John Smit claims All Blacks had ‘defeatist attitude’ in the set-piece as Dave Rennie ‘chose the wrong way’ in the scrum
Springboks and All Blacks scrummaging, and legendary front-rower John Smit.
Springboks legend John Smit believes that it was a clear decision for the All Blacks not to front-up in the set-piece, but credited their skill set for not giving South Africa more opportunities to exploit their weakness.
Rassie Erasmus’ men have targeted New Zealand’s pack and it has paid dividends with the back-to-back world champions going 2-1 up in the four-Test series.
Although they succumbed in the opener at Ellis Park, it was the sheer number of handling errors which halted the momentum they often generated through their set-piece.
With those mistakes reduced in the subsequent matches at DHL Stadium and FNB Stadium, the Boks managed to overcome the All Blacks and take a lead into the clash in Baltimore.
There has been complaints about the Springboks’ scrum by Dave Rennie, but Smit felt that the tourists’ head coach got it wrong.
‘Every green goblin is waiting for the scrum
“I guess the scrum is like the UFC chokeout and how long you can hold out until you can wriggle away and South Africa do their best to keep it in the scrum,” the ex-hooker and tighthead said on the I Love Rugby podcast.
“Rennie had to do something, the scrum had been a problem in the first two Tests, but he probably chose the wrong way to do it from a legality point of view, purely because how technically good the Springboks scrummage has been over the last couple of years. It’s quite difficult to argue with the stats.
“Every South African’s waiting, every green goblin’s waiting for the scrum.”
Called Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, it has certainly lived up to expectations and Smit has particularly enjoyed the contrast in styles.
“The interesting thing which is genius and why there’s this rivalry between these two countries is the one wants to play, has an unbelievable skill set, creates its opportunities by getting the ball to move, off-loading and getting wide,” he said.
“One of the very few countries that go wide from first phase, even if they’re taking the ball to the prop on the five-metre line.”
Since taking over from Scott Robertson, Rennie has gone back to type of game plan they have become renowned for.
However, the best All Blacks sides have started with a strong set-piece which gives them a powerful platform, while they have always been physical, but Smit felt they looked to avoid the contest in both the lineout and scrum on Saturday.
“The All Blacks have always been unbelievably handy and powerful at set-piece and the worry for them is… it’s a bit of a defeatist attitude not being able to have a system that can outwit the opposition from a lineout point of view,” he said.
“You want to get that ball middle to back as often as possible and create those opportunities, get the ball wide and faster, and you see all these quick little throws to try and avoid the traffic of what’s being created from the Springboks side.
“And then the scrum. I thought the scoreline would be bigger with the improvement from the Springboks in the second week, but the reality is that South Africa needs to weaponise the scrum to create the confidence to get that psychological benefit.”
All Blacks skill levels
The scrum was a decisive factor in the game in Soweto but the All Blacks managed to limit its effectiveness by giving them fewer set-pieces to attack.
“When the ball stays in, it saps your energy, so it saps your mental and it saps your physical. When I watched the game again, we only had five scrums, New Zealand only gave us five scrums and that is a testament to their skill level,” Smit said
“They don’t make mistakes, they don’t knock the ball on willy-nilly, so we got five feeds into the scrum and we got five penalties, but it’s only five whereas on average we’re probably looking at that to be eight or nine.
“It was interesting to see New Zealand not wanting to take on that first phase fight but the beauty of that was they were smart enough and skilful enough to say: ‘Let’s not give these big boys any more scrums than they need’.”
Those five scrums proved to be enough, though, with the Springboks managing to score a penalty try from one of them as they sent the All Blacks pack into a reverse in what was a memorably moment.
“That opportunity was the turning point,” Smith added. “When you get a scrum close to the line, it was the first time they’ve been able to give the feed, keep the ball in and put the pressure on.
“I called it actually. I was sitting next to Vincent Koch who was watching with me and I just said: ‘If this scrum’s parity or New Zealand get a penalty, I can promise you we’re in for a dogfight’.
“We took a bet. I said: ‘100 bucks it’s a penalty try’, and he said: ‘100 bucks it’s nothing’, so I’m 100 rand richer guys.”
READ MORE: Springboks coach’s ‘improvement’ warning to the All Blacks after South African scrum demolition
