The world champions have been targeted for criticism on the basis that they rely too heavily on defence, but Rassie Erasmus has endorsed analysis of the Springbok attack which paints a very different picture.
The SA Rugby director of rugby shared an analytical post by ‘The Dead Ball Area’ that delved into the overlooked quality of a Bok attack that features, among others, world-class centres Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am.
No sheep this one !!!! https://t.co/0joPEdChkC
— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) August 31, 2021
“Let’s put this out there from the off, South Africa is not a boring side,” wrote the blog author. “They are a side that wins first and entertains second, they are also a side that attacks.
“The Springboks aren’t about the big flamboyant east to west attack, they are about the details, the skills in contact once the defender is committed. The way they play through a defence means they often win the little moments that make a game swing massively in their direction.
“And that is why they are so good. The game is ultimately very simple, you score more than your opponent and you win. South Africa score lots of points. In three 2019 Rugby Championship games they blasted through 96 points for a +51 points difference.
“Fast forward to 2021 and in their 5 games against Tier 1 opponents [the B&I Lions and Argentina] they’ve scored 124 points across the five games.
“Brutal defence, nullifying skilful tries saw one of the toughest series in rugby come down to one score and when they needed both the skills and the mental capacity to take the moment they had it ready to go.
“On reflection, could there have been more running rugby? Sure … but if you want to watch that style of constant passing rugby there is a team in Australia finding out it’s not quite that simple.”
