Defence has to get more attention

Thirty-one tries in three matches. That’s what materialised in last weekend’s Currie Cup action in Nelspruit, Pretoria and Bloemfontein. No wonder a question mark has been raised over the defensive awareness in this proud competition.

Western Province scored eight tries to the Pumas’ four for a grand total of 12 tries and 85 points at Mbombela Stadium during Province’s 57-28 win, while nine tries were scored in the Sharks’ 33-29 win over the Cheetahs with a total of 62 points being scored in Bloemfontein.

At Loftus Versfeld it seemed as though the teams took turns to score with 10 tries being scored in the Golden Lions’ 3835 win over the Blue Bulls in another 73-point festival.

Currie Cup coaches have gone on record by saying it’s a competition that needs to be savoured and kept and none of them believed it’s watered down despite only being played over a single round of six games before the semifinals come around.

But if it is such a breeding ground for future Springboks then defence should be just as much of a priority as attack.

Lions defence coach Joey Mongalo does have a valid point when he says defences will pick up due to players still finding each other and cementing new combinations.

While the biggest drawcard will no doubt be the Boks’ clash in the Rugby Championship tomorrow in Brisbane against Australia, it will again highlight the defensive awareness that has been lacking at times in the Boks’ Test matches this year.

And if South African teams don’t fix their defence they will never catch up to the All Blacks who not only attack on a different level but also defend like the champions they are.

A big positive from the Currie Cup however remain the rise of future stars like Lions No 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, Province centre Ruhan Nel and Blue Bulls flanker Ruan Steenkamp.

It also provided the great opportunity for Bok coach Rassie Erasmus to release players back in the Currie Cup system to pick up game time, like Lions centre Lionel Mapoe, Bulls scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl and Province duo of prop Wilco Louw and centre Damian de Allende who has since returned to the Bok set-up.

The poor attendances at traditionally big matches like the Sharks v the Blue Bulls and the Blue Bulls v the Lions however remain a big headache.