Important lesson for SA rugby to take from Christchurch

The Sharks did South Africa the favour that was asked of them by making the top New Zealand team look mortal on their home ground, but there were lessons that need to be heeded if it is not to prove counter-productive in this World Cup year.

Strong committed and suffocating physical defence allied to a good tactical kicking game has tended to be the foundation for South African wins over the better Kiwi Super Rugby sides, and for the Springboks over the All Blacks, in the post isolation era. But at the same time the Crusaders, by coming back to draw the game, reminded the Sharks, and other watching South Africans, of why that approach has brought such rare success since 1992.

To put it simply, given the strengths of modern New Zealand rugby there just has to be more inventiveness in attack if you want to get across the line as winners. This was something that the Stormers discovered earlier in the season when their first phase orientated approach fell six points short of success against a good Hurricanes team in Wellington.

It wasn’t just the Crusaders that drummed out the lesson this past weekend. The Jaguares, by still scoring three tries in the face of a strong Stormers physical effort, did the same. There were two games played by South African teams overseas this past weekend and they were both remarkably similar.

SUFFOCATING DEFENCE

A big physical and suffocating defensive effort from the Sharks saw them put themselves in what many would have considered an unlikely winning position before the Crusaders came back at the death in Christchurch to claim a draw.

The Stormers' defence was as strong in Buenos Aires the following evening, but so was that of the highly motivated Jaguares, who simply had to win to stand any chance of conference success as they are about to embark on a tough four match tour of Australasia.

Rush defence dominated the game, and it played a role in the high error rate of both teams. The Stormers on several occasions looked like they were building some momentum as they fought back from an early 10 point deficit, only for promising attacks to be snuffed out by elementary errors.

When your space is closed up as quickly as it is being in modern rugby, and you are receiving man and ball at the same time, it is a difficult thing for the player in possession to deal with. It was something the Stormers didn’t deal with well in their recent home loss to the Brumbies.

LINESPEED

It is important to note though that for the most part the Stormers’ defence was equally as high and it had as big an impact on the Jaguares. The Sharks’ linespeed in Christchurch was highly impressive, and it was good from a national viewpoint to see a New Zealand team struggling with it for a change. Over the past few seasons the boot has been on the other foot.

But while the Sharks’ defence did dominate the game and put them in a position to win, the Crusaders, even though the dew rendered handling treacherous and the champions produced their most inept handling and tactical performance in recent memory, were still able to get over their line on three occasions. That was why the Sharks never won.

Good defences don’t stop Kiwi sides from scoring tries. They just limit the number of times they do so. The Springboks should know this ahead of their important pool clash at the coming World Cup, for while they were lauded for the defence that saw them win a Rugby Championship epic in Wellington last year, the All Blacks still scored six tries in that game.

THE MATHS TELLS YOU TO SCORE TRIES

In 160 minutes of rugby at foreign venues this past weekend, the two South African sides just managed one try between them. That was a late effort from the Stormers when the game appeared to have slipped away from them and when, ironically, they were down to 14 men.

For the most part though neither the Stormers nor the Sharks looked like scoring. In the Sharks’ case they didn’t look like they wanted to score, and it is true that you can win a rugby match by applying the pressure that forces the opposition to concede penalties. And both the games did underline the importance of kicking for posts and getting the scoreboard moving. It was what got the Stormers back into the contest.

But considering converted tries are worth seven points, and penalties just three, winning becomes a difficult thing to get right if the opposition do cross your line and you don’t cross theirs. If you want to beat a Kiwi team, you have to cross the tryline yourself.

The Sharks’ whole ploy was to frustrate the Crusaders, and they managed to do that with a bit of help from a Crusaders team that was without it’s regular flyhalf and inside centre and had in their place game drivers who simply played the wrong game for the conditions and for the Sharks’ defence orientated tactics.

But by coming back to draw the Crusaders reminded South Africans of the need for more attacking inventiveness. Beating New Zealand teams can’t just happen through grunt and grind. It is indeed the template that wins games against them, but also the reason those wins are so rare.

CRUSADERS COULD BE KING MAKERS IN SA CONFERENCE

The Crusaders have emerged as the potential king makers or spoilers in a conference that with five games to go is still too close to call and could still be won by any of the teams.

The Bulls are on top on superior points difference over the Sharks, but the Jaguares have reminded us with four successive wins that it is not just a South African conference, but a South American one too. The Jaguares are just one point behind the Bulls and Sharks, but significantly, like the Bulls, they have a game in hand on the Durban team.

The Stormers are four points behind the leaders as they head into a bye week that will be followed by a crucial home clash with the Crusaders. The Bulls host the Crusaders at Loftus on Friday, and the Jaguares are set to visit Christchurch on their forthcoming four match tour of Australasia. How the top team in the competition approaches those games, meaning which ones they target and which ones they select first choice combinations for, will have a significant bearing on how the conference race will turn out.

If the Bulls lose to the Crusaders on Friday it will be a blow to their confidence ahead of their tour. It will also give the Stormers a chance of catching up with the Bulls if they beat the Crusaders the following week. The Stormers still have an advantage over the other teams in the sense that four of their remaining five games will be at Newlands, where they do tend to be a different animal in comparison with when they travel.

The Lions, although six points, meaning more than one win, off the leaders at present also can’t be written off. For them a lot may depend on when Warren Whiteley returns, for he does make a big difference, and the status of their coach Swys de Bruin, who travelled home early from tour for personal reasons.

WEEKEND RESULTS

Crusaders 21 Cell C Sharks 21

Reds 32 Sunwolves 26

Hurricanes 25 Rebels 19

Brumbies 26 Blues 21

Vodacom Bulls 28 Waratahs 21

Jaguares 30 DHL Stormers 25