RSA’s participation in The Rugby Championship renewed the meaning and opportunity of a question that still alters the dream of coaches: how to play superior rugby and not die trying?
All teams gave their answer to the question, even from their own limitations. RSA and NZL, generated their own positioning throughout the championship and their own series.
In terms of Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, we would say that “Invincibility is a question of defence, vulnerability, a question of attack.”
This line of argument, ‘attack not to die’ could be considered the permanent imprint of the NZL. Defender to mitigate risks would be the contribution that RSA -the least defeated defence – would make to all this.
Faced with Australia, the South African attack did not live up to what we expected without challenging its limits. He accumulated 43 points compared to 58 for Australians, with an effectiveness in the Visit 22 M. / Tries ratio of 23.5 per cent.
These are clearly discouraging metrics for South Africans. By proposing from the beginning of Rugby Championship an extreme kicking game, RSA deliberately omitted other options based on enhancing transition play and semi-attacks, assuming the consequences of better management of the passing game in backfield by AUS.
The video below shows how the attack by Handré Pollard (10) and Willie Le Roux (15) is magnificently defused by Quade Cooper (10) and relaunched by Samu Kerevi (12).
RSA turned out to be the least compromised defence in the Rugby Championship with only nine tries received and 29 breaks conceded.
Compared to 10 tries against and 32 breaks conceded by NZL: could we say that the difference between the RSA and NZL games turned out to be more apparent than real? In this clash of styles both had to give up initiatives and share roles.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Thanks to this forced withdrawal, we were able to see NZL in unusual situations, taking extreme defence and tightening the game, but also RSA optimising its attack variants and tuning in to the high quality of some of its players.
In the following video we see how RSA attacks from the lineout and loses possession, to then generate defensive pressure until causing the unforced error of Codie Taylor (2).
Having started in a very bad way and with a team affected by injuries such as James O’Connor or Jake Gordon, Australia was rearming its strategy under the leadership of Dave Rennie, who initially bet on the youth of Tate McDermott, Noah Lolesio, Len Ikitau and the ineffable Andrew Kellaway (1.16 tries per match).
However, Rennie did not hesitate to bring Quade Cooper in as a playmaker, which paid off in the series against RSA where AUS was able to establish itself and obtain its best effectiveness metrics.
Finally, ARG has shown a low stature in relation to the resources it has available. Undoubtedly staying away from home for so long deeply affected the team, which managed to retain possession but without projecting it into territorial ambition.
Argentina is the only team that showed, on average, more possession than the territory, as a result of their lack of aggressiveness and assumption. risk. The video below presents us with some of the workings of the attack and the breakdown of Argentina against Australia.
In a world of diffuse borders, limits today assume features of instability and propose various ways of thinking about rugby. There, the classifications are no longer static but provisional.
We can say that in Rugby Championship the approaches focused mainly on defence or attacks gave way and gave maximum interest to a better resolution of the breakdown as a success factor.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
OK, I read that article when it was first published and I have just read it again. Where does it mention anything about Coleman replacing Arnold?
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
I love the first comment on Sun Tsu very much. The rest, not so much
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Say bajada very quietly. It's a very sore topic with one of our Argentinian friends when used incorrectly
scubasteve
Guest
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/wazza-and-aussie-dave-inside-the-wallabies-rebuild-20211013-p58zmw.html#comments Apparently, Arnold is out and Coleman in according to Georgina' interpretation of Rennie's quote.
Francisco Roldan
Roar Rookie
it's true Big A ...! ARG has lost weight in scrummaging. Urgent corrections and reviving the scrum culture as a launching pad are required in order to progress. Otherwise it is difficult to compete.
Poco Loco
Roar Rookie
Sorry Francisco, If that is the case then Tooly needs to express himself better. He said "The real ratings would be SA. Then NZ, England, France and Ireland in any order. Brave Aussies 6/7." From a native English speaker's point of view there is no other interpretation other than the one I made. Cheers.
Big A
Roar Rookie
it's called bajada - you guys invented it - you should go back to that - ask Topo Rodriguez the master - best scrummager of all time - legend
Francisco Roldan
Roar Rookie
Hi Harry, how are you...! You have introduced a very interesting theoretical touch to the analysis I propose: the history of rivalries and paternities in the game is perhaps a simple collection of metaphors ...? I like that concept.
Harry Jones
Expert
You make an interesting point. A hard look at these two teams over the years reveals less of a difference than dogma suggests in how they exit, do set piece, construct phases (neither does much of the 10-phase thing), counter, and score-concede. The biggest difference is in how each handle their single greatest common foe: Australia. Against England, both win at about the same rate, but maybe SA handles a good England better. SA struggles to get above 50-50 with the Wallabies. Perpetually. NZ owns the head-to-head against SA, but NOT by playing NBA-ball, which the ABs can do against lesser opponents better than SA against those same foes.
