Article by Armand Van Zyl
Two weeks ago Heyneke Meyer’s Springboks finally managed to defeat Steve Hansen’s All Blacks. It was the first time in his tenure that the Boks got a win over rugby’s number one side.
The win was a sign of good things to come for the Boks, not because of the emphatic win but because of the way in which it was achieved.
The Boks, who had become world renowned for their dull, physical and kicking play, offered a much better type of style to the All Blacks than expected and it paid dividends.
But for the first time in ages things look bright for Springbok rugby. For years on end the South African public yearned for evolution in the Bok gameplan and at long last they have delivered exactly that.
But now credit is due to the passionate Bok mentor. Meyer has addressed a number of problems during the past three years. The most noticeable of these is the Bok presence at the breakdown.
Richie Grey has transformed this team to become the very best at the breakdown, something you would have credited to the All Blacks a few years ago. Indeed the Boks have been the best team in the world as far as the breakdown is concerned for two years running now.
Duane Vermeulen, Francois Louw, Marcell Coetzee, Bismarck du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss and even Bryan Habana have stamped their authority as fetchers in world rugby and have proven themselves to be highly influential against the All Blacks.
In fact the Boks have become so good at stealing ball that they, as a collective, haven’t sacrificed their discipline in doing so either. Against both the All Blacks and Wallabies in all four games the Boks have not been penalised more than four times for breakdown infringements. That is a telling statistic.
But now comes the question. What has sparked this significant change in the Springbok philosophy?
Well, earlier this year Meyer and Springbok captain Jean de Villiers came out saying that they recognise the fact that one cannot bludgeon the opposition with big forwards continuously anymore and that they must now stress the importance of out-thinking their opponents.
This was reinforced with Handre Pollard’s interview a week ago wherein he stated directly that “the days of kicking the ball away are over”.
But in reality the big change can be tracked back to November 2013, following the Springbok victory over France in Paris. After this game Meyer immediately headed out to meet with all the unions in the country.
First he set out to meet with the Blue Bulls, followed by the Natal Sharks and then the Free State Cheetahs, the Golden Lions and finally Western Province.
What was said was left ambiguous. Until now.
An article on SuperSport titled “WP help drive Heyneke’s revolution” clarified the nature of Meyer’s meetings with the unions. It was revealed that Meyer asked for the assistance of the unions to help implement a new strategy to the Springboks. Of all the unions asked, only Western Province complied immediately.
During the second half of the Super Rugby season a noticeable change was seen in the Stormers’ tactics. They had begun running the ball. Currently in the Currie Cup, Western Province have taken their attacking ability to a whole new level.
In July, coach Allister Coetzee said that the club had spoken with Meyer and were playing in line with the direction the Boks wanted to take.
We wanted to introduce this system earlier during Super Rugby but we were prevented from doing so because of the 23 injuries we suffered in the season,” Coetzee said.
“But now we have decided to press on with it”
Coetzee said the Stormers couldn’t play an attacking game without the players being conditioned to do so. The Stormers introduced a “red session” practice every Tuesday for all their age group teams.
During this session the players are pushed to place they have never been. It consists of 80 minutes or pure fitness, with a 10-minute break, just like in a real game scenario.
“This ensures that the training is even tougher than an actual game of rugby,” Coetzee said.
“To me what was telling against the Blue Bulls was how we made 263 tackles and despite that we turned the ball over 15 times and scored three 40 to 80 metre tries while offloading the ball 12 times and breaking the line eight times,” Coetzee said.
“We really surprised them with the tempo of our play.”
Coetzee also said that the Stormers’ had no problems with contracted players not currently playing Currie Cup for the good of Meyer and the Springboks.
“While it would have been good to have someone like Damian de Allende back with us we understand Heyneke’s request,” Coetzee said.
“He wants to turn Damian into an outside centre because that’s where he wants to start him at the World Cup.”
“I have spoken to Damian and he is eager to learn the subtleties of outside centre, he wants to learn how to organise a defence in the back line, which is something Jan Serfontein also lacks.
“He is very eager to make the swap and I’ll help Heyneke with that by playing Damian at 13 as well.”
Of all the unions asked to help the Bok cause only three have submitted thus far. The Bulls and the Sharks have been said to be particularly stubborn in regards to Meyer’s plea.
To me this is understandable.
The Sharks, especially under Jake White, were never going to change their style. Jake just wouldn’t leave JakeBall. However the Sharks are now rid of him and I suspect we could see a change soon.
The Bulls are the architects of the kick-chase game. They have been playing it for years on end and it is understandable that it will take time for them to adjust.
For the first time a Springbok coach seems to be getting the support he needs from his unions and now the ball is in his court. Players like Eben Etzebeth, Duane Vermeulen, Jean de Villiers and Damian de Allende have not yet been subjected to the Stormers’ new philosophy nor their “red sessions”.
Expect these players to come out next year looking much better in terms of conditioning and skill levels. Hopefully both the Sharks and Bulls will follow suit.
