It’s no secret that the Springboks love a good scrum, so much so that Rassie Erasmus’ charges manufactured a set-piece in the first minute of the game against Italy.

In a truly bizarre and never-before-seen ploy, fly-half Manie Libbok lined up the kick-off with centre Andre Esterhuizen and flanker Marco van Staden right next to him.

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Instead of kicking the required 10 metres into Italy‘s half, Libbok instead chipped the ball up and Esterhuizen pounced to snap it up.

This led to referee Andrew Brace awarding a free kick to the Italians, with South Africa getting an opportunity to scrum in the first play of the match.

The cameras panned to the Bok coaching box where Erasmus wore a sly smile but the head coach wouldn’t have been too pleased with the outcome of the match.

As South Africa conceded a free-kick and Italy tapped quickly and went on the attack. The Boks would turnover the ball and launch an attack of their own.

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This is not the first time that the Springboks have come up with a ploy to force a set-piece, as full-back Damian Willemse famously called for a scrum after calling a mark inside his own 22 during the Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France.

South Africa would use the ploy again in the semi-final victory against England, but World Rugby changed the laws in 2024, removing the scrum option from free-kicks.

While the first scrum did not go the Springboks’ way, they did get purchase from the set-piece soon after as Grant Williams finished off a stunning try that was sourced from the restart after a superb break from Edwill van der Merwe – playing just his second Test match for South Africa.

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