Ken Borland

It was extremely encouraging to see a really transformed Springbok team play some superb rugby in beating England in the first Test at Ellis Park at the weekend, and you have to give the head coach, Rassie Erasmus, a lot of credit for how his team were able to come through in the end.

England were superfired-up and it’s never easy to win a Test against them, and one can see how the amazing comeback win has uplifted everyone in the country.

At the start, there were some setting issues for the Springbok defence, they were too tight. The wings generally set the width of the defensive line and you’re looking for field coverage from them to the ruck. Depending on the speed of the ball out of the breakdown, you can get 70 to 85% coverage or even 90-95% of the field covered if it’s very slow ball.

They also were trying to come in on England’s second-last player, but the tourists were very clever and they used skip passes, which enabled them to easily get through, as they did when they engineered a two-on-one on Willie le Roux for Owen Farrell’s try. The Springboks also had a disconnected defensive line for the late outside runner from 10 which the English were able to exploit.

So the home side found themselves in a heck of a position – 24-3 down after 17 minutes. The biggest change after that was that England did not see the ball in the middle of the game. For the Springboks to turn ahead of England at halftime echoed so many of the Lions’ games at altitude at Ellis Park – the opposition would go ahead early, but the Lions would always come back in that death-zone period at altitude 15 minutes before halftime.

You could see England were struggling to fold and the key issue was the number of turnovers that Duane Vermeulen got at the breakdown. They were all around halfway and the Springboks were able to kick the penalties for great field position and get their lineout drive going.

South Africa’s third try was a perfect example of that: the maul with poor defence from England in the 22 and an easy walk-in for the open wing, and you have to give Sbu Nkosi credit for working his way all the way around off his wing and getting the inside ball from Aphiwe Dyantyi, the other wing.They both showed a willingness to support off their wings.

At altitude, the game is always so fast and it was perfect conditions for rugby, which is why 56 points could be scored in the first half. There was some calmness though at the start of the second half and it was almost like a huge sigh for the crowd of more than 55 000 as both teams hit each other hard on the gain-line.

I do believe England missed a trick though by taking lock Nick Isiekwe off after just 36 minutes. Sure, Brad Shields, normally a loose forward, made an impact and gave them more mobility, but I felt the England scrum had been quite dominant until that point. You could see the energy South Africa got from the set-pieces after that and rugby is obviously still confrontational at set-piece at Test level. It also left England with only one real jumper in Maro Itoje and that key lineout at the end of the game was lost.

In the first quarter, England cut the Boks’ line so much, and exerted set-piece pressure, but once they made the change at lock it changed. They obviously wanted to play a ball-in-hand type of game, to not have lots of set-pieces. They wanted to keep the ball alive and have a broken-play type of game.

These were the tactical errors made by Eddie Jones, only having loose forwards on the bench instead of another lock. You still need a set-piece or else you will concede penalties.

After the first 20 minutes, the Springboks rarely allowed England into their own half by forcing turnovers and dominating territory. They were totally dominant and rampant in the middle period and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen that – the last time was probably against France last June, so the Ellis Park factor carried on.

When England tried to exit with box-kicks, Vermeulen was there to field them and take the pressure off the debutant wings.

But there were only three points between the sides at the end, which makes one think back to the Elliot Daly howler when he just needed to dot the ball down to prevent Nkosi scoring.

South Africa also didn’t finish all their chances and it’s fair to say England controlled the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes, and the Springboks were in charge for the middle 50. If England had won that last lineout, who knows what would have happened with the way the game ebbed and flowed.

The match was a fantastic spectacle and hopefully the next two Tests are sold out because we can definitely see the fact that the crowds are enjoying watching the Springboks win again. It will be a great Test on the weekend in Bloemfontein and I remember all the way back to 2000 when Jonny Wilkinson kicked eight penalties and a drop goal there to give England a 27-22 victory.

It was the penalty count that destroyed England too at Ellis Park last weekend and they came mostly from the scrum or breakdown. England need to carry the ball better and get their cleaners there quicker and more effectively and pick another lock!

The Springboks’ set-piece became stronger and can be a real weapon, it was really encouraging to see RG Snyman really come through. He clearly has a lot of athleticism and is so good in space.

The Boks need the same attitude and attacking mindset this weekend.

