The Quest for Expansive Rugby

Well, we now have it, a Bok team that has placed more emphasis on running the ball and where do we find ourselves? Second to New Zealand. Ignorance prevails once more and the Boks find themselves more limited than before in beating their rival. It was tragic irony that we scored the best tries in the Ellis Park encounter, yet it was New Zealand's willingness to use the boot that ultimately secured the result. Not what I had expected from a Meyer run team. One thing I can say for certain is that the tactical kicking route is vital to securing those important hard-fought tests. The myth of 10 man rugby - it in fact requires total cohesion of ALL 15 men to execute - and the myth of running from everywhere has left this Bok team painfully limited. I do hope Meyer has learnt from this and will never again repeat the Ellis Park approach. New Zealand again hold all the cards by pure virtue of willingness to learn and to embrace whatever they need to win. The boks? A quixotic game-plan that has never worked and doesn't even suit us.