Matt Williams: Springboks are playing the ‘best rugby I’ve ever seen’… Ireland are in a lot of trouble
Springboks assistant coach Tony Brown and an inset of Matt Williams.
Former Scotland boss Matt Williams has lavished rare praise on the Springboks following their 32-17 victory over France at the Stade de France.
South Africa were dealt a hammer blow in the 38th minute when Lood de Jager was issued with a permanent red card for his dangerous tackle on Thomas Ramos.
While the Boks would trail by a single point at half-time, three tries in the final quarter saw them notch up an impressive victory.
Rassie Erasmus and his team have been lauded for their performance from all corners of the globe, even from the usually critical Williams, who has repeatedly slammed their use of forward-heavy replacement benches and has had a public spat on social media with the head coach.
Springboks can do anything
The ex-Leinster head coach, turned controversial pundit, hailed the manner in which South Africa attacked – an area of their game that he has slammed previously.
“They’re a team that can do anything,” he told Off The Ball Sports.
“What they’ve added is the incredible dimension of a dynamic running passing game. And I’ve been saying for years, if South Africa adds that to their repertoire, no one in the world will stop them because they are head and shoulders above everyone right now at this point of the cycle.
“This Test against South Africa coming up [against Ireland] is a really big night for World Rugby.”
In fact, he believes that this Springboks team is playing the best style of rugby he has seen from a South African side.
“This is an exceptional South Africa, playing the best rugby I’ve ever seen from a South African team, ever. So, if Ireland aren’t 100% in two weeks’ time, they’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
Tony Brown has sold his vision to Rassie Erasmus
Rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has also been the centre of attention this year, with the Bok playmaker picking up another man of the match award in the victory over France.
While Williams believes that he has played a pivotal role in the recent run of results, he credits much of South Africa’s improvement to former All Blacks fly-half Tony Brown.
In fact, he states that the New Zealanders have done well to get Erasmus and his side to ‘buy into his philosophy’.
“He [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] can do anything. He can kick, he can run, he can pass, he’s a fine defender, a superb goal kicker,” the pundit continued.
“I think the influence of Tony Brown, who is a New Zealander from Otago – I coached against Tony. He was a running 10 himself. He then went up to Japan, coached in Otago, and coached in New Zealand. He has also gone there, and Tony’s renowned for playing really positive ball in hand rugby.
“But to get that philosophy, and to get Rassie Erasmus to buy into that philosophy and to get the whole team to buy into it consistently when you’re a man down in Paris, that means he’s been successful in selling his vision of the team, of how the team can attack. And he deserves a lot of credit. And unfortunately for the rest of the world, it’s very scary because, with this team, where is their weakness?”
