Angus Bell says Springbok rugby has become the blueprint for the modern game.
Bell, who has returned to Australia after a season with Ulster in the Vodacom URC, said facing South African teams every week gave him a new appreciation of why the world champions have dominated in recent years.
“That’s why South African rugby has been so strong; they have sort of revolutionised the use of bench front rowers and the scrum as like a real rock and foundation of where they build their game around their maul too,” Bell said.
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The Springboks’ famous Bomb Squad has become one of the defining features of the Rassie Erasmus era, with several South African clubs also embracing six-two bench splits and building their game around forward dominance.
Bell admitted South African teams presented the toughest challenge he faced during his stint in the northern hemisphere.
“It was a cool experience [playing the South Africans]; they’re obviously the tougher games.
“It’s always just shifting your mentality to get ready for those different challenges and different front rowers and who they’re going to pick. It was definitely different.”
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The 25-year-old said the URC exposed him to a variety of playing styles and conditions that he would not normally experience in Super Rugby.
“It was just a really cool experience to be able to verse people that I wouldn’t have versed if I didn’t make that decision to go overseas,” he said. “So it was definitely heaps of learnings in there.”
Photo: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images
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Wallabies prop Angus Bell says Springbok rugby has become the blueprint for the modern game.
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