South Africa Tri Nations Champions 2009
How the Springboks Became the Best Team in the World
Sep 13, 2009
The Springboks 32-29 win over New Zealand gave them their 3rd Tri Nations title to add to the series win over the British and Irish Lions, their World Champion title and their number 1 spot in the IRB rankings. How have they achieved this?
For the most part, teams playing against the Springboks know what they are going to face, a huge, intensely physical pack which will be in their face from the first whistle to the last. This Springbok side didn’t disappoint, playing with a limited but brutally efficient game plan which ultimately proved effective and gave South Africa three consecutive wins over the All Blacks since 1949.
With the exception of the game against Australia in Perth, where they surprised the Wallabies by throwing the ball around, gaining their only bonus point win in the process, the Springboks game was based around pressure, field position and an aggressive defence.
For all their dominance, the Springboks do not score many tries, only ten in their six Tri Nations games, four of those coming in the one game against Australia and the majority coming from errors by the opposition rather than being created by intricate back play.
Springbok Tri Nations Kicking Game
One of the central tenets of their game plan is the up and under. Despite having strike runners of the quality of 2007 World Player of the year Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen, the Springboks kick the ball a great deal. This is understandable when you consider that in scrum half Fourie du Preez, they have probably the best exponent of the box kick in world rugby and at full back, Francois Steyn has just about the biggest boot in the game at the moment.
The game against New Zealand at the weekend was a case in point. The Springboks first try came when du Preez chased his own box kick and disrupted Rococoko enough for the ball to run loose. The Springboks collected and drove to the line. When it was recycled, du Preez hesitated a fraction, the Kiwi defenders scrambled to cover a wider channel and du Preez squeezed over. This was the third try that South Africa scored in the Tri Nations as a direct result of an up and under.
Whereas it’s true that the Springboks strike rate isn’t what it might be, a lot of that is down to the pressure their forwards apply to the opposition. When Shalke Burger was suspended for most of the Tri Nations after an eye gouging incident, it looked to be a devastating blow, but in Brussow, they have a replacement who has added some light and shade to the Springbok back row. Brussow is more of a hunting dog, a traditional ball foraging openside compared to Burger’s skills as another ball carrier and bruising defender. This has enabled South Africa to force turnovers and to make the opposition forwards give away penalties.
When the All Blacks visited Cape Town, they only conceded one try, but South Africa scored 31 points. Such was the pressure exerted by the Springboks that they gave away 8 kickable penalties. These were all gratefully accepted by Morne Steyn, surely the find of international rugby this season. Similarly, the All Blacks suffered in the final game, when Francois Steyn kicked three penalties from inside his own half. Put simply, the Springboks haven’t needed to score tries, they’ve achieved field position and forced their opponents to transgress.
Springbok TriNations Set Piece
The Springboks’ set piece play this season has been a mixed feast. The lineout, led by Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha, has been imperious. In the first half of the final All Blacks game they dominated the Kiwis so completely in this phase that it was almost half time before the All Blacks won a single line out. This gives the Springboks a huge advantage both in attack and defense. The trend in rugby is not to kick the ball out of play as it’s considered that the opposition get the throw and with it, possession. With South Africa, this is not certain and gives them another option.
By contrast, the one area of weakness in the Springbok game is the scrum. When England and Lions prop Phil Vickery watches the mess New Zealand and Australia have made of the South African scrum, he must shake his head in disbelief. Vickery’s torrid time in the scrum in the first British Lions test was one of the main reasons for the Lions losing the match. The Springboks ongoing experiment to convert their stellar hooker and captain Smit into a tight head hasn’t been a total success, but when they are so strong in the other areas of the game, they can afford to stick with it.
Springbok Coach Peter de Villiers
Coach Peter de Villiers may have the Springboks playing a limited game plan, but it is extremely effective, particularly with the personnel he has at his disposal. Limited it may be, but very few have found a way to combat it.
