2023-10-09 19:49:10
Paris (AFP) – A scrum and an iron defense but waste in the rucks, sharp three-quarters but a failure at the foot which could be resolved by the return of Pollard: analysis of the South Africans, opponents of France, Sunday, in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.
Published on: 09/10/2023 – 9:49 p.m. Modified on: 09/10/2023 – 9:47 p.m.
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Conquest awaits
The reigning world champions, who have built their past successes, that of 2019 in particular, on the power and brutality of their forwards, are also renowned for the strength of their conquest: a trend confirmed during the World Cup group matches, the one against Ireland in particular, which is a reference, despite the defeat (13-8).
In what constitutes the best match of the competition so far, especially in terms of intensity, the South African scrum took precedence over its Irish counterpart four times, twice in the first quarter of an hour. to ward off the opposing danger, twice an hour into the game, allowing him to temporarily regain control of the match.
The strength of the pack is reinforced during this World Cup, by the tactical innovations of the duo at its head, Jacques Nienaber, the coach, and Rassie Erasmus, the director of rugby, not hesitating to place 7 forwards on the substitutes’ bench, this which allows the team to never drop in intensity throughout the game.
A downside however, in Saint-Denis, against the XV of Clover, the South African brazen pack had lost the very precious battle of the “rucks”, the Irish timing playing against the Springbok power. Which could inspire the French, who are particularly effective in the sector.
A solid defense
In addition to the toughness of their forwards which extends to their back lines, the South Africans also rely on a very solid defense.
Against Ireland, they practiced a “rush” defense whose principle is to get on your opponent as quickly as possible to prevent him from playing on the outside.
With some success, since they made 30 offensive tackles during the game and the score never increased. Not without risk, however, since Johnny Sexton at the top of his art twice foiled the stratagem, by finding a teammate behind the quickest defenders.
South Africa’s fly half Handre Pollard kicks to convert a try during the Rugby World Cup match against Tonga on October 1 in Marseille © CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP
Bankruptcy on the foot
This is the black point at the start of the tournament for the world champions, deprived of Handré Pollard, during the first three group matches.
In Japan in 2019, the fly half, best director of the event, was responsible for sanctioning, thanks to his precision in penalties, the domination of his forwards. In France, without its official scorer, South Africa did not succeed. In total, since the start of the competition, Faf De Klerk, Damian Willemse and Manie Libbok have only succeeded in barely half of their attempts against the poles (11 out of 23).
But Pollard is back, having taken advantage of the injury to hooker Malcolm Marx, and his accuracy too. Against Tonga, for 50 minutes, the former Montpellier N.10 converted the 4 shots on goal he attempted. And inspired his replacement, Libbok making 3 shots out of 3 attempts.
Game despite everything
Everyone noticed it. Since the start of the World Cup, South Africa, with Manie Libbok at the helm, has shown a desire to play and not just rely on the roughness of its pack.
With the speedy Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe on the wings, and the elegant Damian Willemse at the back, the South Africans have world-class assets. Against Ireland and its impeccable positioning backs, these “Boks” played very little on foot, preferring to ignite the match.
South African scrum-half Faf de Klerk passes a ball during the match against Ireland, during the Rugby World Cup, on September 23 in Saint-Denis © FRANCK FIFE / AFP
What will happen with Pollard starting and the start of knockout matches, where risk-taking is often reduced to a minimum?
“We clearly have several options,” agreed scrum-half Faf de Klerk on Monday. “Everything is planned, but our game is more varied than before. We just have to adapt it to the situation presented to us.”
With Pollard, South Africa should show a completely different face. The opener has never hidden his appetite for occupying the field and playing a “boring game”. There is no doubt that his foot should guide the quarter-finals. And this, even if the blue wingers are very well placed.
© 2023 AFP
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