Ever since the 2019 World Cup, the Springboks have become renowned for their powerful bench – dubbed the bomb squad – which has often proved to be a game changer.
The Springboks became the first team to regularly experiment with a 6-2 – and sometimes even 7-1 – split among the substitutes, often enabling almost the entire forward pack to be replaced with fresh players.
Some outside critics have suggested this tactic does come with a safety risk, but such a complaint has been laughed off the park in South Africa, particularly considering there is nothing against the rules.
The Springboks’ bomb squad has stirred up plenty of debate
Former All Black forward Josh Kronfeld – who played over 50 Tests for the New Zealand – has now interestingly come out to admit the Springboks have got one up on everyone through their use of the ‘bomb squad’.
“New Zealand are still in a rebuilding phase,” he said when speaking to Jackpot City. “They’ve definitely got to find a bit more edge than they’ve been showcasing at the moment. The biggest concern across the board for everybody in New Zealand when we’re watching the All Blacks has just been that last 20 minutes. Typically that’s been our strength. It surprised me as a former All Black watching that they haven’t quite fulfilled what we expect from them.
“I’m not sure why that’s happening. The guys that are coming on are all good players and whether they’ve had experienced players coming off the bench or the new and young guys coming off the bench, there hasn’t been a massive impact. The question is also that the other players that are still on there haven’t really rallied in that last 20 minutes either.
“You can ask the question, is there a fitness issue? The amount of rugby these days that players have to play, they don’t get massive windows where you can say, ‘ look we’re gonna work on our cardio’. There’s no definitive breaks in the season to fill that role. Is that something we’ve just got a little bit caught out with? I don’t know. Watching on, I can’t put my finger on exactly what the team are lacking in the last 20 minutes.
“I’m sure that it’s a question that Razor (coach Scott Robertson) is asking of the team and of his administration and they’ll be working on it for sure. I’m sure it’ll be something that they’re focusing on. You also can’t take out the dynamics of the games that we did lose. The absolute strength of South Africa and the way they run the bomb squad. Everybody’s asking the question, how do you deal with the bomb squad? Do you do like for like or stay with the status quo?
“The All Blacks have lost their aura. The mystique isn’t as strong as it used to be,” he added.
What do you think of these comments?
Let us know by clicking on the comment tab below this TSA article or by emailing info@thesouthafrican.com or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211.
You can also follow @TheSAnews on X and The South African on Facebook for the latest news.
