Springboks' evolution: How Rassie Erasmus' men are kicking opposition defences up the backside

Coach Robbie Deans looked rather shell-shocked following the Springboks’ big win over his Barbarians on a miserable day in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Barbarians were always going to be on a hiding to nothing against a Springboks team who has been preparing for this clash for a good few weeks. But it was more about how the Springboks went about their business on a drenched Cape Town Stadium pitch that left Deans in awe.

The Barbarians would have braced themselves for an exhibition of power at set-piece time and ferocious defending, which was the case in the first 10 minutes when the Boks climbed into the legendary invitation side with plenty of venom.

But it was the Springboks’ willingness to chance their arm and vary their attack in difficult conditions that would have surprised Deans.

The Boks have been on a quest to evolve their game ever since coach Rassie Erasmus added former All Blacks flyhalf Tony Brown to his coaching staff. Last year there were plenty of signs that Brown was imprinting his philosophy, with the Boks making more passes out of the back and offloads to go with their power game.

It’s still very much a work in progress, but when the power and panache come together, the Springboks look pretty much unstoppable, according to Deans.

“They can play any way they choose, and they’ve developed the ability to do that,” Deans said after the match.

“It helps over time because it takes the load off your group. Historically, they were quite one-dimensional, but good at it. Now they’re much more ambitious.

“They’ve got some talent that other nations would give anything for. Players that can unlock a game, and that makes it hard.”

But the Boks didn’t only use their skills with ball in hand to rattle the Barbarians, it was their attacking kicking that made them a real nightmare to face in the wet conditions.

Fullback Aphelele Fassi delivered two delicious grubbers that set up the first two tries by Malcolm Marx and Cheslin Kolbe, while a flowing move saw centre Damian de Allende find space before putting Kurt-Lee Arendse away with a well-weighted kick downfield.

Most of rookie scrumhalf Morné van den Berg’s contestable kicking from the base was very good, as it allowed wings Kolbe and Arendse to contest for the ball in the air. The two pocket rockets may be small in stature, but they have an amazing leap to win the ball back.

De Allende also tried to just pop a little kick over the top of the Barbarians’ defence, which tells you that the Boks do see the attacking kick as a big weapon against the the modern day defences

“In this sort of weather we couldn’t run everything. So with the new rules to give the jumper clear access, we kicked well and guys like Cheslin chased really well.

“Tony and [Mzwandile] Stick are working hard on the guys’ soft skills, such as the grubbers. Some didn’t come off in the wet weather, but hopefully it will work in the dry weather.

“The balance between when we run and when we kick was good. Manie was excellent when he came on, mixing up the attack with his running, passing and kicking.”

The Springboks are going from a one-dimensional side to one that brings a lot of unpredictability to the table on attack. By adding a potent attacking game, they will keep opposition defences guessing - whether they have to fan out, cover deep or try to cut off the Boks' playmakers.

The Springboks have the power and quality set-pieces. They have a strong passing game and can create plenty of space for their dangerous runners out wide. But now they have also added a calculated kicking game.

These days the Springboks can hurt the opposition in all sorts of ways, not just physically. Good luck to opposition analysts trying to find ways to counter the unpredictable Boks.

@JohnGoliath82