The Cobus Visagie column

In the first of a series of columns for Planet Rugby, former Springbok prop Cobus Visagie delves into Richie McCaw's antics at rucks.

In the first of a series of columns exclusive to Planet Rugby, former Springbok prop Cobus Visagie gives us his views on the first round of the World Cup and has some pretty harsh words for Richie McCaw and the Springboks.

Professionalism is a great equaliser

The common sentiment in world rugby after the 1999 World Cup was that the divide between the top rugby nations with full professional squads and the rest will develop into a chasm that no semi-professional team like Canada and Romania will ever be able to traverse again.

Well, we have all been proven wrong this first week of the 2011 RWC in New Zealand. Although there were no significant upsets in the final results of the games, the “B” division teams of the international rugby scene have made a firm statement. It was almost sad to see from an unbiased perspective how Romania let it slip against Scotland and how Japan lost its grip on the game against France.

These teams all showed great attacking ability, but it was mostly defensive lapses and untidy set piece possession that cost them in the end. These are the areas in rugby where coaching systems can make the biggest difference and they are clearly not in place yet. These nations do not have the luxury of regular training camps, nor do they have the right to get their squads together in between competitions, because of their players' contractual obligations at foreign clubs.

The work of the IRB's consultation teams in these nations is starting to pay off and it should be a clear sign that even more funds and careful strategic planning is necessary to take it to the next level.

Professional rugby is also changing the demographics of national teams with nations like Japan full of naturalised New Zealanders like fly-half James Arlidge. In most cases the direction of this transfer of talent has rather been in favour of the nations with financially lucrative domestic professional competitions.

It is interesting that these beneficiaries of talent were probably the most disappointing performers in round 1. The All Blacks started their campaign like a house on fire, but came unstuck in the second halve. I believe their campaign will be significantly influenced by the type of referee adjudicating their games. It is clear that Richie McCaw and the rest of his gang's antics of diving over rucks and not releasing in the tackle are now at the top of most referees' black book. If a referee has the guts to penalise them according to the laws, it will make them vulnerable to both penalties, as well as the speed at which opposition teams can attack against them with the benefit of quicker ruck ball. Wayne Barnes and Australia showed exactly this in their last Tri-Nations game.

One of my two pet hates at the moment is referees that cannot pick up tacklers not releasing after the tackle. I am not sure if it shows their bias or their incompetence or the fact that they don't have a clue that it is the single factor that destroys all continuity and offensive opportunities for attacking rugby at the moment. The referees can make the game happen or they can allow it to become a wrestling match from start to finish. The best example this weekend of a player that was given free reign was the Welsh captain and man of the match, Sam Warburton.

The second issue which increases my blood pressure to about 3 bar is the interpretation of when a player is off his feet at a ruck. When a player has not controlled himself and fallen over a ruck, he should not be able to crawl back on his hands and remain part of the ruck. If you do not know what I am talking about, just watch a couple of clips of Richie McCaw. They deliberately take the space in the “gate” of the ruck on the attacking team's side, while they have their weight on their hands. It is impossible to clean out the players in this situation. Even if it is only for 2 seconds, it is a penalty. Players should learn to enter the area with balance and ensure they can stay on their feet. It will clean up the area, ensure safety at the ruck area and produce attacking rugby with far more continuity than what we are seeing at the moment.

At least the All Blacks can address these discipline issues or tactics that have now been exposed. The Springboks have got bigger problems. Their mastermind in the pack, Victor Matfield, is injured and his best pal Bakkies is nursing the worst of all niggles, his Achilles tendon. A comparison between captain John Smit and his understudy Bismarck du Plessis is almost ludicrous at this moment and this can potentially become an issue. John is a brilliant man and has been a valiant captain, but what worries me most is that when the momentum in the game swung in the favour of the Welsh, the players were never pulled together. Only when Willem Alberts and Bismarck came onto the pitch it seems that they were energised and looked confident to pull it through. I would not like to be responsible to handle the personalities in that camp as the tournament progresses, because the Du Plessis brothers have been known to stick together.

Even worse is the injury of Jean de Viliers, the main playmaker for the Springboks. Even the most die-hard Springbok fan will admit that our backline cannot compare with the dynamic attacking abilities of Australia and the All Blacks. Although it is not the strategy of Springbok teams to play wide, it is also worrying to see them blow like a steam train after small spurts of direct assaults. It is still early days, but there is a question mark in mind if they have the fitness to play their proven power play game for 80 minutes.

The only main contender who played to their potential was the Aussies. They have got momentum on their side and there is no replacement for confidence in a game like rugby. England's tactics and general attack on the other hand, looks as inventive as South Korean car designs at this stage and I think the bookies' money is safe on the Poms.

It is early days however and no World Cup has gone according to plan since 1987.

Follow Cobus on Twitter: Drieman3

Visagie earned 29 caps for his country and was the cornerstone of the Springbok team that reached the 1999 World Cup semi-finals. He earned the nickname “Drieman”, or three man, because he played number 3 and scrummed like 3 men. He won four Currie Cups with Western Province and earned 43 Super 12 caps with the Stormers.

In 2003 Visagie moved to London to join Saracens for whom he played in 121 games and was voted in the Premiership Team of the Season for three consecutive years.