Nick Mallett says the six-two split between replacement forwards and backs was partly to blame for the loss to the All Blacks and the Springboks need to abandon the tactic in their Test matches Down Under.
The Springboks will travel to Australia to face the Wallabies on the back of a 35-23 second-round loss to New Zealand at Ellis Park.
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Having beaten the All Blacks in the first round in Mbombela, the Boks struggled to replicate their efforts in Johannesburg.
It did not help that Jesse Kriel, playing on the right wing for South Africa as a result of Kurt-Lee Arendse’s suspension, was forced off with a concussion early in the first quarter.
Kriel was replaced by Willie le Roux – one of only two backs on the bench, the other being scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies – which prompted a backline reshuffle. As a result, Damian Willemse went to inside centre and starting centre pair Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am shifted one position along.
While Am had an outstanding match on the right wing, capped by a spectacular first-half try, Damian de Allende struggled with the task of shutting the All Blacks attack down in the outside channels.
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Writing in his regular column for Sport24, former Bok coach Mallett said the Springboks need to accommodate an extra backline player on the bench.
“I don’t care how well Am played on the wing,” wrote Mallett. “You’ve got the best No 13 in the world – both on attack and defence – and he is invaluable in terms of closing down options and shutting down space in midfield.
“Willemse is playing so well at the moment and could easily slot into inside centre, which he did, but I think the more sensible play would have been to move De Allende – and not Am – to the wing, where he started his career. That keeps your critical defender in his proper position.
“The big issue with the 6/2 split in its present form is how it impacts the defensive alignment of the Springbok backline. The attack was fine, and they scored two very good tries, but the Boks were nowhere near where they should be defensively.”
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