Springboks coach’s ‘improvement’ warning to the All Blacks after South African scrum demolition
A scrum between the Springboks and All Blacks with an inset of Deon Davids.
Springboks assistant coach Deon Davids warns that there is room for improvement in South Africa’s scrum and lineout.
South Africa dominated the set-pieces en route to a 29-24 victory over the All Blacks in the third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test match in Soweto.
The Boks managed to win four scrum penalties during the clash at the FNB Stadium on Saturday, while they caused havoc for New Zealand’s lineout, with the visitors forced to throw to the front of the set-piece because of how they were competing. Ideally, teams would look to win the lineout in the middle or at the back of the set-piece as it is more advantageous for the attack.
Springboks reap rewards from their graft
However, Dave Rennie admitted that they had to settle for throwing to the front due to the work of the Springboks‘ jumpers. South Africa’s maul was also hugely effective, with Malcolm Marx scoring a crucial try from the tactic, while the Boks also gained 27 metres from their drives – 17 of which came inside the opposition’s 22.
Speaking ahead of the fourth and decisive Test in Baltimore, assistant Springboks coach Davids said he was pleased with the forward pack’s performance in Soweto, with the team benefiting from the hard work they have put in.
“Our performance now is based on very hard work. At the start of the season, we gave a lot of players an opportunity, and through that, you build a bit of depth in the squad, and you try to build combinations,” he explained.
“Going into this series, we understood that it’s going to be very important for us to have a good set-piece, and I think that the hard work that has been put into our scrums, lineouts and mauls is starting to show.
“We were just happy that things at this stage came together in order for us to provide a solid platform for the attack and defence.”
While the set-piece excellence has been pivotal in the Springboks’ success, Davids warned that it can still get better.
“We’re never the final product,” he continued.
“There are always some things to work on, and we are continuously evaluating our systems, our individual effort, and our effort as a forward pack. There’s still room for improvement, and from a set-piece perspective, we will continue to strive to improve and find better cohesion with our attack and defence.”
Dave Rennie’s verdict on Ruben Love’s yellow card: ‘It’s definitely a penalty’
Praise for Marx, Fourie and the jumpers
Davids also praised hookers Marx and Deon Fourie as well as the lineout jumpers for their efforts in rather testing conditions in Johannesburg.
“It was quite challenging for us in the game because there were winds from different angles all over the field. So, it was quite challenging for the hookers to find the right spot and get the timing right with the jumpers.
“So, I must commend them in terms of how they’ve executed and read those conditions and allowed us to get 100% success rate.”
He added that the collaborative nature of the Springboks environment has contributed to the success in the set-pieces.
“We’ve got a lot of experience in the pack and we’ve got a lot of players coming from different franchises and we always try to learn from each other, share ideas,” Davids said.
“We also analyse the opponents in terms of where the opportunity lies for us but also where their strengths are, and we build a plan according to that for this or that specific game and we’re just glad that it worked for us.”