Maybe the most important positive so far for the Springboks though is that they have taken a lot of players out of overseas eligibility with 16 new caps in the first two weeks of Rassie Erasmus’s reign!

John McFarland won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 09, 10) with the Bulls and five Currie Cup crowns with the Blue Bulls as their defence coach. In all, he won 28 trophies during his 12 years at Loftus Versfeld.

He is currently the assistant coach of the Kubota Spears in Japan and was the Springbok defence coach from 2012 through to the 2015 World Cup, where they conceded the least line-breaks in the tournament and an average of just one try per game.

I had great expectations for the new-look Springboks last weekend against Wales and I thought a young and energetic team under a fresh coaching staff would play with real vigour and physicality. So it was a surprise to see them play so ponderously and under pressure they seemed scared to take the initiative and impose themselves on the Welsh.

It was strange to see a guy like Ivan van Zyl, who at the Bulls is always keen to move the ball, to keep the flow going, suddenly slow the whole game down. He normally plays an up-tempo passing game, so why did he become a box-kicking player in one week?

To offer some perspective though, it was a difficult away Test and it was obviously just a money-making venture to send them all the way to Washington. It was the  Springboks’ choice  to have only one training session in Washington, and a captain’s run and then play. An international coach has a lot of time for planning and preparation, with Rassie Erasmus resigning from Munster in November,  they had those alignment camps, but they chose not to have training camps which possibly came back to bite them in hindsight.

The conditions were the same for both sides, the Springboks really needed to play a lot more adventurously. Obviously Wales also did a lot of kicking, but whenever the Springboks fielded the ball they tended to slow things down, a whole line of forwards involved in the ruck very slowly setting up the box-kick, and it meant there was no width to the chase. That whole set-up tactic also gives time for the opposition to drop men back to deal with the kick they know is coming because there is no attacking shape, and it’s made easier for them because the chase is so narrow, the Springboks exposing themselves out wide. The big problem for the Springboks was that Wales were able to deal with their kicks and showed more adventure; they were able to put in attacking kicks on the open wing, regain possession and put more pressure on the Boks.

On the positive side, the Springbok set-pieces were good, they scrummed well and were able to get their own lineout ball well, forming the driving maul easily and quickly. Marvin Orie also had the measure of the Wales lineout at the end of the game and was able to steal some crucial balls.

The defence was not up to scratch according to Erasmus, but I didn’t think it was too bad, they had good line-speed when they were set and generally kept the attack from getting gainline and momentum. There are things that they need to put in place better, but they’ve got time now ahead of the first Test against England.

The first try conceded was because of the ball just squirting out at a ruck, while the scrumhalf try after that came after a very poor kick-chase and there was a blocker in the line who took out our props. I don’t understand why they are front-line on a chase, you don’t want to expose them to wings or fullbacks. The Springboks then did not get set in the pillar area, they were moving outwards at pillar two when Tomos Williams broke, which is a basic error.

Obviously they regrouped at halftime and the Springboks’ line-speed forced an error and Travis Ismaiel’s intercept try brought them back in the game. Having been 14-3 down, they did well to get back into it.

But then came the last try conceded by the unfortunate Robert du Preez. One had to ask where the blockers/screen were around the ruck? There was massive space left which enabled Wales to come through easily and put pressure on the replacement flyhalf. Two chargedowns in a passage of play will definitely lead to a try at this level.

While Du Preez had his problems at the end, I also didn’t feel Elton Jantjies controlled the game that well. Van Zyl also did most of the kicking and I think it was probably an instruction for them to kick from scrumhalf because that’s what worked for Rassie at Munster, but then he did have Conor Murray, the best scrumhalf in the world!

Apart from the Springbok scrum being good, they were also very flat and direct on attack from the scrum and they went hard over the gain-line. Jantjies did a lot of this too, but then that means the flyhalf is on the floor for the next two rucks and by the time he is back up on his feet he has static ball, which is why Elton used the outlet of a kick-pass so often. No flyhalf enjoys not having quick ball because that’s when the defence dictates and rushes, and a static flyhalf easily has his wide runners picked off.

