Trident-za
07-27-2004, 04:52 PM
I know there are very few rugby fans here, but still there are a few NZs and Ozzies here... I'd like to say a few things about the Tri-Nations prospects and the recent game.
The ABs won on Saterday, after a 15 phase build-up. They also had a 12 phase attack, and three 7 phase attacks without scoring. While this speaks volumes of the Springbok defense, it is actually a scary statistic for the Boks. In 4 games this year (400 minutes of rugby) they are yet to reach 7 phases of play. It should be noted that these stats are a bit skewed because they have often scored tries without needing 7 phases phases of play - hardly a bad thing.
So... the Springboks can tackle, they can scrum, they can win line-out ball, and they can score tries..... but what if the opposition defend well? This is the crucial issue for me, and a lot of SA rugby fans. Are the springboks really back, or can stout defense from the opposition shut them out of the game completely?
And why exactly are they not "dealing with" possession so well? Lack of skill? Altough we did knock on a lot of ball (including a memorable ****-up with a 4-1 overlap against the ABs), I think its the mentality thats the problem at the moment, not lack of skill. Maybe it's just lack of belief, or maybe it's poor option taking. We kick away too much ball (dammit, after scoring 3 tries on Saterday why not try and run the ball a bit?????). Generally, we lack patience - if we haven't scored after 2 or 3 phases a bit of panic sets in and someone tries a really dumb kick through. We won 23% possession against the ABs, and kicked/knocked on about 80% of that away, while still scoring 3 tries. What if we had tried to keep the ball?
In short, if the Springboks don't do something about this problem I predict that the Boks will narrowly lose all the remaining Tri-Nations games. We have the players to win, but..... a bit of self-belief and a spot of tactical nuance would be good.
If the Boks focus as much on ball retention as they did on defence... THEN we are a real threat and back near the top of world rugby. Otherwise, we will always be the guys who showed a lot of guts in tackling everything that moved, but lost narrowly ....
The ABs won on Saterday, after a 15 phase build-up. They also had a 12 phase attack, and three 7 phase attacks without scoring. While this speaks volumes of the Springbok defense, it is actually a scary statistic for the Boks. In 4 games this year (400 minutes of rugby) they are yet to reach 7 phases of play. It should be noted that these stats are a bit skewed because they have often scored tries without needing 7 phases phases of play - hardly a bad thing.
So... the Springboks can tackle, they can scrum, they can win line-out ball, and they can score tries..... but what if the opposition defend well? This is the crucial issue for me, and a lot of SA rugby fans. Are the springboks really back, or can stout defense from the opposition shut them out of the game completely?
And why exactly are they not "dealing with" possession so well? Lack of skill? Altough we did knock on a lot of ball (including a memorable ****-up with a 4-1 overlap against the ABs), I think its the mentality thats the problem at the moment, not lack of skill. Maybe it's just lack of belief, or maybe it's poor option taking. We kick away too much ball (dammit, after scoring 3 tries on Saterday why not try and run the ball a bit?????). Generally, we lack patience - if we haven't scored after 2 or 3 phases a bit of panic sets in and someone tries a really dumb kick through. We won 23% possession against the ABs, and kicked/knocked on about 80% of that away, while still scoring 3 tries. What if we had tried to keep the ball?
In short, if the Springboks don't do something about this problem I predict that the Boks will narrowly lose all the remaining Tri-Nations games. We have the players to win, but..... a bit of self-belief and a spot of tactical nuance would be good.
If the Boks focus as much on ball retention as they did on defence... THEN we are a real threat and back near the top of world rugby. Otherwise, we will always be the guys who showed a lot of guts in tackling everything that moved, but lost narrowly ....