Jon Cardinelli

Rassie Erasmus will revive the Springboks – just as Eddie Jones revived England – if he looks to harness South African rugby’s traditional strengths.

The British press had cause to criticise in the wake of the 2015 World Cup. England crashed out of that tournament at the group stage, becoming the first host nation to do so.

England’s quest to become more like the All Blacks backfired spectacularly. In the wake of that tournament, locals and foreigners alike lamented the fact that a once mighty team had lost all sense of identity.

One year later, however, and there was no good reason for criticism. Eddie Jones guided England to a Six Nations Grand Slam, and then to a 3-0 series triumph in his home country of Australia.

I was in London for the build-up to the clash between England and the Boks in November 2016. Anyone who watched the hosts train at Pennyhill Park that week could see that England were planning to ‘out-Bok’ the Boks.

And that’s exactly what transpired. The England forwards manhandled their Bok counterparts, while the halfbacks put the South African backline under pressure with a series of high-hanging kicks.

England’s defence was superb on that occasion, with the players getting off the line quickly to unsettle the opposition and in some instances force the turnover. England won 37-21, and in doing so recorded their first Test victory against the Boks since 2006.

Fast forward to the present. England have won 23 out of 24 Tests. Under Jones, they have averaged 33 points and nearly four tries (3.8) per game. On defence, they’ve conceded an average of 17 points per match.

Jones still has his critics in the rugby community. Even now, there are some who believe that England aren’t ‘exciting’ enough.

England have beaten every major team bar the All Blacks to date. Surely that 23-1 win-record – as well as those attack and defence stats – are proof that they are doing something right?

England thumped Italy 46-15 recently despite the fact that they were missing several key players due to injury. They lost Ben Youngs early in that match – one of the best scrumhalves in Test rugby – yet still managed to crack on and secure the bonus point.

What else can be read into the Six Nations matches in Cardiff, Paris, and Rome last weekend?

England won 55% of the territory in the second half, and ultimately outscored Italy 29-5 during that period. Wales kicked 34 times, yet still managed to score four tries and 34 points against a more attack-minded Scotland. France produced an incredible defensive effort – making 253 tackles and completing 94% overall – and came within one Johnny Sexton drop goal of beating Ireland.

Good defence and a strong kicking game is clearly still at the heart of Test success.

SA Rugby’s prodigal son, Rassie Erasmus should bear this in mind as the 2018 Test season approaches. He would do well to ignore those demanding a game plan that is more about style than substance. The Boks need to get back to a strategy that produces results.

The most successful South Africa teams of the professional era have had a good appreciation for the basics. Contrary to popular perception, those sides have racked up some impressive attacking numbers.

Some still describe the great Bulls side of 2007 as one-dimensional and limited, even though they scored the most tries in the league phase of that Super Rugby tournament. Jake White’s Boks were called boring, even though they were second only to the All Blacks at the 2007 World Cup in terms of tries scored.

The Lions made the mistake of chasing a beautiful approach in the late 2000s. All the big talk of an all-out attacking approach – marketed as an entertaining approach – failed to materialise. By the end of the 2010 season, the Lions ranked 12th out of 14 teams for tries scored. They conceded 585 points that year, lost all 13 games, and finished stone last.

Compare that team to the sides of 2016 and 2017. The stats confirm that there’s been more to the Lions than brave attack over the past few years.

In 2017, the Lions led many of the defensive categories, such as fewest tries conceded and most turnovers. Their appreciation for the basics was highlighted by the high number of tries that were scored from first phase, in other words off the back of a dominant scrum and lineout.

Erasmus would do well to follow Jones’ lead and harness South African rugby’s traditional strengths. If the Boks can get the basics right – addressing the team’s failings at the breakdown, under the high ball, with the tactical boot, and in defence – they will progress to the point where they will challenge the better teams in 2018 and in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup.

Jon Cardinelli is sarugbymag.co.za’s Chief Rugby Writer.