The Springboks now need to get back to their best quickly for the England series, which everyone is really looking forward to. It certainly is interesting, as it always is with Eddie Jones and his words off the field. He’s under pressure and deflecting from the fact that England have lost their last four games, which is quite a run and includes their worst ever loss at Twickenham, against the Barbarians in their last outing. They are coming in with no confidence and they rarely win in South Africa – three wins in 13 Tests – so Eddie could be staring down the barrel of seven successive defeats if the Boks hit their straps.

The Springboks are also under pressure though because a world ranking of seven is certainly not where a side with the strength and rugby culture of South Africa wants to be. But it will be a completely different game to Erasmus’s first one in charge, playing at altitude at Ellis Park, which is a super-quick, big field with quick ball.

It’s a bit strange that England have gone to Durban to prepare and have not come straight to altitude. Maybe they wanted to escape winter on the Highveld, but they are definitely going to feel it at the back end of the game and they will need a strong bench to cope. At altitude you have to use 23 players.

I am looking forward to seeing Willie le Roux back at fullback, and with Handre Pollard at flyhalf it means the Springboks have left and right-footed kickers. Willie is tremendous at seeing things on the field, he has great vision in terms of spotting space, and chips and other little kicks -plus he’s lightning quick -to exploit it. He’s also very safe under the high ball.

John McFarland was the Springbok defence coach from 2012 through to the 2015 World Cup, where they conceded the least line-breaks in the tournament and an average of just one try per game. He won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 09, 10) with the Bulls and five Currie Cup crowns with the Blue Bulls as their defence coach. In all, he won 28 trophies during his 12 years at Loftus Versfeld.

He is currently the assistant coach of the Kubota Spears in Japan.

The Lions have an unbelievable record against all other South African SuperRugby franchises since 2015 and they have consistently been our best team. It really is an amazing record, their dominance of South African rugby is the reason they have been in two successive finals and they have consistently scored the most tries in the competition, so you have to ask why they have so few backs in the new Springbok squad?

With only Aphiwe Dyantyi and Elton Jantjies named in the 43-man squad, there may be no Lions back in the starting line-up against England, which is quite interesting when you consider they have been beating everyone else in South Africa convincingly, and especially with their coach, Swys de Bruin, now with the Springboks as a backline consultant.

There have been suggestions that new Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is concerned with the defensive prowess shown by our SuperRugby franchises, but the Lions in 2016 had one of the best defences in the competition and you have to play, you can’t just kick the ball downfield and defend.

It’s also interesting that none of the first-choice back three from last year’s Springboks – Andries Coetzee, Raymond Rhule and Dillyn Leyds – have been selected by Erasmus.

It is true to win big competitions you need a rock-solid defence.

If you look at the points conceded figure for our teams, the four South African outfits have all leaked between 381 and 392 points, an average of 27.2-29.8 points per match. In terms of tries conceded, the figures are 49 to 52 per side, which amounts to an average of 3.5-3.7 per game.

In comparison, the Jaguares, who are strong contenders to win the South African Conference, are conceding just 26.2 points and 3.4 tries per match. Only the Sunwolves, the bottom team in SuperRugby, have worst stats than the South African franchises.

What is causing our teams to concede so many points? You can’t just say it’s because we now have an attacking mindset. Not one of our sides has been really convincing defensively, which perhaps reflects where most of them are on the overall log. At Test level, the Springboks used to work on trying to concede less than an average of 15-16 points per game, and 11-12 at the World Cup, with just one try. Then, more often than not, you would be on the winning side. It is imperative to get back to these sort of stats now going forward because big Test matches are often gain-line arm-wrestles.

The really good news for the Springboks though is that England have just conceded nine tries and 63 points against a scratch BaaBaas XV, both record lows for them at Twickenham. So their defence is in real trouble and in their last four games one began to notice some real cracks both in terms of their system and individual tackles.They really are sitting before the tackle which causes them to miss so many and any ‘backdoor’ second-line plays cause total disconnection and confusion.

Eddie Jones turned on his players viciously, saying some of them couldn’t cope with the pace of international rugby, but he picked them in the first place, and it will be even harder on super-fast highveld fields with altitude as a factor.

To get back to our Lions, their win over the Stormers at the weekend was so vital because it maintains a buffer between them and the Jaguares, who have a game in hand but are six points behind. It was an exciting battle with the Stormers exploiting the Lions fullback getting into the defensive line early with attacking kicks and the Lions exploiting the home side’s flimsy defence of the rolling mauls and around the edges – the way Nic Groom dummied Ramone Samuels to score was way too easy.

