Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber unleashing a power pack of replacements at France 2023 would be one of the great moments in Springbok World Cup history, writes MARK KEOHANE.
The Bok coaches’ 7-1 bench in London last week – after utility back Willie le Roux was forced to withdraw and loose forward Kwagga Smith included among the substitutes – helped South Africa hand the All Blacks the biggest defeat in their history.
However, it has also resulted in an uproar, with calls for World Rugby to limit the number of substitutions that a team can make, and Australian coach Matt Williams even argued that the Boks’ exploitation of the laws on substitutions is a safety issue and “against the spirit of the game”.
Five of the original members of the Bomb Squad who helped the Boks win the World Cup in 2019 are set to feature at this year’s tournament, and writing for TimesLIVE, Keohane appeals to Erasmus and Nienaber to devise an even more “beautiful” innovation in defence of SA’s title.
“Erasmus and Nienaber, who have almost exclusively relied on six forwards and two backline replacements during their tenure, took it one step further in last Friday night’s nailing of New Zealand at Twickenham,” he writes.
“The narrative is that the Springboks are not playing within the spirit of the game. How absurd is that kind of critique?
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“The criticism was so instant that World Rugby released a statement to say there was nothing to act on. Of course, there was nothing because no laws were broken. No crime was committed, unless you consider scrumming the All Blacks from within Twickenham to the car park a crime.
“I want the Springboks to give us 8-0 at some stage at this World Cup … I want a power pack of eight forwards on the bench and I want them introduced as a collective on 45 minutes.
“It would be beautiful and bloody brutal [and] would be one of the great moments in Springbok World Cup history.”
Photo: Ian Kington/AFP
