Rugby Championship: Five things we have learnt so far including ‘no scrum, no win’, Springboks ‘evolution’ and not so ‘Razor-sharp’ All Blacks
Five things we learnt from Australia v Springboks and All Blacks v Argentina.
Following the opening two rounds of the Rugby Championship, here are five things we learnt from the Tests between the Springboks and Australia and the All Blacks and Argentina.
South Africa lead the standings after the first four encounters having collected back-to-back wins in Australia and they are followed by New Zealand and Argentina, who both claimed a win apiece.
No scrum, no win
For any regular international rugby viewer, it is no surprise that the scrums played a pivotal role in every single one of the opening four games of the Rugby Championship. However, the manner in which the set-piece influenced the four Tests differed quite remarkably.
In the opening match of the competition, the scrums impacted the game in a pretty standard way as the Springboks got easy access into Australia’s red zones with the likes of Ox Nche, Frans Malherbe, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch decimating the Wallabies’ front-rowers. It was a clinic from the men in Green and Gold as they flexed one of the biggest weapons in their arsenal for the past seven years or so.
But proceedings were far different in Wellington a few hours later as for the first three-quarters of the match, not a single scrum was packed down, with many of the starting front-rowers leaving the pitch without earning their bread. In this case, the South African saying of ‘no scrum, no win’ rang true for the All Blacks but not for the reasons that the quip was intended for as the lack of scrums robbed New Zealand of a clear facet of dominance over Los Pumas. The inability to tie in the powerhouse Pumas forwards and provide their backs with more space in attack meant that the All Blacks were backtracking with the ball in hand and the likes of Juan Martin Gonzalez, Marcos Kremer and Pablo Matera feasted and inspired their side to another famous win.
History was made for both the victors in round one as the scrum certainly took its toll over the first 160 minutes of the tournament, but the set-piece was not done there – even with the new laws around speeding up the scrum having almost no impact.
With torrid conditions forecasted in Perth and Auckland, the scrum-lovers were promised so much in round two but were given only as much as what was taken away.
One couldn’t have blamed All Blacks’ scrum guru Jason Ryan for being grumpy after the defeat to Argentina with the two sides packing down a grand total of four times in the last quarter in Wellington, but that number bloated to a massive 18 at Eden Park. What would have pleased Ryan even more was that his heavyweights delivered on the dominance they had on paper, regularly winning penalties and driving the Pumas backwards. That did lay the foundations for the All Blacks to strike and boy did they make the most of it, running in six converted tries in a 42-10 thumping.
But a few hours later it was Springboks scrum doctor Daan Human who left the ground with a long face as his big boys were denied the opportunity to battle the woeful Wallabies pack in the second half after successive injuries to the Australian loosehead props. There were several uncontested scrums in the final 40 minutes because of the conditions and matters weren’t made any better with the flankers and second-rowers able to break away from the rugby league-esque ‘set-piece’ and put pressure on the backs, shutting down the usual gaps far, far quicker. Still, the Springboks adapted better than their opponents and cruised to a relatively straightforward 30-12 win, taking a full house of points from Australia, despite a spirited opening half from the hosts.
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Springboks are no longer a one-trick pony
For many years, the Springboks have tagged as one-trick ponies with accusations of playing 10-man rugby, relying on the brute strength of their pack and in some cases there was much truth to those claims. However, the double World Cup winners are evolving and are clearly adding more and more layers to their game.
The addition of ex-All Blacks pivot Tony Brown to Rassie Erasmus’ coaching staff has gone a long way in making the Springboks a more accurate and exciting team with the ball in hand, playing with far more freedom and willingness to attack from deep. This was clear to see in the series against Ireland and again in the first Test against Australia but over the two games Down Under, the Boks showed that they are not resting on their attacking laurels.
For some time now, teams have been able to stifle the Springboks’ maul but Erasmus and his coaching team went about changing that, innovated with old-school tactics in Brisbane leading to their opening try. The rolling maul came into focus a week later with three of the Springboks’ four tries coming from a far more direct mauling approach, with the masterclass steering the side to back-to-back victories.
Erasmus explained earlier this year that the side has to keep moving forward in order to be successful and while the coaching staff changes are certainly having an influence on that, the Springboks haven’t forgotten their DNA and moved too far away from the main pillars that have made them successful, but they are innovating and improving.
