OPINION: Boks Anything But Boring & The Rest of the World Is Finally Realising It

Like a heavyweight boxer strategically waiting 11 rounds of his opponent flailing his way to exhaustion before going for the knockout blow in the 12th, the Springboks have proven their brutal and suffocating defence is the key function of their masterclass World Cup success; and critics of their style, sadly, don’t seem to appreciate or understand the nuances of rugby.

The Boks have proven throughout their 2023 World Cup campaign that they can play some ambitious, ball-in-hand attacking rugby (just look at the Boks’ flamboyant win over Scotland in the opening game as an example). However, what makes them great is that they’re far from a one-trick pony. One of the most impressive features of this Bok side is that they can morph from a young, exciting and ambitious attacking side into that killer, knockout game team from one week to the next when the time calls for it; whereas other teams are either stuck in one or the other identity.

A team like Ireland, who were fantastic in the tournament, were unable to break away from their extremely structured attacking style, which proved to be to their detriment, tiring themselves out against a solid All Blacks defence in the quarter-final. Ireland coach Andy Farrell, along with Joe Schmidt before him, has to be commended for introducing and evolving a short-passing game into the Ireland attack, heavily influenced by rugby league running lines. Ireland has been sublime, but they seemed to lack the mental edge and ferocity required to break down better teams.

After witnessing how clinical the All Blacks were against Ireland in the quarter-finals, the Boks knew that it would take a different approach to break down their southern rivals, and implemented a game plan built on defensive endurance and emotional resilience, which seems lost on many rugby pundits lacking the understanding to observe this.

Go back to the 2019 final, the Boks delivered one of the highest-scoring and most ambitious finals to date (between Am throwing a no-look pass after regathering a chip kick or Cheslin Kolbe’s sidestep and score after a counterattacking opportunity), it’d take the best legal team in the world to convince one that it was “boring”. There’s no doubt this Bok team (many of whom from that 2019 final are still playing) can play some of the most entertaining rugby on the planet, however, this often doesn’t work against the All Blacks.

A new game plan was implemented, taking into account the weather, conditions, and strengths of Ian Foster’s side, and the Boks’ ability to adapt should be applauded and act as a blueprint for other sides. The blueprint is that there is no blueprint. You have to be adaptable, and be able to attack when the opportunity presents itself but also have a deep, dark, unrelenting depth of mentality that can be summoned when the moment calls for it. If you understand and appreciate the detail and tactical decisions required to win a game in the manner they did, one would realise that these Boks are anything but boring.

Photo cred: Springboks / Facebook