Five ways for Springboks to conquer the Irish
If there's a modified plan, the Springboks should beat the battling Irish to clinch the three-Test series, says John Goliath.
|||Port Elizabeth - If there's a modified plan, the Springboks should beat the battling Irish to clinch the three-Test series.
Give both Faf and Elton the freedom of the park
Elton Jantjies and Faf de Klerk are not the sort of halfback combination that perform at their best in a rigid game plan. They are instinctive players who play what’s in front of them; it’s their biggest strength.
Being such players doesn’t mean they will be irresponsible in such a big game, because playing the situation also involves making sound decisions and kicking well.
These two players showed in those last 20 minutes at Ellis Park last weekend what they can do when the shackles are taken off. When they sped up the play last weekend, they were almost unstoppable.
Better tactical kicking
Jantjies and De Klerk, though, will have to put in a better kicking display that what they have delivered in the first two matches of the series.If the game is going to demand a much more tactical approach, the halfbacks and fullback Willie le Roux will have to be a lot more accurate with their kicking out of hand.
The Irish haven’t been afraid to punish the Boks’ bad kicks, and have had no problem running them back at the South Africans.
The Irish have also out-kicked the Boks so far in this series.
Discipline
The Boks have started almost all their matches on the back foot because they have been conceding silly penalties at the breakdown in the first halves of the first two Tests.
At Newlands they couldn’t get any sort of momentum going, because they either went off their feet at the ruck or came in from the side. But take nothing away from the Irish – they have been really good in the contact areas as well.
With the Boks conceding penalties, it has obviously helped Ireland to get good field position and use their impressive maul to make more metres or to score tries.
Toeing the line is going to be key in this decider, and hopefully the Boks cope better with a southern hemisphere referee this afternoon.
Carry low and be careful of the rip tackles
Up until those last 20 minutes of the second Test at Ellis Park, Ireland produced one of the best defensive displays by a northern hemisphere side in South Africa.
But their defensive effort wasn’t just based on heart, desire and passion, they were really smart in summing up the situation.
The Boks were too upright in their carries in the first 140 minutes of rugby in this series, and it made them easy targets to double tackle, with one defender going for the man and the other for the ball.
But when the Boks carried low and came from depth, the Irish started to fall off a few tackles. Allister Coetzee’s men should continue where they left off in Joburg.
Get the maul sorted
The maul has been one of the Springboks great strengths. It’s their main weapon to try and knock the wind out of the opposition’s sails. It has been their way of earning psychological dominance.But so far in the series they haven’t been able to hurt Ireland with their maul. In fact, Ireland have done some damage when they've tried to maul against the Boks.
The Springboks supporting the jumper have to play a greater role in trying to prevent the catch from being sacked, because those pillars have been weak.
South Africa’s transition of the ball also needs to be a lot crisper. If the ball is transferred properly, the players can focus on the shove.
Saturday Star