Former England international Dan Cole has revealed exactly what makes the Springboks scrum so dangerous after analysing whether any chinks could be found in the world champions’ armour.
Cole once again appeared on his podcast, For The Love Of Rugby, alongside long-time friend and teammate Ben Youngs, as they looked ahead to the upcoming Greatest Rivalry tour between South Africa and New Zealand.
The All Blacks are facing the unenviable task of challenging Rassie Erasmus’ men four Saturdays on the bounce, with the greatest two countries in international rugby history clashing three times in South Africa and then rounding off the series in the United States of America.
In recent years, the Springboks have become the overwhelming power at the set-piece, with a scrum that dominates all others. Having faced this devastating force on more than one occasion, most infamously in the final at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Cole knows exactly the threat that these men pose.
Big, 130-plus-kilo men…
“They have incredibly large men that know the importance of a scrum,” Cole explained. “When you think about their front row, you think about the great tightheads they have had from [Frans] Malherbe to [Thomas] Du Toit, Wilco Louw. They are big, 130-plus-kilo men, which are not easy to find on this planet. You have hookers like Malcolm Marx and Bongi [Mbonambi] who basically want to scrummage and are big men, and they are bigger hookers than you have elsewhere.
“The looseheads may not be that big, but they are incredibly strong. Second rows, they have 125, 13o-kilo locks. So mass moves mass, and at some point they have got a ginormous pure mass. They are normally winning in size, and combine that with their attitude to the scrum.”
Such has been the impact the South African scrum has on the global game, Cole has suggested 50/50 decisions are now being waved in favour of the Springboks.
“Because it’s South Africa, they almost get an extra second,” he continued. “They get a nudge on, and they end up getting a penalty because they built that psyche and they earned the right to do that.”
No weakness in sight
Games can turn on a knife-edge when replacements are made, as the tired starters make way for the fresher legs off the bench, but the All Blacks shouldn’t expect any respite when Erasmus rings his changes.
“Normally when you play South Africa, you pick your best scrum; your best front row that can scrummage, but the guys on the bench aren’t as good as your starters,” Cole continued. “So you basically struggle in the second half of the game, whereas South Africa, their starters are good and the bench can be even better or just as good.
“So they almost have a strength on a strength, and they double down on that strength, knowing that you might be able to last with them for 50, 60 minutes, but actually the full length of the game, they will get you and they punish you. So as a scrum, you have to know you’re going to have to go 80.”
That’s a daunting challenge for any side, so how does an opposition pack deal with such a prospect? Mindset is the only way. “They are going to be on top, but you have to have the ability and the mindset to go, ‘We’re going to dig in. We’re going to take one and then seven of us, eight of us, are going to hit go and then the eight can play the ball away. But everyone else has to front up and take on this challenge and try and live to see another day.’”
For or against the head
Co-host Youngs asked: “Would it be harder on your ball or hard on their ball?” “It can be harder on your ball because you know they’re coming at you, and also your hooker’s got to hook the ball,” considered Cole.
“On opposition ball, you can semi-lock out because eight of you, your only job is if this ball gets out of the scrum, it’s the result. Whereas on your own ball, you know they’re going to be aggressive; they’re only going to attack. But you’re also like, ‘We’re going to hook this ball and get it out and not get penalised’. So there’s a lot of the thinking process on your own ball.
“But again, as a hooker, there aren’t many like Marx at 120 kilos. There aren’t many hookers in the world that are that size, and for you to then go off two feet when you have got these guys pushing fully against you, two feet in the ground, ready to snap. You’ve basically got to push, lift your foot up. Those guys are probably bigger and stronger than you on two feet versus your one foot.”