Not that we needed further proof, but an in depth look at the match stats confirm that the Bok game plan is all about those with numbers 1 to 10 on their back. Will it be enough next weekend?
Tank Lanning
It was pretty tight on the scoreboard as the Boks beat Wales 23-19 to book themselves a semi-final against the old foe at Twickenham on Saturday.
Less tight were the match stats, where South Africa dominated all the attacking stats. The Welsh basically kept themselves in the game with some heroic defence, making 197 tackles to the 123 required from the Boks.
Again, most of the action took place either up front with the big boys taking one off passes with a view to getting over the gainline, or via the halfbacks Fourie du Preez and Handre Pollard. There were no offloads from any of the other backs, and very few passes.
This in stark contrast to the team the Boks will be playing against next weekend. Sure it was a much more open match that they completely dominated, but against France, Dan Carter made 28 passes, and both Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith made 9 passes each. They are clearly a side willing to add a bit of width to their attack, making them a lot tougher to defend against.
Speaking of variation, Nonu also made 6 kicks from hand, whereas De Allende only made 1. Not only does to keep the opposition guessing, but also has the effect of pulling the opposition defence up a little, offering the kicker more space into which he can place the ball.
Schalk Burger was named man of the match, and a cursory glance at his key match statistics seem to back that up: 59 metres run, 26 carries, 1 defenders beaten, 14 passes, 2 offloads, 16 tackles, 1 missed tackle.
He was impressively busy, but he does perform a lot of that action in the flyhalf channel. Something that perhaps adds to the Bok predictability. It would be interesting to see the Boks utilise the skills of the man with a ten on his back in that channel.
A look at all the match stats from the Vodacom Rugby App:
Points: SA 23-19 WALES
Tries: SA 1-1 WALES
Penalty tries: SA 0-0 WALES
Penalty goals: SA 5-3 WALES
Conversions: SA 0-1 WALES
Drop goals: SA 1-1 WALES
Missed penalty goals: SA 2-1 WALES
Missed conversions: SA 1-0 WALES
Possession: SA 59%-41% WALES
Territory: SA 61%-39% WALES
Carries: SA 157-106 WALES
Clean breaks: SA 7-3 WALES
Defenders beaten: SA 20-13 WALES
Handling errors: SA 8-8 WALES
Kicks from hand: SA 46-44 WALES
Kicks caught: SA 46-42 WALES
Knock ons: SA 7-6 WALES
Lineouts won on own ball: SA 15-9 WALES
Lineouts stolen: SA 0-0 WALES
Loose ball collected: SA 12-10 WALES
Metres run: SA 543-294 WALES
Offloads: SA 7-3 WALES
Passes: SA 167-152 WALES
Penalties conceded: SA 10-12 WALES
Red cards: SA 0-0 WALES
Scrums won: SA 4-3 WALES
Scrums lost: SA 0-0 WALES
Tackles made: SA 123-197 WALES
Tackles missed: SA 13-20 WALES
Try assists: SA 1-1 WALES
Turnovers won: SA 9-10 WALES
Yellow cards: SA 0-0 WALES
Key individual stats:
Willie le Roux: 13 kicks from hand, 87 metres run, 2 clean breaks, 8 carries, 4 defenders beaten, 2 knock ons
Bryan Habana: 14 metres run, 4 carries, 8 tackles, 2 turnovers
JP Pietersen: 39 metres run, 6 carries, 6 tackles,
Jesse Kriel: 1 kick from hand, 38 metres run, 4 carries, 1 pass, 4 tackles
Damien de Allende: 1 kick from hand, 59 metres run, 14 carries, 3 defenders beaten, 1 pass, 7 tackles, 2 turnovers
Handre Pollard: 5 penalty goals, 2 missed penalties, 1 missed conversion, 1 drop goal, 11 kicks from hand, 35 metres run, 12 carries, 2 defenders beaten, 16 passes, 3 tackles
Fourie du Preez: 16 kicks from hand, 40 metres run, 8 carries, 103 passes
Duane Vermeulen: 90 metres run, 15 carries, 2 defenders beaten, 12 tackles, 2 missed tackles, 2 turnovers, 1 lineout won
Schalk Burger: 59 metres run, 26 carries, 1 defenders beaten, 14 passes, 2 offloads, 16 tackles, 1 missed tackle
Francois Louw: 30 metres run, 2 defenders beaten, 2 offloads, 7 tackles
Eben Etzebeth: 13 carries, 2 lineouts won,
Lood de Jager: 11 carries, 10 tackles, 2 knock ons, 6 lineouts won, 1 lineout stolen
Frans Malherbe: 1 clean break, 7 tackles, 1 missed tackle
Bismarck du Plessis: 7 carries, 2 offloads, 1 missed tackle
Beast Mtawarira: 3 penalties conceded, 6 tackles, 2 missed tackles
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All stats courtesy of the Vodacom Rugby App, which is available for download in all app stores. Download it now and feel like a coach during the match, and a know-it-all at the post match braai.