Francisco Roldan
Roar Rookie
I interpreted Tooly’s comment in relation to an alleged arbitrariness of the WorldRugby rankings. In the last published ranking AUS is in third place, so that Tooly’s allusion refers to how the ranking for Wallabies would be formed after the confrontations with JAP, SCO, ENG and WAL. Also, he would not rank AUS in seventh place.
Francisco Roldan
Roar Rookie
I agree with you Madkiwi...! This relative parity of forces seems to show us that the challenges are played on a fairly wide spectrum. What is striking is that this spectrum is often extended to situations that are not directly related to gambling. Did any of us really take RSA's statements about defense being part of their native DNA seriously ...? While they convinced us through the media that they would continue with their game plan, they prepared variations to the game scheme that would later 'surprise' NZL.
Poco Loco
Roar Rookie
Tooly. How do you come up with your assement of WBs ar 6/7? The Boks beat the Lions (2 to 1 )which represent the best of the 4 home countries and Ireland. The ABs had a win/ loss against the Boks and the WBs beat them 2 to 1. Based on this recent test results and not games played 2 years ago in the WC, how you can come out with a rating of 6/7 for the WBs? Sounds like sourgrapes somewhere if not comical!
Tim J
Roar Rookie
Thanks for your enjoyable post FR… It seems that the All Blacks, Wallabies and the Boks are still finding that balance between attack and defence. All the sides have struggled in at least one aspect of these aspects. The EOYT will give us a better idea who has progressed, and which coach understands the balance best also.
Francisco Roldan
Roar Rookie
Hello Tooly ...! All your observations are pertinent. Except one to which I am going to add some more shades from this comment. I think that rugby is a scoring sport, like almost all competitive sports. And sometimes scoring points is the direct consequence of the best previous evaluations that are carried out. Finally, the theorist of war as a discipline in the West is Von Clausewitz, whom I consider an analyst of transition and not of pure conflict: war is the continuation of politics by other means.
Tooly
Roar Rookie
A few observations. . Sun Tsu covered his arse well by advocating most things. . Rugby is not war. People don’t die. It’s a game and risks are not fatal. . The best analogy is defence and attack in war on the western front. A 3-1 death rate in favour of defence. Mobile warfare is only possible in front of sound defence. Read Germany both wars and Allenby in Palestine. . The Championships have been loaded against Argentina for two years . Check their record at home. . SA have played little Test Rugby but did beat the Welsh / Lions at home. No favours again out here with referees or the baying mob of pundits . . NZ and even more so Australia have had a dream run with Sanzaar which should be more truthfully named ANZ. . Very little can be assumed from the matches except that SA are number 1 . . The rankings are meaningless until after a WC and the 6 Nations. . Lastly Rugby is not a sport based on Assessment, it has a points system. No marks for looking pretty, taking risks or being pretentious . . The real ratings would be SA. Then NZ, England, France and Ireland in any order. Brave Aussies 6/7.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Sinclair, IMO, I think that you could say that there were three teams, this year, had coaching issues. All three of the visiting teams, where in some cases their coaches seemingly didn't recognise proven ability, or players that weren't rewarded for their previous efforts. Australia started off slow, but did improve throughout the tournament, with two Maori boys directing the traffic.
Francisco Roldan
Roar Rookie
Hi, how are you...! Apparently our national team forgot the lessons learned and multiplied from Jaguares in Superugby. A great attacking game, fast and orderly that guaranteed possession and also an excellent hitting hit rate in the 22 M opp.
Big A
Roar Rookie
plenty of sideways movement with little or no penetration - i picked the Cheika influence as soon as i saw the 2 games in SA. As they say - especially around here - you have to win the forward battle before you earn the right to go wide. I think Mario is a great fwds coach - what he did to that Wallaby pack in 2015 RWC is set in stone - the way Aus shunted the swing charriots pack in that famous day at Twickenham will live on forever - reminiscent of the Wallabies 1984 grand slam push over scrum against the Red Dragons at Cardiff Arms Park. The solution for the Argies is to get rid of Cheika and go back to doing what they do best - fwd 10 man rugby - in Mario they have a great fwd coach - one of the best - all they need is some structure around the backs - you can see that Cheik has infected them with the seige mentality stuff as well - he needs to go asap - maybe he can go and coach the US or Canada or somewhere and leave us be
Francisco Roldan
Roar Rookie
Hello West ...! I agree with you. The RWC editions mark the transformations in the teams with fire. There is only one world champion. That is why it is important to assess the process of arrival of the teams to the world cups. I think that if we go through a bad process, we would be far from solving the problems in front of the teams in the northern hemisphere. In this role I place ARG, since AUS knew how to reconfigure its game appropriately.
WEST
Roar Guru
I wouldn’t be getting to excited about what happened in the Rugby Championship. Only time will tell the true momentum shifts, especially with the Wallabies. It’s starting to get harder and harder to gauge where some of these teams are really at. All of the teams in this years RC have been inconsistent, some more than others.. But before we start carrying on about new dawns, or All Blacks being exposed.. South Africa’s DNA. Let’s just wait and see how everything progresses before anything is a reality.