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Opinion
Watching rugby with my wife is hilarious. She has an opinion or two, and she dished out some gold during the Springboks and All Blacks game.
She follows rugby like I do the Kardashians (not at all), so I forgive her for having a limited view of the game. She thinks the guy on TV is called Sonny-Bill Wilson and played rugby for the Wallabies. Bless. Love you Darl.
And yet her observations of rugby are simple and honest. Sometimes they’re about things like the state of the Kiwis’ hair and that Jacques Nienaber looks like a Bond Villian, but against the All Blacks she made some obvious and salient points.
Comment 1: “Why did they kick?”
Why indeed, Darl. Five minutes to go and the Boks are in the lead. Not only should they keep possession, but on two occasions they manufacture a six-on-three overlap inside the All Blacks half and they then decide to kick the ball away.
The Springboks game plan is a good one. It won them a Rugby Championship, World Cup and Lions series all in a short period of time. However, they need to improve their awareness of when it’s time to run and pass.
Those moments in the game frustrated me because they’re the ones the plan is there to create. The coaches need a slight change in approach to move the players’ instincts away from always kicking first.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Comment 2: “70 per cent? Isn’t that a bit low?”
Yes, Darl, it is. Handre Pollard’s conversion rate is well below what you’d expect at international level.
He has a lot of supporters, so I’ll whisper this: he has a very limited skill set for a flyhalf. Yes, he’s been a part of the Boks’ recent success, but despite being a solid player, what else does he bring to the team?
I watched him closely and he kicked well out of hand, but it’s the other parts of his game where he is lacking.
In those last five minutes when the Boks created overlaps, Faf de Klerk and then Handre Pollard both kicked the ball away. On each occasion he should have recognised the play was on and called it. But he didn’t.
Furthermore, when he did run and pass his game was littered with poor option-taking and execution. He grassed and misplaced passes, and in the final play he hit a spent and isolated Franco Mostert when he should have gone behind him to the backline in space.
Perhaps this all explains why the Boks use Willie le Roux as the chosen ballplayer in broken play.
I’m not saying Pollard is a bad rugby player, but my point is that if the Boks want to develop their game, they might need a better rounded ten.
While they’re at it, they should give Damian Willemse a crack at No. 12 – Damian de Allende is quality, but I’d like to see what Willemse can do in this position – and Aphelele Fassi a crack at fullback.
Comment 3: “Why did he drop it?”
True, Darl, Mostert did drop the ball in the final play, but it’s perhaps a touch harsh given the guy’s played his guts out and the pass from Pollard might have been unexpected.
It got me thinking: if the Boks move away from a 6-2 split and have only one lock on the bench, should he be there? Mostert is a grafter and will never let the team down, but he does not have the athleticism, speed and soft ball skills of RG Snyman, who is the ideal replacement lock.
Comment 4: “He’s a little fella!”
Not that I’d say it to his face, Darl, but Bongi Mbonambi is a little fella. He rolls around the park like a boulder smashing into anything that’s in his way. He generally wins his battles and hits his jumpers. But he lacks the athleticism and on-the-ball skills of Malcolm Marx, who is too good to leave on the bench playing a limited number of minutes.
Joseph Dweba might be an option off the bench given he has a similar playing style to Marx and is young enough to be there at the next two World Cups. It might be time to run those two in tandem.
So there you go, Mr Bond Villain. Here’s my wife’s simple and honest five-point plan to improve the Boks: keep the game plan but help the players identify when to run and pass, find a No. 10 with a better rounded game, give some pacy players a run in the backline, and find an athletic lock and hooker with good ball skills.
Back to you, Sonny-Bill Wilson.
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.