John Plumtree lauds the Springbok depth at prop while highlighting what New Zealand teams can learn from the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series about weaponising the scrum.
Speaking on the PlayZN podcast ahead of the fourth and final Test of the series in Baltimore, the former Sharks coach and ex-All Blacks assistant reflected on a set-piece battle that has produced several scrum penalties and a penalty try for the Boks in three Tests, while fuelling a running row over South Africa “walking around”.
“The scrum … I said four weeks ago that the most important people on this tour for the All Blacks are the forwards coaches,” Plumtree said. “They had to find a way to look after the stopping of the maul and the scrum.
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“Those are the two areas where we pretty much got bullied by the Springboks.
“[All Blacks assistant coach] Neil Barnes came out afterwards and said we’ve got to eat humble pie, move on and find a way to be better, and he’s exactly right.
“Five penalties from the scrum in the weekend, in the 22 … that penalty try … that’s just not good enough. You’re going to struggle to win any Test matches when you’re getting dominated like that up front.”
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Plumtree believes the imbalance goes deeper than personnel, pointing to a cultural difference in how the scrum is used by New Zealanders.
“You look at Super Rugby: the scrum is a starter play,” the Kiwi said. “You win your own ball, but you don’t keep it at the back by the No 8’s feet and look for a penalty. It’s not really in the DNA.
“Maybe that’s a lesson for the All Blacks, and for sides like the Crusaders and the Hurricanes in the future: they’re going to have to put a bigger emphasis on the scrums becoming weapons, and not just a starter play.”
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He also singled out the strength in reserve behind South Africa’s starting front row.
“We don’t have the Wilco Louw-type size props. You think about a tighthead prop who wasn’t even used in those Test matches, and that’s Carlü Sadie. He’s a Wilco Louw clone, isn’t he? And he’s not even out there. He would be starting for the All Blacks.
“So this is how deep that type of depth is that they’ve got up front.”
Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
The post Plum: Wilco’s clone would start for All Blacks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
John Plumtree lauds the Springbok depth at prop while highlighting what New Zealand teams can learn from the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series about weaponising the scrum.
The post Plum: Wilco’s clone would start for All Blacks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
