With 32 days to go to the Rugby World Cup kick-off, it can be safely assumed that the change in tactics in the Boks’ winning performance in Buenos Aires at the weekend is a pointer to how they will approach the tournament.
The Boks were praised for their enterprising approach in Rugby Championship matches against the All Blacks and the Wallabies, only for them to lose, and after being humiliated by the Pumas in Durban, Heyneke Meyer made no secret of the fact that the Boks would revert to safety-first tactics for the return match against the Argentineans.
And this is indeed how they approached the match at a sold-out Vélez Sarsfield where the 50 000 expectant fans were gradually silenced by the Boks’ stranglehold on the forward exchanges and dominance of territory through the astute boot of flyhalf Patrick Lambie.
The Boks scored two well-taken tries in the 26-12 win, one of them superbly finished by Lwazi Mvovo, the right wing controversially ignored for the Kings Park match when Meyer shifted centre Jesse Kriel to the position to accommodate returning captain Jean de Villiers at 13.
Lambie scored the rest of the points – two conversions, three penalties and a drop goal – for a 100 percent kicking record, and his sound all-round game will have given Meyer food for thought regarding the No 1 flyhalf slot for the World Cup.
Handre Pollard’s hold on the No 10 jersey seemed to be impregnable but that is no longer the case. Pollard himself has an impressive boot, and can play the tactical game as well as anybody, but he will know that Lambie’s flyhalf stock has risen after being the general in the victory that ended a depressing four-match losing sequence.
“I thought we played tactically very well,” said Meyer, who last week was visibly on edge. “We came close against Australia and New Zealand, when we played more rugby, but we adapted tactically very well here and got the result against a team that plays typical Northern Hemisphere rugby.
“I’m also very proud that we didn’t concede a try away from home,” Meyer added. “A lot of players put up their hands and came through today (there were nine changes from the side that started in Durban, some positional).”
Meyer highlighted the harsh playing environment that is guaranteed in Argentina, where the Boks have struggled in the last three years, drawing once and winning twice by narrow margins thanks to late penalty goals by Morne Steyn.
“It is very tough every time you come here, and this was more difficult than ever given the positive vibe in Pumas rugby after they outplayed us the week before” said Meyer. “We know our performance at Kings Park was not good enough, but today I’m very relieved and very proud.
“They were on a high after beating us and we were under pressure all week, but this is the type of game we can expect at the World Cup and I’m very proud of how the players responded.”
The Boks’ scrumming was vastly improved after the hiding the Pumas gave them in the Rugby Championship match, and it made a telling difference that for the first time this season Meyer brought on experienced front-rankers in the second half.
Captain Victor Matfield backed up Meyer’s comments that this tactical performance was an indication of how the Boks should play at the World Cup. “We were under a lot of pressure going into this game, which is what we can also expect at the World Cup,” Matfield said. “I think we will have a different atmosphere in the team in the next couple of weeks, which will be good for our preparations.
“Set-piece and defence are very important in World Cup rugby and we did well in those aspects today,” Matfield added. “There are usually not a lot of tries, especially in the knock-out phase, and although we’re satisfied with the win today, we know there is work to be done.”
The squad returned to Johannesburg this morning and the players will enjoy a short break before getting together again in Durban on Thursday, where they will join the players currently on rehabilitation and conditioning programmes who remained in South Africa.
“We will put in a couple of weeks of very hard training now and then cut back before the World Cup,” Meyer said. “With a number of top players coming back, I’m very positive and I know we will be able to pick a very strong squad.” - Cape Times