The rivalry between the Springboks and the All Blacks has never needed artificial hype to stoke its flames, but former Crusaders scrumhalf Bryn Hall has provided an intriguing spark nonetheless.
Speaking on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, Hall claimed that the All Blacks possess the tempo and attacking capability to “run the Springboks off their feet” when the two sides lock horns in the upcoming Greatest Rivalry Series.
While the All Blacks’ high-octane intent under new coach Dave Rennie bore fruit during their recent Nations Championship campaign, with wins over France, Italy and Ireland, any suggestion that spreading the ball alone will tire out Rassie Erasmus’ world champions underestimates the current DNA of Springbok rugby.
Assuming the Boks can be run ragged relies on a fundamental misconception: that South Africa’s forward pack will be forced into an 80-minute war of attrition.
The reality is that Erasmus’ rotational system means his starting pack essentially only needs to deliver 40 minutes of absolute maximum intensity before an entirely fresh engine room of equal ability enters the fray.
The primary job of the starting front eight is simply to break the back of the opposition’s momentum, while halftime signals the arrival of the ‘Bomb Squad’, a fully charged wave of brutes to hammer home the advantage.
This operational luxury hinges on a level of squad depth that New Zealand simply cannot match. While the Springboks can rotate their front five without suffering any drop-off in quality or set-piece authority, the All Blacks do not possess the same positional surplus.
By attempting to turn the match into a frantic, ball-in-hand affair, the All Blacks run the severe risk of fatiguing themselves long before they make a dent in the Bok defensive line.
High-tempo rugby is an energy-sapping enterprise when you are the side making all the running, because you have to be almost flawless at protecting your own ball. The Springboks protect every breakdown, which means the attacking team needs to clean out in numbers.
If you can’t protect your own ball, your possession ends up being slow or you concede penalties, which gives the Springboks set-piece opportunities. And that, my friends, is where the South Africans come into their own.
Furthermore, assuming the Springboks will retreat into a defensive shell when the pace rises is wishful thinking. South Africa are no longer a side restricted to set-piece dominance and territorial kicking; they are comfortable in an open, unstructured game because their backline features some of the most destructive counter-attackers in world rugby.
With space to exploit, the likes of Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe, Manie Libbok and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are lethal. Turn the ball over in mid-pitch while attempting a pass that’s not on or being isolated in the wide channels, and players of this caliber will punish you in the blink of an eye.
Crucially, all high-octane attacking strategies require one essential foundation: clean, quick ball. To run the Springboks off their feet, the All Blacks must first win their own set-piece and control the breakdown.
Yet, history and recent form suggest New Zealand’s set-piece will come under immense pressure from a fresh, relentless Bok pack that suffocates opposition possession at source.
If the All Blacks are forced to operate on scruffy ball behind a retreating scrum and wobbly lineout, all the intent in the world will not generate the tempo that Hall envisions.
New Zealand may well bring a frantic tempo to Ellis Park, but believing they can simply run this Springbok side off their feet ignores the realities of modern Test rugby. Between a fresh, rotating Bomb Squad and a backline tailored to execute on the counter, South Africa are more than ready for such a game.
