The Springboks may be back-to-back world champions, but there is no appetite within the coaching group to stand still, writes LINDIZ VAN ZILLA.
Attack coach Tony Brown and defence coach Jerry Flannery on Monday outlined how the Boks are evolving beyond the platform laid during their title-winning campaigns of 2019 and 2023.
Flannery was quick to credit former defence coach Jacques Nienaber.
“Jacques laid a massive foundation with the work he did around the defence,” he said. “It embraced what South Africans do better than anyone else – being physical and being fit. That gave the team a great framework.”
However, he stressed that consolidation alone is not enough in the modern game.
“You can never sit on something and say it’s OK. The game is constantly evolving. Every week you’ve got to look for small gains and see where the game is going. That’s something we’re very conscious of.”
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Brown believes the biggest shift has been in how the Boks connect every part of their game.
“Over the past two years, you’ve seen us not just defend for long periods, not just attack or rely on the kicking game,” he said. “The evolution has been how we combine our defence, attack, kicking game and set-piece, and bring it together to put teams under massive pressure to score points and win Test matches.”
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Rather than viewing each facet in isolation, the Boks now see them as interlinked weapons.
“We don’t go into a Test saying we’re only going to attack,” Brown explained. “It’s about how we control the game, how we use our kicking game, how we use our defence to create turnovers, and then build our attack off those two things.
“The players have enjoyed it and have gotten better as we’ve gone through the last couple of years. We’re starting to understand how it all fits together now. So I feel as though we’re in a powerful position to push that forward over the next 12 months.”
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That cohesion has helped transform perceptions of South Africa as a one-dimensional side.
“No team can look at us now and say, ‘If we shut this down, we are going to win the Test match,’” said Brown.
“We’ve got so many different layers to our game now. We can win with defence, with our scrum, with ball in hand, with the kicking game, with counter-attack, with turnover attack, with set-piece attack.
“We are a lot more dangerous as a rugby team now, and it’s exciting to see where we can push it.
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“South African players have always had the talent,” Brown added. “It’s about being comfortable in attacking situations and doing it together with the other 14 players. You’re seeing them recognise space and opportunity, and work together to move the ball to that space.”
There remains room for improvement, though.
“We played some great rugby last year, but we’re by no means perfect,” Brown admitted. “There were a couple of Tests we didn’t execute well enough and that cost us.
“We believe we’re good enough to win every game we play, but we’ve got to keep getting better.”
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Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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The Springboks may be back-to-back world champions, but there is no appetite within the coaching group to stand still.
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