By Ashfak Mohamed (Article found at www.iol.co.za)

It was a delight to see the Springboks finally execute coach Peter de Villiers’s game plan in Saturday’s record-breaking win over the Wallabies.

De Villiers’s much-talked-about new game plan calls for players to play the situation and “what’s in front of them”, and the Boks managed to do that so much better in Johannesburg than previously this year.

De Villiers has never stated that the Boks have to run the ball from their own 22m-area at all costs. His game plan allows players to run with the ball when the situation calls for it and kick when that is the best option (in both cases irrespective of field position), and of course retain possession as far as possible.

Sustaining momentum through the ability to offload in the tackle is another cornerstone of the De Villiers philosophy, and it was quite something to see Danie Rossouw, of all people, off-loading in the tackle to send Odwa Ndungane over for the final try.

What had hampered the Boks in executing De Villiers’s game plan previously was an inability to finish off scoring opportunities because of poor handling and passing, wrong options, average tactical kicking and unforced errors.

What also happened on Saturday, and this is what De Villiers has added to the Bok arsenal to make them more dangerous, is that the players made sure that they supported the ball carrier in order to keep the ball moving and the attack alive.

The Boks did not “die” with the ball once they got tackled in Johannesburg, a skill De Villiers has emphasised to his players as a vital part of his new game plan.

The Boks tried to stay on their feet for as long as possible, while teammates closest to the breakdowns cleaned out and made sure that the Boks held on to their possession, as well as providing the backline with quick ruck ball.

The Boks committed more numbers to the breakdown on attack and defence, with Schalk Burger contesting the breakdowns more frequently than in any other Test match this year.

Ball-carrying players such as loose forwards Burger and Juan Smith also passed the ball more often than usual, which was refreshing to see, as it created space for better-positioned teammates to make ground.

Jean de Villiers and Adrian Jacobs were sublime on attack as they set each other up with skilful offloads and little pop passes, while they also brought Jongi Nokwe, Conrad Jantjes and Ndungane into the game often.

Nokwe impressed with his pace and discipline to stay out wide, which gave the Boks more width, while he also showed that he can look for work by popping up on the right wing to score his fourth try. He also defended well.

Ndungane was tireless in taking the ball up and helping Jantjes to field kicks and launch attacks from the back, while Jantjes himself was in terrific form when running the ball back and in clearing his lines.

Jantjes, Butch James and Fourie du Preez kicked much better than they did in the three previous Tri-Nations Test matches in Perth, Cape Town and Durban. They found the open spaces rather than opposing players.

The Bok forwards also did an excellent job, with front-rowers Beast Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and Brian Mujati scrumming well.

Du Plessis did miss his jumpers with a few lineout throw-ins, but made up for it with his general play by carrying the ball strongly, looking to pass more than in the past, and making a lot of tackles.

This performance is what the Bok coach would describe as the “total rugby” that he wants his team to play.

When the Boks got a scoring opportunity or when the “situation” demanded that they attacked, they took their opportunities and scored eight tries.

De Villiers must stick to his plan, as it is a significant and creative step forward from the usual Bok style of defending well and feeding off the opposition’s mistakes.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Springbok team run with the ball the way they did in Johannesburg. They looked dangerous almost every time they had the ball on attack.

Now comes the next step for De Villiers, the end-of-year tour to the United Kingdom. He surely has to look at some new talent from the Currie Cup to further build the base of players he can be confident of fielding at any time in any situation next year.

The Boks will have several big Test matches next season, starting with the British and Irish Lions series, and then moving on to the Tri-Nations.

With a demanding Super 14 awaiting South Africa’s top players, De Villiers would do well to give some of his stalwarts a break for the November tour.

With the extensive amount of rugby to be played next year, De Villiers needs to ensure that his back-up players get some Test experience in the UK.

It will be interesting to see if he throws a few youngsters into the mix …

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