Kiwis evolving … Will Boks do same?

The Kiwis are adding defensive structure to their game. If the Boks do not add some attacking nous to ours, where will that leave us come RWC 2015 asks Tank Lanning in his latest eNCA.com column?

I do not for one second doubt Bok coach Heyneke Meyer’s pedigree, dedication, work ethic or desire. In fact, he appears to be a man purpose built to coach the Springboks, such is his focus on the job, and as a nation I think we are lucky to have a coach of his calibre at the helm.

It is this tunnel vision type focus and pressure that he puts on himself that delivers Bok teams that will always be difficult to beat. But I am yet to be convinced that Springbok rugby will flourish under him.

And by flourish, I mean embrace the skilled young players coming through the ranks in order to add a more attacking dimension to the current Green and Gold culture that speaks more to industrial defence and being very difficult to beat.

There is a subtle, yet fairly big difference between aiming not to lose and aiming to win. The former speaks to “If the opposition score less points than us, then we win”, while the latter speaks to “If we score more points than the opposition, then we win”. Both have the intention to win, one with a defensive mindset, the other with a more attacking mindset.

And perhaps these speak quite well to the differing Springbok and All Black cultures, the former more defensive, the latter more attacking.  The stats coming out of Super Rugby certainly seem to suggest as such …

The South African conference currently boasts the worst record of the three groups for total tries scored … but the best for preventing them.

The New Zealand conference may rule the handling errors and knocking the ball on, but are also supremely dominant in factors such as running metres, carries, linebreaks and offloads.

But it seems that our Kiwi cousins are indeed intent on adding a more structured defensive element to their attacking game. Certainly that can be seen in the way the Crusaders are playing (bar the Force fiasco), and while the Blues may have run in four fine tries to defeat the Hurricanes on Saturday, it was their defence that had the coaching staff smiling widest.

“We had to improve our defensive line and our speed into contact and we’ve been working very hard on that. Tonight we saw some pretty special team defence and then finishing it with some good hits and if we want to survive in this tournament that’s what we needed,” said Blues head coach John Kirwan after the game.

So while the Kiwis seem to be adding defensive structure to their current attacking game, are the Boks showing the same intent to add a slightly more attacking mindset to an already defensively sound game?

If you have only watched the Cheetahs this year, you might say yes. But based on what Meyer had to say at a casual field side chat at the first Bok camp at Westerford High School yesterday, I am yet to be convinced.

“I know the people out there want a great brand of rugby, but time is an issue for us, and I need to coach a bunch of guys who know the calls,” said Meyer about the lack of new faces in the Bok squad.

“The No. 5 the lock is the most important player in pack as he calls the lineouts, which are very complex these days,” continued Meyer.

“Structure the unstructured” is another of Meyer’s mantras, and they all speak to playing rugby from a playbook – as they do in American football.

But what about easing back on the playbook a little, and trusting the players to play the situation as they fit, using their skill and knowledge, obviously still within a certain framework, to make the most of it?

If the Kiwis are adding defensive structure to their game, and we are not adding some attacking nous to ours, where will that leave us come London 2015?