Over the last few weeks, on a few threads, I’ve explained to Saffex that the Boks always have their worst games when the breakdown goes wrong.
I said that having a specialist 6 was essential in test rugby to compete at the ruck. To that end, Kolisi was a better 8 because he has the running and passing skills to link with the backs.
Having a specialist 6 is essential, particularly true without the likes Duane Vermeulen - or even an inform Marx.
Deon Fourie, who was a revelation for the Boks as a 6, and later as an emergency hooker- played a key role in the Boks 2023 RWC. He was an out and out specialist breakdown player that made slowed down opposition ball and sped up his own teams possession.
Marx has not been as effective at the ruck compared to years past. He no longer seems as mobile around the park.
Rassie said after the match that the breakdown was excellent until Eskom went off in the 20th minute, and once Kolisi picked up an injury, it got even worse. Kwagga made no impact at the breakdown, and there are question marks now over whether he’s still test standard.
The Boks played a very expansive game, and it worked up until Eskom left the pitch. But they kept committing too many players out wide after the Aussies were dominating the rucks. This made it too easy for Australia to punch through the middle. They should have adapted their tactics to commit more players to the ruck.
Also, the skip passes out wide near the touchline, creating one-on-one situations where the Aussies beat their man and cut through the line of defence, which had non-existent cover defence. These were often individual errors, but the frequency they happened is concerning. Although, without their domination of the ruck, they would usually have gotten much less chances. Joe Schmidt is a very good coach.
At the international level, the backrow needs at least one specialist fetcher at 6, or the whole backrow needs to be good on the ground. With Steph DuToit on the wing, we need at least two backrow forwards that are good at the breakdown - and ideally at least one tight forward to cover form on the day.
The Boks tried to play rugby in the second half as though they were dominating the breakdown, and what they got was slow, clumsy possession that delivered a poor performance. Without being able to go through quick phases, the attack was too easy to defend against, which in turn led to more turnovers, intercepts and confusion.