The tactic proved effective against Italy.
The Springboks head coach employed an unusual attacking strategy. South African players formed a maul during phase play, rather than initiating it from a lineout.
The scrum-half would feed the ball to a player who was lifted by teammates, effectively mimicking a lineout structure but in open play. This technique established a stable platform for powerful forward momentum and directly led to two tries for South Africa.
Rassie Erasmus admitted that he borrowed this innovative idea from the U14 youth team at Paul Roos school. He commented, “We noticed this with the kids. You can get all the advantages of a lineout in open play if you structure the support correctly. However, now opponents will be aware. I don`t anticipate we can successfully implement this in several consecutive matches.”
Furthermore, the head coach also tested another unconventional tactic during the match: The Springboks deliberately committed infringements on kick-offs to prevent the ball from traveling the required 10 meters. This action resulted in a scrum being set in the center of the field. South Africa`s objective was to potentially earn a penalty by asserting dominance in the opponent`s scrum.
