Boks need to fix an unrelated problem before they drive

A noticeably absent feature of the Springbok performance in the first test defeat to the British and Irish Lions was the destructive driving mauls they are renowned for, but fixing that isn’t something that forward coach Deon Davids and the big men can do on their own.

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For the Bok drive to come to the fore as the World Cup champions battle to keep the series alive at Cape Town Stadium this coming Saturday, they are going to have to find a way to get around the primary problem of being forced by the Lions to kick the ball out. Conversely, they need to find a way to ensure the Lions have to go to touch more.

Davids wasn’t sure if the one particular stat from the first test was a world record or not. It might come close to being. It is the one that reflects that the Boks only had four throw ins during the entire game. Without the ball, of course you can’t set to drive, and this was one of several areas where the Lions’ plan worked like a charm.

LIONS WERE VERY SMART

“The Lions were very smart in not giving us lineouts. We had to field a lot of high balls and those put us under pressure (and forced us to kick out),” said Davids as the Boks started preparations for the second test in Cape Town on Monday.

“So we have work to do in terms of our exit plays. When we did have lineouts we could have delivered more, as when you have a lineout it is one thing to win the ball and another to provide a good platform and to give good delivery. In those areas we can improve.

“It was because we had so few lineouts that we were starved of attacking options in the first test. So we have to work at getting better with that, and when we do get the ball and have the throw in we need to be exceptional. Following from that is the territory position that it wins you and the chances to apply pressure to the opposition.”

Davids agrees though with head coach Jacques Nienaber that while the mountain that they have to climb now is huge, and the challenges to be overcome and the aspects of the game that the Boks need fixing are many, it is all definitely fixable.

“Obviously as a coaching staff we looked at it collectively and individually after the game, we went into it in our different departments and areas of expertise and assessed what can be fixed and how we can go about doing that,” he said.

“We had good outcomes in the first half. Our tactical play and technical execution during that period was excellent. But we just couldn’t proceed in the second half. The areas that we identified as areas where we let ourselves down were the kicking game, our discipline, our set piece execution and our decision making.

“Those are all things we are able to fix. We have had a thorough and collective discussion about it and we are looking forward to this week as an opportunity to work on fixing the mistakes that cost us at the weekend,” he added.

ANOTHER 80 HIGH INTENSITY MINUTES UNDER THE BELT

One of the areas where the Boks were up against it going into the game and which they could not work on in preparation was their readiness to go the full 80 minutes. While Davids was careful not to be seen as making excuses, he agreed that it was a major part of where the team fell down and why they couldn’t be the same formidable force they were in the early minutes for the entire game.

However, he reckons the game time the players got on Saturday should be of benefit to them in their quest to redress the balance next weekend.

“If you go back and look at the number of minutes players have played and in terms of number of games they have had to properly prepare in relation to the Lions preparation, then at the end of the day does play an important role,” said the forwards coach.

“It is so important to execute plans with tempo and intensity at this level. So it was a big factor that worked against us. But I must tap players on shoulder (with congratulation) for what they brought in the minutes they were on the field. They brought a lot of intensity in the first half and for long periods of the game and did well to lose so narrowly despite all the challenges.”

Indeed, if you pick up on what Davids is saying, there is hope for the Boks in the fact that in a game where they had only four lineout feeds, where the scrumming went south after halftime and they generally were just starved of possession, they still only lost by five points. And could easily have won had just one of the TMO calls that some were contesting on social media gone with the Boks, or had Handre Pollard kicked the conversion to Faf de Klerk’s try or the penalty attempt he missed after an incident that really should have seen Lions flanker Hamish Watson carded.

There are always “what ifs” in sport and as they come after the event they normally mean little, but in terms of looking at them in the context of a first test defeat and applying them to what comes next, this is a time when they could be useful to the host nation.