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The Boks must first build a foundation, then bring the flair

Are the Springboks capable of mixing rhino with ballerina? (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Guru
17th August, 2015
8

The Boks gained a shot of confidence after overturning the Argentineans in their backyard on Saturday night, and rightly so after the previous weekend.

We have all (myself included) been caught up in the hysteria of playing a more attractive brand of rugby. The Boks have been a pleasure to watch for the most part, however we need to be cognisant of the fact that we must not lose our identity in terms of how we play but rather add to that identity of our traditional strengths.

South Africa, in a very simplistic and basic summation of our strengths, is forward orientated with a good kicking flyhalf and backs which resemble forwards with more than a generous dose of pace being used sparsely.

On Saturday night the Boks easily left three tries begging in the second half and while that is a concern and continues to be, the fact that those opportunities were created came from a solid foundation laid by the forward pack and smart tactical kicking.

The Bok pack is one of the most vaunted in the world game, due in no small part to our genetic ability to produce large human specimens that are built for contact sports.

The ability of the Bok pack to gain ascendency at the coal face has and always will be an element opposition teams do their homework on and must not be forgotten about by the current coaching staff.

It is a fearful weapon to have in your arsenal. The forward pack has an advantage and should have dominance over their opponents for significant periods of the game.

However, the Boks of late have been a bit too quick to look to go wide or keep ball in hand, and here I believe we have made our most crucial error.

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The cliché of earning the right to go wide is imperative to the Boks and they must fully appreciate the situations presented to them during a match. Therefore we need to use our traditional strengths of getting the heavies over the advantage line and gaining a positional field advantage first before looking to spread the ball wide.

At the same time however, if it is good to go wide from the start then that is first prize, but very often is this the case.

While I appreciate every person who has ever played the game will understand the cliché “earn the right to go wide” and it is basic, yet it is wholly true. It is more prevalent for the Boks due in part to them striving to play more expansively which is not first nature in this country, hence the celebrations of players such as Willie Le Roux, Jesse Kriel and Handre Pollard.

But in order for us to be able to unleash those players from an attacking point of view, they need forward momentum and to a lesser degree field position. These players and many others can and will showcase their attacking skills if the situation presents it self and that will only be achieved by dominance upfront coupled with intelligent various forms of kicks.

A great example of taking an opportunity which presented itself was Pat Lambie’s drop goal. After hammering away at the Argentineans defence, with not many options out wide and the forwards being gang tackled, Lambie slipped into the pocket and took three points via a drop goal. For me this smart rugby, summing up a situation, making the right decision and taking the advantage with points on the scoreboard.

I am not for one second saying we revert back to type and arguable play ten-man rugby. I am an ardent fan of the Boks’ desire to play attractive rugby, but it must be interwoven and a style of play must suit in regards to opposition, weather and the importance of the Test match.

If the Boks can amalgamate their dominant forward pack, good tactical kicking and explosive backs into a holistic approach you would be a fool to bet against them. The closest The Boks got to an overall perfect game plan was 2013, we were breathtaking in our running ability, our tactical kicking was on point and our forwards were titans.

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The burning question is how do they replicate that style? And the simple answer to that is by having a solid foundation at first, and expression and razzle dazzle will follow.

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