Nick Mallett identifies the real ‘issue’ facing the Springboks!

The Springboks and All Blacks have just completed two blockbuster head-to-head battles in the Rugby Championship, which resulted in contrasting fortunes.

In the opening game, the Springboks overpowered New Zealand almost from start to finish, and came away with a resounding victory.

Yet, just a week later the visitors produced a much-improved showing, and dealt with the Boks’ set-pieces and aerial game far better. In the end, the All Blacks bounced back to claim a convincing victory of their own.

BREAKING | RASSIE ERASMUS WILL TOUR WITH THE SPRINGBOKS

Former All Blacks captain Kieran Read recently suggested the the All Blacks succeeded in defusing the Bok ‘Bomb Squad’, and somewhat exposed a lack of variety in terms of the South African strengths.

In his column for Sport24, Nick Mallett has now stated that the Springboks should move away from the much-used six-two forwards-to-backs split on the bench.

“The real issue facing this team presently, I think, is the 6/2 bench split that has landed the Boks in trouble for three straight Tests now,” he wrote. “It’s a real problem when you have to make virtually three changes to your backline when one player gets injured.

“If you get a wing going off early, as Jesse Kriel did on Saturday, you suddenly have to make a lot of changes. We saw Damian Willemse go to inside centre, Damian de Allende to outside centre and, even worse, Lukhanyo Am moved to the wing after Kriel left the fray. That is a lot of reshuffling.

“I don’t care how well Am played on the wing. You’ve got the best No 13 in the world – both on attack and defence – and he is invaluable in terms of closing down options and shutting down space in midfield.

“Willemse is playing so well at the moment and could easily slot into inside centre, which he did, but I think the more sensible play would have been to move De Allende – and not Am – to the wing, where he started his career. That keeps your critical defender in his proper position.

“Am had an excellent game and can obviously do a job on the wing, but I don’t think De Allende had a very good game at outside centre where he has less experience. His understanding of running up and closing space wasn’t as good as Am’s, which was to be expected.

“The big issue with the 6/2 split in its present form is how it impacts the defensive alignment of the Springbok backline. The attack was fine, and they scored two very good tries, but the Boks were nowhere near where they should be defensively.

“Willemse was one of the best centres in the United Rugby Championship, and his tackling and reading of the game were standout features. I don’t think the Boks would have lost anything, defensively, if they had paired him with Am in midfield.

“These things are easy to say in hindsight, but the Dweba performance could have predicted given what we saw against Wales and knowing how well New Zealand can compete on the lineout.

“The mistakes the Boks made early in the game were down to hooker mistakes, putting them under pressure and taking away any early momentum. I think that is an area they will need to relook, heading into their two Tests against the Wallabies.”

SPRINGBOKS TOURING SQUAD:

Props

Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers)

Vincent Koch (Wasps)

Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers)

Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks)

Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92)

Hookers

Joseph Dweba (DHL Stormers)

Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears)

Locks

Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks)

Lood de Jager (Wild Knights)

Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers)

Loose forwards

Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)

Siya Kolisi (Cell C Sharks)

Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls)

Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs)

Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers)

Duane Vermeulen (Ulster)

Utility forwards

Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers)

Franco Mostert (Honda Heat)

Scrumhalves

Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles)

Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks)

Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers)

Cobus Reinach (Montpellier)

Flyhalves

Elton Jantjies (NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes)

Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers)

Midfielders

Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks)

Damian de Allende (Wild Knights)

Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins)

Outside backs

Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks)

Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz)

Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls)

Warrick Gelant (Racing 92)

Utility Backs

Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers)

Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles)

Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs)