Nick Mallett: Why the Springboks ‘bulldozer’ is better than the All Blacks ‘Ferrari’
Springboks centre Jesse Kriel evades the tackle from All Black Leroy Carter and an inset of Nick Mallett.
Nick Mallett has likened the Springboks to a bulldozer and the All Blacks to a Ferrari, claiming that the former is more reliable.
Much has been made of the contrasting styles of the two nations during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, with Rassie Erasmus encouraging the public and pundits to celebrate the different approaches to the game.
Throughout the three Tests so far, the All Blacks have attempted to play an up-tempo, attacking game which Dave Rennie has implemented since taking over from Scott Robertson this year, while the Boks have somewhat gone back to type, leaning into their power game and set-piece excellence.
This has led to South Africa leading the series 2-1 as the teams prepare for the finale in Baltimore, with the All Blacks surging into a lead in the opener at Ellis Park before falling to back-to-back defeats in Cape Town and Soweto.
Nick Mallett: All Blacks’ Ferrari is less reliable
Former Springboks head coach Mallett believes that when it comes to crunch Test matches, South Africa’s approach is more effective than New Zealand’s and used an intriguing metaphor to emphasise his point.
“There’s a simplistic analogy – it’s the Bok bulldozer against the All Blacks Ferrari,” he said on SuperSport’s Final Whistle presents Side Entry show.
“The bulldozer is just better; it’s more reliable, and we tend to put that Ferrari under pressure on the dirt roads. When we go into the dark places, they’ve got to follow us, and they’re not good at that.”
Mallett was joined on the show by fellow former Springboks Owen Nkumane and Victor Matfield, with the former asking whether “The bulldozer is the most complete rugby team in the world at the moment?”
“Well, we aren’t complete because we don’t maximise our opportunities as well as perhaps France and definitely New Zealand,” the ex-Italy boss bluntly replied.
“But we do create so many. If we create 12 entries into opposition 22 and we score four or five tries, that seems to be enough to beat them, but the All Blacks get in there seven times and score four tries.
“So their ability to turn possession and territory into points is better than ours. That doesn’t mean to say we’ve got to try and push that part of our game; the more you push that part of the game, the less good you are at your essentials.”
South Africa showed major improvements on attack following the 2023 Rugby World Cup with ex-All Blacks fly-half Tony Brown joining Erasmus’ coaching team as the side’s attack coach.
Springboks’ conservative approach
Nkumane argued that point, stating that while the Boks continue to lean into their traditional strengths, there has been a bigger emphasis on attack in recent years.
“I disagree a little bit. 2019, we always scored on turnovers, and we’ve kicked on scraps,” he said.
“Now, one of the key things you spoke about creating, which is a huge difference. We’ve gone up a step. The DNA will never go away.”
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Legendary lock Matfield believes that Erasmus’ men will play more expansively after the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series with the Springboks playing more conservatively against the All Blacks because of the magnitude of the tour.
“Last year, we were a bit braver with the ball in hand,” he admitted.
“Whereas now, it’s critical games, and we go back to: let’s get in the 22; once we’re there, we’ll play. We’re not going to play between the two 10-metre lines. People talk about Tony Ball – we didn’t see any of that. A guy like Manie will always, when he comes on, make a difference. He wants the ball and wants to have a go, and he created great width for us.
“But I think when we go into a game, it’s about pressure. They had much more possession than us; we’re happy with that. You can keep it; we just want the possession in the right area.”
