Matt Williams: The Springboks' strategy, which has delivered such astonishing success, has negativity at its heart
The South Africans will implement a tried and tested game plan that is a masterpiece of simple, yet tactically brilliant, thinking. Sadly, for such a hugely talented group of players, this Springboks strategy, which has delivered such astonishing success, has negativity at its heart.
The Springboks’ game plan has a strict formula. Its foundation is that the Springboks scrum for penalties not to produce possession for their talented backline. After winning a scrum penalty they either take the points or kick for touch. The Boks will maul almost every lineout along the entire length of the field.
Astonishingly, this horror show is interspersed with rare but brilliant flashes of the most sublime skills that can create sparkling attacking raids and stunning tries. The Boks’ skills at the breakdown are also exceptional. Malcolm Marx in particular is one of world’s best “jackalers”. Today’s selection of Willemse at number 10 brings us hope for a change of direction. Possessing brilliant footwork and blistering acceleration, Willemse has no fear of taking the ball deep into the defensive line, trusting his skill to pass under pressure.Since June, the Springboks have lost Tests to Wales, Australia and New Zealand. Crucially for Ireland, in all of these matches, the Springboks were not in the lead at half-time.
Recently, Ireland have started at a blistering pace and have scored early. Today that must be repeated for any Irish hopes because once in the lead the world champions rarely lose. Yet when they are behind and under pressure, the story has been completely different. In Adelaide, the Wallabies defeated the Springboks by matching the intensity of their set pieces and then implemented their high-tempo, multiple-pass attack, that once again disrupted the Springboks’ defensive line.
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