All Black Joe Moody has hit out at the Springboks’ deliberate ploy to slow the game down with injury breaks in Saturday’s 100th Test between South Africa and New Zealand.
Jordie Barrett knocked over a last-gasp penalty to earn the All Blacks a riveting 19-17 Rugby Championship victory over their greatest rivals in Townsville this past weekend.
For all their struggles in previous weeks, South Africa produced one of their best displays so far this year as they came within three minutes of a win before conceding that late penalty.
On Monday, though, Moody questioned the South Africans’ tactics to slow the game down with injury breaks and urged match officials to clamp down on the deliberate tactic when the two sides meet again this coming Saturday.
“It did get very frustrating,” he said. “It almost felt like I was hardly getting a sweat on,” he said. “Literally just about every stoppage someone was going down and having a smoko, so it would be nice if something could be sorted with the officiating this weekend.”
South Africa were superior at the scrum as well, but the 33-year-old veteran prop also suggested that the Boks relied on some illegalities to gain the upper hand at that set piece.
“We know their tightheads like to angle in and attack our hookers, that sort of carry on,” said Moody of the Boks’ scrum approach.
“Even the way they set up on the bind, put a bit of lean-through with their No 8s firing early to trigger their scrum … there are technicalities that are different.’
“They’re big, powerful men and the different aspects of the technicalities they bring also challenges, as well as the pure power and size of them. It’s always a good challenge,” he added.
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