Matt Williams believes the Springboks’ expert exploitation of the “loopholes” in the current laws of the game is why South Africa should beat Australia on Saturday.
Speaking on OTB Sports’ ‘AM Breakfast’, the Australian claimed the world-champion Boks have moulded and perfected their game plan to how referees are interpreting and applying the rules of rugby.
The Boks will face the Wallabies at Adelaide Oval on Saturday in the first of two Rugby Championship Tests in successive weeks between the sides.
“The South Africans have picked a perfect negative game plan to exploit all these horrid parts of our game,” said Williams, who has coached Scotland, Leinster, Ulster and the Waratahs.
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“Slowing it down, constant cross-field kicking where you’re contesting in the air, a rushing defence that is usually offside a significant percentage of the game … [the Boks] are unbelievable, giant human beings that allows them to pick six giant human beings on the bench, which was never the intention of the laws – and only two backs.
“I’m not blaming the coaches; their intellectual property and eliteness has allowed them to exploit all those loopholes in the laws, and SA are playing a game plan that’s really hard to beat.
He added: “We could see it against the Lions [last year], a horrid series but they were brilliant, and in the Test against New Zealand at Ellis Park.
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“New Zealand should’ve won that game by a huge amount but the negativity of the South Africans – the constant cross-field kicking, the way they flooded the breakdown, the huge human beings they bring on through the whole game, the ability to slow the game down to their advantage, their maul, their scrummaging…
“I would really like to see the Wallabies win but I can’t see it happening; they have a crisis at 10, dropped James O’Connor, have brought back players of significant age … it’s really stacked against them and this is a really good SA side.”
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Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
