also, Meyer will not be so lavish in his use of the bench at the knock-out stage of the World Cup.
The win, however, will no doubt give the Wallabies an abundance of confidence. But deep inside, captain Stephen Moore and his troops would appreciate that their remarkable win was made easier by Meyer’s decision to bring on his bench players.
That decision appeared to be a pre-planned move rather than one made after careful assessment of how the game was shaping up.
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.