Cape Town - For a defence guru like Jacques Nienaber, it is worrying when he feels that the Springboks are not up to scratch in that department – just a year out from the World Cup.
The one obvious statistic to consider on defence is the tries against column, and in that regard, South Africa have leaked nine touchdowns in four Rugby Championship matches this year.
That doesn’t sound too bad, but looking back at the 2021 competition – where they gave away 10 tries in six matches, it puts it in context ahead of two games against Argentina, in Buenos Aires tomorrow (9.10pm kickoff) and Durban next Saturday.
The Pumas will certainly be stretching the Bok defence in front of what is expected to be a boisterous, 42 000-capacity crowd at Estadio Libertadores de America this weekend, with their abrasive ball-carrying style and ability to bring their backs into play constituting a serious test for the visitors, especially with midfield lynch-pin Lukhanyo Am out injured.
Nienaber pointed to a number of reasons for the question marks around the defence this week.
“I don’t know what the stats are currently. If you ask me what our tackle completion (rate) is, I will not be able to tell you. It’s not something that I look at, because the reason is that tackle completion, in my opinion … if you score four maul tries and you kick all of them over, the score will be 28-0, and you won’t miss a tackle,” Nienaber said.
“Are we where we should be, in terms of winning a World Cup? Probably not – and there are a couple of reasons for that. If you look at just team selection, we don’t have a massive focus on continuity in team selection. Although we want to win every single Test match, I don’t think our mind is currently there in terms of getting consistent team selections.
“We are maybe thinking a little bit broader, giving a guy like Elrigh (Louw) an opportunity in a big game. This will be like a semi-final – it will be one of his biggest games that he would play in, away from home.
“Last game, giving a guy like Canan (Moodie) an opportunity in Australia, where it took us nine years to win there. And the same with Jaden (Hendrikse), him getting a start there … So, I think consistency in selection leads to consistency in performance. And I am not covering up for the defence.
“Are we where we want to be? No, we are not where we want to be. Are there reasons for that? Maybe. Are there certain stats that we look at? Yes, definitely, but it’s not the normal tackle completion stuff … there are other KPIs that I look at.
“Are we ticking them? Not to where we should be if we want to win a World Cup… ”
But it must be said that the world champions have also tried to grow their attacking game significantly this year. Damian Willemse’s arrival in the flyhalf channel has been a breath of fresh air, and he was the catalyst for the Boks’ sensational 24-8 victory over the Wallabies in Sydney.
They have scored 10 tries in four matches, compared to 12 in six last year, and will be looking to get onto the scoreboard again tomorrow.
The Boks have also wasted a number of try-scoring opportunities – Am and Makazole Mapimpi were joint top with six clean breaks each in the Rugby Championship ahead of yesterday’s Australia-New Zealand clash – and will want to finish better against the Pumas.
So, when a sports team puts extra emphasis on one area, others tend to take a back seat. But the South Africans know that they cannot afford any missed tackles or ill discipline in Buenos Aires, as Argentina will be waiting to pounce.
@AshfakMohamed