Pumas are still painfully unpredictable
Once upon a time, the cliche was ‘you never know which French team would pitch up on the day’ but it is their South American counterparts that are more befitting of the saying nowadays.
Even under the tutelage of Los Pumas great Felipe Contepomi, Argentina have not been able to shake off their inconsistent tendencies. There was a hint of it during the July internationals when the side woefully underperformed in the opening Test match against a second-string France team before responding in style a week later. They would batter Uruguay in their final game of the mid-year internationals to lay a platform to launch their Rugby Championship campaign.
Considering their recent record against New Zealand, the All Blacks will have been wary of a powerful Pumas team in round one and for good reason as Contepomi’s charges put in a wonderful performance to secure yet another famous victory which legendary hooker Agustin Creevy aptly dubbed as ‘F***ing amazing’. However, his teammates seemingly did not heed his warning of not getting too carried away as they were outclassed a week later at the All Blacks’ fortress, Eden Park.
On their day, Argentina can beat any team in world rugby but their lack of consistency is their biggest downfall and Contepomi’s biggest challenge is getting them to the point were they can back up strong performances. Looking ahead, they will fancy their chances of going two from two against Australia but recent form suggest that one win and one defeat is on the cards.
Wallabies still have a long way to go
Veteran Wallabies scrum-half Nic White put it perfectly when he said that the Springboks showed Australia what the benchmark is following the two sides’ meeting in Brisbane.
Australia were riding high ahead of the Rugby Championship having gone three from three under new head coach Joe Schmidt in July but they came crashing down back to earth as South Africa hammered them 33-7 at Suncorp Stadium – a ground where the Wallabies are historically strong. In response to that defeat, the Wallabies put in a promising first-half performance against a largely changed Bok team trailing just 11-9 at the break. The two Tests were a watershed moment for the youthful squad that would have all their frailties brutally exposed by the number one side in the world.
But perhaps that is the good thing overall for Schmidt and his coaching staff who know now exactly where work is needed to get to that aforementioned benchmark. Notably, the scrum was a borderline disaster without the services of Taniela Tupou, highlighting the desperate need to bolster the tighthead stocks. But on the flipside, James Slipper and Angus Bell equipped themselves rather well, showing that there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
Marika Koroibete’s return was also a huge boost to the backs and the Wallabies’ search for more regular gain-line success but ultimately there was not enough of that in the pack and the set-piece stutterings did not help either. The gain-line, aerial and set-piece battles are the major improvement areas for the Wallabies and each one of those battlegrounds are huge in Test rugby.
If they are to return to being one of the four best teams in world rugby – which should be the minimum target – then they will need to sort those three areas of their game ASAP. With Argentina up next, they should be able to match the Pumas at least, allowing the focus to shift to the remaining areas of their game but there is no way can they end their Bledisloe Cup drought without fixing the scrum.
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All Blacks aren’t Razor-sharp yet
Scott Robertson’s arrival was met with much fanfare after his revival of the Crusaders and building an incredible dynasty in Christchurch, but things have been far from plain-sailing since.
The All Blacks scrapped to victories over England and breezed past Fiji before coming undone and having their shortcomings exposed against Argentina. The bite back was ruthless as they notched up a 50-unbeaten Test at Eden Park in emphatic fashion but even then, the cracks were noticeable.
Much of what made Robertson’s Crusaders team so successful was the execution of their clear-cut gameplan and while they were willing to take risks, their basics were well covered before they did. For example, one of the All Blacks’ biggest problem areas so far this year has been their inability to clear their lines and exit from within their own half effectively. Argentina spotted this trend in the Tests against England and came up with an effective plan to place the likes of TJ Perenara and Damian McKenzie under immense pressure and on one occasion were rewarded with a try for their efforts.
The wobbly lineout in Wellington was largely fixed at Eden Park with New Zealand using more jumpers at the set-piece but frankly put, they cannot rely on Ardie Savea as a regular receiver in South Africa. As much as Savea is a truly world-class player, the Springboks will only allow a free throw to the number eight once.
There was notable improvements in these areas of the game in Auckland but Erasmus will be looking to expose those weaknesses in South Africa and the All Blacks will need to be on top form in terms of execution.
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