Sports After Dark

During pool play at the Rugby World Cup there was free and opening running but in the knockout stage the game was dominated by stifling defence. The South African’s ability to switch gears was one of the major reasons they now have the Webb Ellis trophy for the next four years.

There were two distinct styles on show among the contenders for the 2007 Rugby World Cup; the high tempo, attacking game from the Southern Hemisphere teams, and the grinding, forwards based game of the Northern Hemisphere. Clearly the Northern style has won out with contenders Australia and New Zealand sent packing in the quarterfinals, but the Springboks were able to change their focus and beat England at their own game in the final.

Australia and New Zealand have been pioneers at developing attacking backs and the confidence to use them. Even from his own 22, Christian Cullen’s first instinct was always to attack, David Campese was willing to take big risks which sometimes put his team in trouble.

But that was the style that these nations built their teams around, and many commentators argued it was more exciting and therefore superior to the Northern Hemisphere style. What tortured logic that was. The All Blacks’ total domination of the British and Irish Lions in 2005 only served to reinforce that notion.

But faced with a defence that gave little away, both teams were forced to go back to tactics which they had abandoned many years ago and a game plan which felt unnatural. In the end, neither team was able to make the transition and both crashed out of the tournament.

But the Springboks seemed to be capable of playing both styles of the game. In the quarterfinals they were faced with the explosive Fijians, but South Africa were able to win that game thanks to some brilliant play by their backs, JP Pietersen in particular.

Up against Argentina in the semi finals South Africa began to rely more on their forwards to dominate up front, then kicked for position and unleashed their powerful back line. On that night it was Bryan Habana who was unstoppable, picking up two tries and having a potential third ruled out because of a forward pass.

In the final, the South Africans completed the transition from Southern to Northern style, kicking for position, dominating the breakdown and smothering the opponent’s attack. Having three excellent tactical kickers in the back line in the form of Butch James, Francois Steyn and Percy Montgomery meant that the Springboks were able to kick themselves out of trouble and keep their forwards on the front foot.

It was not just their adaptability, but also knowing when to change tactics that helped South Africa on to claim rugby’s biggest prize. New Zealand spent far too long trying the wrong tactics against France and then panicked when it became obvious it was not working, while the Springboks never seemed rattled and always had a plan B on hand in case plan A failed.

Across the entire squad, South Africa showed that mental toughness was more important than natural flair and that a game plan needs not only flexibility but the nous to know when change is needed. And that is why, for the next four years, the Springboks are World Champions.

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The Adaptablity and nous the keys to Springboks’ triumph by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.