Matt Williams celebrates ‘quiet death’ of the 7-1 split as Rassie ‘unleashes’ talented Springboks who play ‘absolutely extraordinary’ rugby
Springboks flanker Kwagga Smith and an inset of Matt Williams.
Matt Williams believes that the Springboks’ 7-1 bench has died a ‘quiet death’ with Tony Brown having a ‘great influence’ on Rassie Erasmus’ side.
The former Scotland and Leinster head coach has hailed the attacking endeavour of the Rugby Championship nations during this year’s edition of the competition and believes that it will have an impact on the game globally.
In the opening four rounds of the Rugby Championship, Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus has selected a 5-3 bench split, which has pleased Williams, who has been an outspoken critic of South Africa’s ‘Bomb Squad’ tactics and has repeatedly slammed the ploy as ‘against the spirit of the game’ and that it ‘discriminates against backs’.
Rugby Championship has delivered
The Australian believes that Brown has played a pivotal role in South Africa’s attacking ‘evolution’ of the Springboks, and it paid dividends against the All Blacks in Wellington.
“I think it’s been fantastic rugby for starters, and all four teams deserve huge praise for the way they’ve played,” Williams told the DSPN podcast when reviewing the opening rounds of the Rugby Championship.
He added, “I think this championship has really delivered; it’s been fabulous rugby. The greatest change and the real evolution and growth in the game, which is hugely positive, is the way the South Africans are playing.
“The 7-1 bench has quietly died. Thank God. No one went to a wake, and no one is saying, ‘Isn’t that sad?’. They played some absolutely extraordinary rugby and unleashed the talent and athleticism that we all know is in these South African players, and unfortunately, New Zealand saw that the other week.”
The record defeat to the Springboks is a good thing for the All Blacks, according to Williams, who predicts that Scott Robertson’s charges will bounce back quickly, but that dents his country’s chances of getting their hands on the Bledisloe Cup.
“Now, in the short term, obviously, I understand everyone in New Zealand is hurting; my New Zealand friends are just mortified. I get it. But in the long run, I think that’s going to be great for them,” he continued.
“The New Zealanders will respond, and as an Australian, unfortunately, going to Eden Park, where we haven’t won since 1986, my generation of players… It’s been that long since they won it.
“I was saying, ‘Wow, oh well, there’s going to be a bit of a backlash here.’ And so it should be. That’s the way the game’s going. But I think all of this is really, really positive.”
Defence was overriding attack
Returning to the topic of the Springboks’ tactics, the 65-year-old believes that South Africa’s mindshift is part of a global trend of more attacking rugby with less focus on the set-pieces and defence.
He adds that it was the Boks who sparked the trend of defence and set-piece-led tactics when they selected a forward-heavy bench.
“I’ve seen too many evolutions of this. You got the yin and yang in the game. You got defence and attack, and since the South Africans went to the 7-1 bench, the defence has overridden the attack because you scrum, kick to the corner, maul and score,” said Williams.
“Hookers are now three times more likely to score tries off mauls than outside centres are to score in international rugby. That’s terrible, that’s disastrous for our game, we want to see our backs scoring tries.
“You look at the NRL, how fabulous are the tries that we’re seeing there? The athleticism of the NRL wingers is just mind-boggling. It’s great to watch, it’s entertaining, and the skill level of those players is phenomenal. Now, we haven’t lost those skills, but the defence and the driving mauls and the scrummaging have taken over.”
But that is changing, he continued, “And what we’re seeing is this change. It’s starting to get back into equilibrium and get to where attack is dominating defences.
“Tony Brown is a fabulous coach, and what a great influence he’s been on the South Africans to get them to start playing this type of rugby. There were some terrible defensive lapses by New Zealand. RG Snyman’s try at the end, allowing Siya Kolisi to punch so deep into New Zealand territory before they got the ball out to Cheslin Kolbe for the second try, that was really poor defence. There’s no two ways about that.”
We’re getting back to where the game is there for everyone,
While there are two rounds of the Rugby Championship left to play, the emphasis on attack from the four nations excites Williams for the upcoming November internationals as he hopes that the trend of more attacking rugby at the highest level will trickle down to the grassroots.
“I’m looking forward to what this November brings when those teams are going up to play Ireland, France and so on, this is really exciting,” he said.
“It’s something that is giving everyone in the game some real joy, and wow, we’ve been lacking that.
“Like the horrors of just seeing a scrum penalty, lineout, and maul. When I go do a bit of coaching in France in the Academies, the kids copy that. Now, if these kids see the senior teams running the ball and playing this upbeat 15-man game, that’s great for us all. It’s great for the kids.
“The next part is they are picking smaller, faster, agile and athletic guys, so we’re getting back where the game is there for everyone, not just the giants. All the things are positive steps, and leadership comes from the top. As difficult as that has been for New Zealand in Wellington, and I get the pain, overall, if we look at the game, if we look at our product, what we love about this Championship has been overwhelmingly positive.”
