Former All Blacks wing Jeff Wilson believes World Rugby will move swiftly to ban the Springboks’ midfield ‘lineout’ maul tactic.
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus revealed that the ploy, which produced two tries in their 45-0 win against Italy in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, had been borrowed from Paul Roos Gymnasium’s U14B team.
“You get all the benefits that you get in a lineout if you support a guy like that in general play,” said Erasmus. “It worked for us twice, so obviously now people will be alert for it. We won’t be able to do it for a few games.”
Speaking on The Breakdown, Wilson said the Boks were “very, very good again against Italy” despite making wholesale changes, but questioned some of their tactics – including manufacturing a scrum opportunity from the kick-off and setting up ‘lineout’ mauls in the middle of the field.
“I reckon that’ll last a week,” he said of the latter
Both of them led to tries,” added fellow panelist and former All Blacks scrumhalf Justin Marshall. “Even the first one that collapsed pulled in all the defenders. The halfback [Grant Williams] took a run, the centre [Canan Moodie] went through and they scored.
“Then they did it again and scored. So it works – and they’ll be a bit annoyed if World Rugby actually rules it out.”
The panel also debated whether the All Blacks – who wrapped up a series win against an understrength France in Wellington on Saturday – are currently good enough to beat the Springboks.
The world’s top two-ranked teams are set to meet twice in September, at Eden Park in Auckland and Sky Stadium in Wellington.
“Yes, if we stick to how we’re playing and build on that, sort out the defensive things,” said former All Blacks flyhalf Stephen Donald. “I think we can play them our way, and that’s going to give us the best chance.
“We’ll have to try keep the tempo going, which isn’t going to be as easy as it is against the French. The Boks have a Bomb Squad – they can pull the next six off the bench – but they’re also a hell of a team.”
“I think we’re adaptable enough to be able to counter anyone,” said Wilson. “There are a lot of experienced guys who can come back into the team.
“I like the direction we’re heading. But I also start looking at the profile of how we can play and what our strengths are. Because we know we won’t be able to play all of our game against South Africa – at some point we’ll have to play the percentages.”
Marshall agreed: “Yeah, and we know what’s coming. We were competitive those two Tests over there last year and would have gained a lot of confidence from that – albeit losing doesn’t help.
“Their team hasn’t changed much, whereas ours is still evolving. I think we’ll get to a point where we can cause them some problems. But we’re not there yet.
“If I had to answer your question – no. If we played South Africa tomorrow, South Africa would win.”
