Let the defensive battles begin
Fullbacks crucial to Bok and All Blacks game-plans
SOUTH African and New Zealand fullbacks have often been chalk and cheese, with the apt examples being Saturday's potential starters in Andries Coetzee and Damian McKenzie. If Ben Smith didn’t opt for a sabbatical in a year when head injuries have blighted his progress, McKenzie could have been on the periphery.
There was some stiff competition from the youngest Barrett (Jordie) while an unsung hero like David Havili played a crucial role in the Crusaders’ march to their first Super Rugby title in nine years.
It’s not as if Coetzee doesn’t have worthy competition to deal with. There is the serious matter of Warrick Gelant, whose performances in a weak Bulls outfit warranted Bok selection while the nifty Dillyn Leyds also stated a serious case with his showings at the Stormers.
While there’s also conjecture in NZ as to where McKenzie is utilised best, his counterattacking strengths make him a decent, if not very good fullback by NZ’s standards.
There’s still the serious matter of him needing to adapt to the high ball demands of international rugby but like most fullbacks; his attacking intent more than outweighs any frailties.
The same applies with most international fullbacks going around because of size issues. With the exception of Australia’s Israel Folau, England’s Mike Brown, Argentina’s Joaquin Tuculet, Wales’ Liam Williams/ Halfpenny and Scotland’s Stuart Hogg aren’t the biggest fullbacks going around.
The premium is clearly on what’s being offered going forward while a defensive collective ensures cracks are papered over.
Coetzee doesn’t worry over the kind of high voltage rugby that comes with the McKenzie package but has been crucial to the Bok cause this year. When their Super Rugby statistics are paired, McKenzie has the superior numbers due to the Chiefs’ naturally free-flowing style of rugby.
Being his team’s primary goalkicker ahead of Aaron Cruden, McKenzie collected 140 points and scored six tries to Coetzee’s three.
McKenzie (205) carried the ball more times than Coetzee (169) and made more linebreaks (20-11). Crucially, Coetzee conceded less turnovers (17-27) and made more tackle breaks (18-15). While McKenzie is an important asset for any team, it’s clear Coetzee is judicious in terms of when he runs the ball and picks his moments carefully.
Having played at flyhalf at times this season, McKenzie made more tackles (60-36) but it’s difficult to pinpoint where McKenzie missed the majority of his 13 tackles while Coetzee missed one less. At the end of the day, Coetzee was a Super Rugby finalist for the second consecutive year while McKenzie had to watch from the sidelines after they were eliminated by eventual winners the Crusaders. Due to the All Blacks’ better attacking game, McKenzie has made a bigger impact at international level with more carries (32- 23), linebreaks (4-2) and tackle breaks (5-2). However, McKenzie's conceded more turnovers (5-2), indicating his vulnerability if he's isolated when tackled. This weakness will be difficult for the Boks to expose, but if they can, they'll have ticked off one box in the many they need to do so against the All Blacks.