Boks trial trick tactics

The All Blacks’ decision to finish their 92-7 win over Tonga with 14 players created plenty of interest, but the Springboks were also trying some tricky tactics to prepare for the Rugby World Cup.

Specifically, the South African side had their opening match against the All Blacks in mind, during their 41-7 victory over Japan.

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus revealed post-game that his side purposefully went significant stretches without possession of the ball, to prepare themselves for a clash against the All Blacks in which they expect dominating possession to be difficult.

Coupled with that tactic was an attempt to prepare for potential slippery conditions — either from rain, or the heat and humidity, which can cause similar issues when trying to play a possession-first style of rugby.

“Playing without the ball was intentional. Just for this first game to see how it goes. Because we never know what it [the weather conditions] will be like against New Zealand,” said Erasmus. “One of our priorities was to adapt to the weather.”

The Springboks remarkably had only 36 per cent possession, and made 164 tackles to Japan’s 69 as they attempted to absorb pressure and then attack on the counter — managing to score six tries with that tactic.

“It was a dominant defensive performance that eventually led to us scoring tries from turnovers which I think were 80 per cent successful,” said Erasmus.

“It was exactly what we expected. Japan pushed us and the game showed us we are on the right track for the All Blacks in two weeks time.”