There is also a difference in the way the Lions use the rolling maul these days, they are prepared to wheel it more in order to exploit space and take out the defenders stopping the maul. It is really good use of forces and you have to credit Philip Lemmer for bringing in something different and innovative.

You have to praise the Lions for the win, but the Stormers will rue the red card to Raymond Rhule. You just can’t do what he did anymore on a rugby field, although the nature of his suspension and those of other players in recent weeks does raise fresh questions over exactly how the judiciary works in SuperRugby. How can the ban cause them to effectively miss no rugby?

The Sharks were really outplayed by the Jaguares in Buenos Aires but they also did some sloppy things.

Coach Robert du Preez also made a massive statement during the week that they would be in the final either this year or next, which smacked of desperation and false news from a side scrambling for a quarterfinal place, and about to come up against one of the form teams in SuperRugby.

The Sharks’ pillar defence was just not good enough last weekend, the guys were either too wide or too upright. You can’t allow yourself to just be cut so easily next to the ruck, that should be the strongest part of your defence because that’s where the ball is, but for the Sharks, it was their weakest area.

The Jaguares did finish well and wing Ramiro Moyano scored three tries and they were backing up the ball-carrier well. The try they scored just before halftime to go 17-0 up would have hurt the most for the Sharks because they were slow to react, players had their backs to the ball and conceding a try from a quick-tap penalty is the sort of thing you can’t afford away from home.

It’s a very long trip to Buenos Aires and they had a quick turnaround from their last game, but the Sharks looked sluggish. The Bulls had similar problems the week before and how to manage that trip is something the South African teams have to sort out. When I was involved with the Springboks, we found it better to train in South Africa for two sessions, then fly over, have a captain’s run and play.

It is pleasing, however, to see the Jaguares hit their straps and when SuperRugby resumes they will have three vital games left in which to clinch their playoff place. Their Australasian tour proved that they can win on the road and they have been really impressive in their recent bonus point wins at home, so they are building nicely. It will still, however, be a big test for them to host the Stormers and then play the Bulls and Sharks away after they have played Tests against Wales and Scotland.

The Bulls were also really disappointing last weekend and they will look at their game against the 14-man Brumbies and really rue their defeat – it will probably be the game that loses them a playoff place.

They did some really good things on attack – Handre Pollard’s show-and-go try and Roelof Smit scoring out wide – but their defence is just not good enough for them to be playoff contenders. An example of that was when they had three defenders on two attackers after the restart turnover, but they all just rushed up and opened the space for the Brumbies on the outside. They will also be disappointed with the try when fullback Tom Banks ran the whole length of the field to score.

The Bulls are just not able to stop momentum close to the rucks, their opponents get go-forward too easily, and especially in the 22 that generally means seven points against you because it leads to space around the pillars, something which Brumbies scrumhalf Joe Powell exploited.

The Bulls have certainly been more entertaining this season but they need to step up over the next few weeks. Pretoria only really comes out to the stadium for winning rugby. The Bulls have a lot of talent in key areas, the locks are the envy of every team and the fetchers are second to none, and they have real X-factor in their outside backs.

Pollard has played plenty of Tests and is at the peak of his powers, Jesse Kriel too, and they have more players in the Springbok squad than the Lions, so how come are the Southern Gauteng side so far ahead of them? The Bulls are certainly an enigma, they do a lot of good things in every game, they just need that consistency of performance, they are too up-and-down at the moment.

On a parting, more positive note, my heartiest congratulations to Siya Kolisi on his well-earned appointment as captain for the England series. I am sure he will fly the South African flag high and do the position proud.

John McFarland was the Springbok defence coach from 2012 through to the 2015 World Cup, where they conceded an average of just one try per game and the least line-breaks in the tournament. He is now the assistant coach of the Kubota Spears in Japan and before that, McFarland won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 09, 10) with the Bulls and five Currie Cup crowns with the Blue Bulls. In all, he won 28 trophies during his 12 years at Loftus Versfeld.

Heyneke Meyer has previously said that bowing to public opinion would be akin to having fans voting for the national team, but the Springbok coach has made what will be some popular selections in the squad announced on Sunday to tour Great Britain and Ireland.

