Ex-All Black reveals secret to thwarting Springboks’ open play lineout tactics
Springboks lock Ruan Nortje wins lineout possession (inset) and former All Blacks and Blues hooker James Parsons.
Former All Blacks and Blues hooker James Parsons has given his verdict on the Springboks’ open play lineout tactics and what opponents should do to counter it.
The Springboks cruised to a 45-0 victory over Italy in their Test at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha last Saturday but there was some consternation after the world champions scored two tries after employing the tactics.
South Africa used the ploy for the first time in the 38th minute when second-row Ruan Nortje jumped into the air and received the ball from scrum-half Grant Williams before the Boks formed a maul.
Italy sacked the maul but Williams whipped the ball out to Canan Moodie, who soon crossed the whitewash.
Early in the second half, they repeated that tactic and were rewarded when Malcolm Marx dotted down off the back of the maul.
Slight variation of an old tactic
Parsons, who made two Test appearances for the All Blacks between 2014 and 2016, said that utilising a maul in general play has been used by several teams over the years, although without players being lifted.
He said, however, that during his time with the Blues they figured out a plan to counter the maul.
“Sometimes we struggled at maul defence, even in a lineout we’d split open and we would send Ofa Tu’ungafasi just straight at the jumper and then it’s a tackle situation,” he told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“It’s when two enter then it becomes a maul. So, then the critical thing will be for teams to just be patient. They’ve now seen it and you’ve got to put one of your big boppers just straight around the back of the knee so that it collapses it in a tackle form.”
Parsons highlighted the importance of having only one defender in that situation in order to thwart the maul.
“You see (it) when guys stack in a tackle,” he said. “It’s not one person because someone comes and grabs their hips, so then it’s a maul and then the opposition join in a panic trying to rip the ball and so it becomes a maul, it’s no different here.
“You just don’t but as soon as you touch, even just like that (illustrates with his finger), it’s a maul.
‘Players used to put their hand on the hip of the opposition’
“It’s not about engaging your shoulder or anything it’s because you’ll see in lineouts, so players used to put their hand on the hip of the opposition lifter or the jumper follow him down to get his timing off there and then bang.
“You’re not allowed to do that anymore but that actually constitute hitting someone up high not that you do it so yeah you’ve got to be disciplined and you’ve got to back like obviously Ofa is a big man so we could back that he was going to get a job done and it was brutal.
“There is elements I suppose if you don’t get it right it can be similar to the ruck law they’ve brought in around sort of loading on the knees and so forth so that there may be injuries out of it if you don’t get it quite right.
“The innovation is the lift, not so much the maul.”
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