Rugby’s greatest rivalry continues over the next two weekends when the Springboks and the All Blacks go into battle in the Rugby Championship.
IOL Sport’s John Goliath looks at five talking points ahead of the highly anticipated Tests between rugby’s bitter rivals in South Africa.
Scrum battle is going to be key ...
Both the Springboks and the All Blacks went well in the scrum in their respective matches against Australia and the Argentina. But this will be their first real test, especially for the All Blacks who will be without the injured Ethan de Groot.
It seems like the Rassie Erasmus will play their biggest scrum weapon Ox Nche off the bench against the All Blacks, hoping the loosehead prop can provide the same impact he produced in the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Dominance in the scrum is important to gain field position and build scoreboard pressure through penalties.
But lineouts could be a bigger factor ...
The Springboks’ maul fired on all cylinders against the Wallabies, with a mix of clever variations and power bringing them success. In the first match in Perth, the Boks scored from a well-executed move, prompting assistant coach Duane Vermeulen to say there is more where that came from.
The All Blacks conceded a try from a well-worked move against Argentina, and the Boks will know where their weaknesses are in defending the maul. However, the All Blacks contested well at the lineout against Argentina, while the Boks lost a few balls against the Wallabies without their injured lineout ace Franco Mostert.
Springboks’ all-action gameplan face toughest test
Clean lineout ball will be vital as both teams use it as a platform to launch their attacks. The Springboks have been a lot more expansive in 2024 after adding Tony Brown to their coaching staff. They created lot of space to attack the wide channels against the Ireland and the Wallabies, but they will be looking to be a lot more clinical when it comes to taking chances.
The All Blacks struggled on defence against Los Pumas in Wellington, but they were back to their miserly best in Auckland. The All Blacks can scramble well on defence, but they will target the Boks’ playmakers to cut down the threat at the source. But, for that to happen, they have to try and out-muscle the South Africans in the contact areas, which is very hard to do.
What tricks will Damian McKenzie come up with to nullify Springboks’ rush defence?
McKenzie was outstanding in the second match against Argentina, running the show from flyhalf and getting through, around and over Los Pumas’ rush defence. They certainly took the lessons from the first game to heart and executed brilliantly, with players running good lines to score the tries.
McKenzie also used his little chip over the top to score himself. There may be a lot of those little kicks in behind, and whoever starts for the Springboks at scrumhalf and No 8 will have to patrol that area behind the defensive line.
Ellis Park hard surface, altitude factor could see 50-22 kicks come into play
It’s going to be a tough day for fullbacks and wings at Ellis Park, as they will probably have to do a lot of covering at the back to prevent 50-22 kicks. The balls travels a lot further up on the Highveld, and the rock-hard surface in Johannesburg will help the ball roll a lot more.
So, we could see a lot more players attempting 50-22 kicks to get that lineout in the opposition’s 22 to launch attacks. Both teams may have to sacrifice a body in the defensive line to help cover the back field.
@JohnGoliath82