The South African Defence Seems to Lead to Overlaps
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“The South African defence seems to lead to overlaps. It looks like it does but most of them are actually just kind of optical illusions courtesy of Erasmus Industries.” – Squidge Rugby commentating on "How the Boks Won the World Cup Final". Volume 19, Number 43 15 November 2019 Register to receive your own free weekly newsletter at www.rugbyrsa.co.za Rassie & the Boks Sweep Rugby Awards Last week’s issue had so much World Cup action, reporting and analysis that we held back the story from Sunday night in Tokyo and the annual World Rugby Awards ceremony. We did that for two reasons: we didn’t think we could give the story the prominence it deserves; and we anticipated a lull in rugby news post-Rugby World Cup. Consequently, you may already have heard that Rassie and his Springbok team cleaned up the World Rugby Awards, picking up three of the top awards on offer: Springboks were named Team of the Year; That said, there have been three opportunities before Pieter-Steph du Toit was named World Player this for the southern hemisphere double – even if we of the Year; and include the years it was known as the Tri-Nations: Rassie Erasmus was named Coach of the Year. 2007, 2011 & 2015. Turning to the most prestigious award, Team of the That Erasmus won Coach of the Year was also no Year, the rationale was quite simple: the Springboks real surprise given that, by tradition, the coach of the completed the double of winning both the Rugby World Cup winning team almost always gets the World Cup and The Rugby Championship this year. award in a World Cup year. The exception was 2015 That has never been achieved before, even by the All when it was gifted to Michael Cheika for coming Blacks. second in the World Cup and burgling The Rugby Championship. Sadly, it’s not as impressive as it may have been given that the whingers found a way to burgle the Similarly, du Toit is a deserved World Player of the World Cup and the northern hemisphere equivalent, Year for his typically brilliant game in the RWC as the Six Nations, back in 2003. That was an well as a superb season throughout 2019 - and before. exceedingly poor year for global rugby. KEY TOPICS IN THIS NEWSLETTER How the Boks Won the World Cup Final Did the New Contracting Model Win RWC? Erasmus Faces a Tricky Springbok Task PRO14: Good News and Bad News, Again Whingers Whinge; That’s What They Do Teams of Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan Page 1 How the Boks Won the World Cup Final Erasmus Faces a Tricky Springbok Task We mentioned it in last week’s newsletter but that There’s an interesting opinion piece by John Goliath was a couple of days before it was released on running on SA Rugby magazine this week, YouTube. We’re talking about what has to be the suggesting that, after the euphoria of the Springbok most humorous, insightful and, frankly, brilliant victory tour around the country, the next assignment analysis of the Rugby World Cup final that we have facing Rassie Erasmus is going to be a lot tricker. seen. It was produced by the inimitable Squidge Rugby and he’s calling this one his opus – not only because it is the longest video analysis he has ever done at just over a half-an-hour but also because he thinks it’s his best work. And we tend to agree. It’s brilliant. So go grab a cup of coffee and then click-through to his YouTube channel. But if you’re at work or somewhere else that watching a video with sound is a problem, save the link for later and look through some of the comments we pulled from the video for you. That should hold Goliath provides extensive context but then he gets to you until you can find time to watch it: the meat of the new challenge facing Rassie: “The “The South African defence seems to lead to Boks World Cup win was amazing, but we mustn’t overlaps. It looks like it does but most of them are forget that our rugby has been in decline over the last actually just kind of optical illusions courtesy of few years. The SA U20 team hasn’t won a world title Erasmus Industries.” since 2012, while the standard of the Currie Cup is getting worse and worse. And. “The number of quality players leaving for big- “The two wingers’ jobs are basically to take money deals overseas has also left South Africa’s momentum out of the attack, to stop the attack rather Super Rugby teams crippled and battling for than the attacker. Sometimes that takes to form of resources. There is also a lack of quality coaching slowing it, even if they don’t take the player to throughout the system, which is why the best ground, they’re still stopping it.” schoolboys rugby players in the world sometimes struggle to take their play to the next level. And, the pièce de résistance: “SA Rugby’s scouting model and talent identification “England made the second least metres of any team must also change. No longer can the big rugby in Rugby World Cup history – not just 2019 World schools be the only sources of talent...” Cup – in any World Cup since 1987.” But we’re not sure that we agree, entirely. Certainly there are big problems in the development space that need urgent attention – especially if we’re going to bring through more quality players of colour. However, the Currie Cup is no longer the single premier competition by means of which a Springbok coach can select a team. These days he has Super Rugby, English Premiership, French Top 14 and PRO14, among others. And the success of that strategy is explored on page six. Page 2 Page 3 Whingers Whinge; That’s What They Do The whinger doesn’t like the complexity and nuance this brings to the game and is demanding that World Rugby restrict the number of replacements teams can use during a game from eight to three. Indeed, he opines: "...it would be an even better sport if the bench was reduced in number. Half a team coming on with fresh legs and sharp minds against guys, who have been taken to the point of exhaustion, is pushing the game out of the realms of normality.” There is a reason that England are the perpetual World Champions of Whinging. In almost any A bit further on he writes: "My feeling is that we given year, the clamour of whinging emanating need to rebalance and enhance the attack, and you from the little island off the coast of France can do that by allowing players to be tired when reaches fever pitch on a regular basis. they are participating in this game, rather than benching them. And it’s no different this year, after the island's national rugby team was comprehensively "In attack, you’re trying to manipulate defences demolished by the Springboks in the Rugby to create space, whereas in defence you are World Cup final. shutting space down. The fewer subs there are on the field the more fatigue becomes a factor, and But before we go there, it’s worth remembering the more quick ball you get the better the one time, back in 1995, when New Zealand attacking opportunities." briefly took away that title. Instead of being gracious in defeat, the kiwis chose to blame But Eddie Jones, current England head coach someone called Suzie for their inability to convert disagrees, vehemently. At the press conference that World Cup opportunity. But it wasn’t long after his team demolished the convicts at this before the title of World Champion Whingers World Cup, he said to reporters: reverted to its natural home: England. “Maybe you guys have got to start reporting Rather than go through all the “woe is us” and differently. Maybe you’ve got to stop reporting “we was robbed” opinion pieces that have dotted like you did 30 years ago. the English media landscape in the last week or so, we’ve opted to look at one particularly “Come into the modern rugby. Join us, join us! hilarious contribution from Jeremy Guscott, a The invitation there’s to join us, guys. Rugby’s former player for the whinger national rugby changed. It’s a 23-man game.” team. He has called for a law change that, had it been in force, may have stopped South Africa winning RWC 2019. [Our emphasis – Ed] Guscott takes issue with the way rugby has evolved from the 15-man game of the amateur and early professional eras. These days, in the fully professional era, it is a 23-man game in which the selection of the bench (and timing of its use) is as important to as the composition of run- on 15. Page 4 Page 5 Did the New Contracting Model Win RWC? PRO14: Good News and Bad News, Again Back in February, when SA Rugby unveiled a new Last weekend’s two PRO14 matches featuring South player contracting model, few of the pundits African teams rather than just players were a reversal commenting on the announcement actually of this season’s early results. The Ospreys vs Kings understood what it was that Rassie was trying to do. encounter in Swansea truly was another of “game of Perhaps now, with the World Cup back on home soil two halves”.