Joe Schmidt: Springboks Bomb Squad ‘innovation’ could get ‘stung’ by World Rugby move
Springboks Bomb Squad and Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt.
Joe Schmidt believes that World Rugby’s law amendments could affect the impact the Springboks get from their much-vaunted bench.
Australia’s head coach was speaking ahead of their opening clash with South Africa in the Rugby Championship this weekend.
Schmidt stirred the pot by claiming that the Boks often get ‘lucky’ with officiating calls and has also suggested that they could struggle with the new law trials.
The Wallabies boss was not referring to the free-kick amendment, which now prevents teams from taking a scrum from a short-arm sanction, but the shot clock.
World Rugby have been open about their desire to speed up the game and Schmidt insists that it will make it harder for the bigger forwards.
‘Innovation is great until it’s not’
“Yeah, I think if you ask the players, they feel pretty fatigued at times,” he told reporters.
“There is still fatigue in the game and if a ‘Bomb Squad’ member comes on at half-time, they’ve still got to play 40 minutes.
“One of the challenges is to keep players moving from set-piece to set-piece. With the new law trials, 30 seconds to set a scrum, 30 seconds to have that line-out underway, 60 seconds, not 90 seconds, for a conversion now.
“Some of those times are being contracted a little bit and maybe that will impact on the size of the player.
“There are risks. Talking to Vern Cotter, who is obviously a good mate of mine, around the Blues this year, with a 6-2 split they got two injuries very early on in their backline and played a half-back on the wing for the whole of the second half.
“You can get stung by it, so any innovation is great until it’s not.”
Joe Schmidt: Springboks ‘tend to get a bit of luck’ with officiating decisions
After winning the Rugby World Cup in 2023 – their second in a row and fourth in total – the Springboks have looked to expand their game.
With New Zealander Tony Brown the team’s attack coach, there has been a notable shift from Rassie Erasmus’ men in 2024, but their main strength still lies up front.
The scrum remains one of South Africa’s most potent weapons, while they have a plethora of athletic and physical back five forwards.
Although the Boks are still getting to grips with Brown’s methods, they have continuity in most other areas.
Experimentation
That is in stark contrast to the Wallabies, who are playing catch-up under their new head coach.
Schmidt experimented in the July series against Wales and Georgia, and doesn’t really know his best team heading into the Rugby Championship.
“I’d like to have had more time, to be honest. It’s very much been a sprint so far,” the head coach added. “There are six new players in that I haven’t spent time with before. Connecting it all up is a real challenge.
“But I’ve coached against most of [the Springboks] over several years. I probably know them better than I know us, but we’ve got a great bunch of young men who are committed to trying to make sure they are as competitive as possible on Saturday.”