While it’s a perfectly logical squad, featuring all the players who appeared for the Springboks this year and are fit, there will be some debate, as ever, round the flyhalf position.

Meyer has predictably named all three contenders – Elton Jantjies, Morne Steyn and Pat Lambie – in the squad, and it would perhaps be best for the long-term growth of the Springboks if he spread the flyhalf duties between the trio for the three Tests against Ireland, Scotland and England.

There are five uncapped players in the 31-man squad, with lock Franco van der Merwe and scrumhalf Jano Vermaak having been round the block a few times, while outside backs Lionel Mapoe and 19-year-old Raymond Rhule have the flair and skills to be exciting additions to the Springbok backline in years to come.

Speaking of flair and skills, Meyer has decided to bring hooker-cum-part-time flank Schalk Brits in from the cold, the 31-year-old Saracens player having not represented the Springboks since 2008. The other overseas-based players in the squad are Ulster scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar, Bath flank Francois Louw and mountainous Toulouse loosehead prop Gurthrö Steenkamp.

The other uncapped player in the touring group is loose forward Arno Botha, who has been part of the Springbok squad this year.

Meyer explained his reasoning by saying: “We’ve got a settled core of players that did the job during the England series and the Rugby Championship and we decided to stick with them.

“Gurthrö and Schalk are experienced front-rankers who have played for South Africa before and know the conditions in the Northern Hemisphere. This tour provides a good opportunity to assess them as we plan ahead. Arno, Lionel, Franco and Jano have all been part of our squad earlier in the season.

“Raymond put up his hand for the Junior Boks and the Cheetahs and I’m very excited to see what he can do. It’s also great to have JP Pietersen and Chiliboy Ralepelle back from injury as they bring a lot of experience to the squad.”

Meyer will also name a 32^nd squad member before the team departs for the United Kingdom on Saturday, with loose forward and outside back being the two areas where the Springboks probably currently have holes.

Captain Jean de Villiers, who missed Western Province’s run-in to the Currie Cup title with a hamstring strain, will also have to prove his fitness before departure.

The Springboks have already been hard-hit by injuries with prop Coenie Oosthuizen, hookers Bismarck du Plessis and Tiaan Liebenberg, lock Andries Bekker, loose forwards Siya Kolisi, Jacques Potgieter and Pierre Spies, flyhalf Johan Goosen, centre Frans Steyn and wing Bryan Habana all being wounded in action this year.

Flanks Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Heinrich Brussow were all ruled out before the Springboks even stepped on to a field this year.

The injury curse got her dirty little hands into Habana over the weekend, the in-form winger leaving the field with a knee injury in the 14^th minute of the Currie Cup final after Beast Mtawarira hurled him to the ground at a ruck.

On the plus side, though, Pietersen is back in the Springbok squad and will be hoping Lady Luck only has her best in store for him after he missed the entire Rugby Championship with a hand injury.

While Springbok fans have had to endure a diet of uninspired rugby and regular defeats this year, the team began to show real promise in the second half of the Rugby Championship before the brilliant All Blacks taught them a lesson in Soweto.

Weather conditions overseas may favour Meyer’s preferred conservative game plan, but there are enough exciting youngsters in the squad for more glimmers of hope to be seen. 

Springbok squad – Zane Kirchner (Bulls), Pat Lambie (Sharks), JP Pietersen (Sharks), Juan de Jongh (WP), Jaco Taute (Lions), Jean de Villiers (WP), Lionel Mapoe (Lions), Lwazi Mvovo (Sharks), Raymond Rhule (FS), Elton Jantjies (Lions), Morne Steyn (Bulls), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster), Francois Hougaard (Bulls), Jano Vermaak (Bulls), Duane Vermeulen (WP), Willem Alberts (Sharks), Arno Botha (Bulls), Francois Louw (Bath), Marcell Coetzee (Sharks), Juandre Kruger (Bulls), Franco van der Merwe (Lions), Eben Etzebeth (WP), Flip van der Merwe (Bulls), Jannie du Plessis (Sharks), Pat Cilliers (Lions), CJ van der Linde (Lions), Adriaan Strauss (FS), Chiliboy Ralepelle (Bulls), Schalk Brits (Saracens), Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks), Gurthro Steenkamp (Toulouse).

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