The Springboks’ winning start to the Rugby Championship may have been the perfect springboard of intent but it was their performance against Argentina that raised doubts about their suitability to be title contenders.
There is no doubt that the victory in Mbombela Stadium against the Pumas was exactly what Allister Coetzee’s men needed to establish themselves in a competition they haven’t won since it’s expansion to four nations four years ago.
But it was a performance riddled with errors that will give Argentina hope of a possible win in the return leg in Salta on Saturday.
In the aftermath of the win in Nelspruit, the Springboks were the first to admit that it was an ugly win but it was a step in the right direction as the ruthlessness of the competition gives no opportunity for a team to make improvements if losing.
With a win under their belts, after finishing rock bottom in last year’s competition, the Springboks will seek major improvements in their game if they are to return from South America with a full bag of points ahead of their tour Down Under to face Australia and New Zealand.
“The win is important in Test rugby, it doesn’t matter how it comes. It is important to improve while you are winning,” Coetzee said in Nelspruit. “It’s difficult especially in Rugby Championship to improve when you are losing. I’m happy that our set phase went well which is an area where they (Argentina) applied the most pressure. We would like to have more scrums and line-outs in their half obviously. The decision when to run and when to kick is not there yet. If we get that right and have the territorial control, which we claim to have, then it will be a different ball game. That is where we struggle a bit but I’m sure that will come.”
Leading up to Saturday’s Test in Salta, Coetzee and his management will have to iron out the glaring frailties within the team that were exposed by the Pumas in their last gasp 30-23 win in Nelspruit if they are to take a step further in the competition.
In all the ugliness and inept showing of what transpired at the Mbombela Stadium, there were glimpses of how good the Springboks can be if they can maintain a level of consistency and fluency in their execution.
The set-piece will always be critical in gaining ascendency in Test rugby and Coetzee’s men showed the ability to be dominant in the set-piece in the opening and closing exchanges of the game.
Dominance of the set-piece inevitably generates front foot momentum which in turn makes it easier to dominate the gain line and breakdowns while execution becomes the key to capitalising on the opportunities created.
All of these boxes the Springboks have shown the ability to tick when they want to but they will have to do so with precision on Saturday and for the remainder of the competition if they are to come anywhere close to standing a chance of beating the All Blacks and getting their hands on the trophy.
“We are playing in Salta so the focus is really on Argentina, and then in September we are going Down Under then I will have time to look at New Zealand and Australia.
“I think we have things to sort out and we are serious about getting that right,” Coetzee said.
Five things SA must improve
Set-pieces
The Springboks need to be flawless in the scrums and line-outs to keep the Pumas on the bback footand at the same time provide a sound launching platform for their attack. There was parity at the scrums in Nelspruit but no clear dominance while the Springboks lost a line-out to the opposition even though their success rate was high. A good line-out hands the Boks a lethal attacking option of the rolling maul and they will have to seriously consider it if they are going to play Argentina into submission.
Breakdown
The breakdowns have moved on from being a lottery and it is not about numbers, instead it is about which team gets there the quickest.
Argentina thrive on messy rucks and often disrupt the flow of the game there and it will be paramount for the Springboks not to get sucked into a street fight at the points of breakdown. Efficiency at the breakdown provides for clean ball and makes for a quicker game which the Springboks have shown an unquenchable thirst for.
Defence
The Springboks have a new defence coach but it is no excuse for the 18 missed tackles against Argentina in Nelspruit. Those missed tackles led to most of the 23 points the Pumas scored and it is 23 reasons why the Springboks must be ruthless and uncompromising when cutting the Argentinians down to size in Salta. A watertight defence complimented by a clinical attack guarantees victory in Test match rugby.
Tempo
At high speed the Springboks are unstoppable as was evident in the nailbiting dying moments of the game and that is the pace they must play the game throughout the 80 minutes. But that won’t be possible if players die with the ball in the tackle and they will have to make a marked improvement in their offloading game with only four successful offloads made in Nelspruit. The success of a fast running game was evident when the Pumas went on the offensive and they were able to make 13 offloads which led to their tries against the Boks.
Execution
Eleven handling errors and 10 knock-ons paint a grim picture of how poor the Springboks were and they will need to reverse those stats if they are going to produce the running game they wax lyrically about. Eliminate the handling errors and make better decisions and there is no reason why execution should be an issue. Set-piece dominance, strength and dominance at the breakdown, a watertight defence and a fast running game will result in flawless execution of the game plan. That will reflect on the scoreboard and ultimately in the final result. - The Star