On the ball: Even the staunchest Springbok supporter agrees the All Blacks deserved to win – but did the Springbok management chance their arm a little too far? asks Lucky Maree.
After the brilliant All Black victory over the Springboks on Saturday evening, the rugby world agreed that the All Blacks deserved their win.
But in the cold light of day, one might ask to what extent Jacques Nienaber and (presumably) Rassie Erasmus, aided New Zealand to achieve a historic victory?
Some of the strategic decisions made by the management smacked of over-confidence – if not arrogance.
Looking at the scoreboard it is easy to overlook the very important fact that Lukhanyo Am played probably the best match of his life. Many people feel his right position is on the wing. While he is physically powerful and has a great presence on the field, he also has the speed and skills of a Cheslin Kolbe in full flight.
And he certainly doesn’t hang around waiting for the ball to come to him. It seemed as if he had delivered a Man of the Match performance.
Am and Makazole Mapimpi on the other wing make a great combination, and it is probably no coincidence that the two Springbok tries were scored by them.
There was a time when the “bomb-squad” strategy was hailed as Rassie Erasmus’s master stroke. Now that it has failed, it has come in for severe criticism – and rightly so. Leaving the best on the bench as the impact players has its place, provided you have an exceptionally good team to begin with.
Joseph Dweba may have been a good replacement for Bongi Mbonambi – but on the bench. Faced with a “problem” at hooker, why not play Malcolm Marx in the run-on side instead of dropping Dweba in the dwanga?
The All Blacks clearly identified the line-out as a weakness and they certainly made the most of it. Dweba had a disastrous game playing into the opposition’s hands with the throw-in.
Replacing him with Marx was the right thing to do, but it was already a crisis decision.
Playing Duane Vermeulen was a gamble and a mistake. It is easy to say with perfect hindsight, but he was not match fit and he should have been rested. He did not have the intimidation factor the selectors had hoped for. At best he should have been on the bench.
It took until just before halftime before Vincent Koch and Steven Kitshoff came onto the field to replace a front row that was misfiring.
The time has come for the Bok management to re-evaluate the strategy of six forwards and two backline players on the bench. Last week they got away with it – this week it didn’t work.
The Springboks seemed to make some fundamental mistakes during play as well. While Handré Pollard was deadly with the boot, the Boks went for two line-outs that could have resulted in a vital three points.
Where was the support for Pieter-Steph du Toit when he made that brilliant interception that should have been a seven-pointer? Is it possible that Pieter-Steph had a sudden attack of white line fever?
There was a time when Marx was a disaster on the throw-in and he has never been great. Seeing as New Zealand was dominating the line-outs and Marx seemed a little tentative on the throw-in, why did South Africa not go for the safe option of throwing in on the number two?
The Rugby Championship could not be closer. All four teams have played two and won one, the only difference being the bonus points and the points difference.
In two weeks’ time South Africa play Australia and the All Blacks take on Los Pumas. Both matches will be decisive.
Image source: @Springboks
