RUCK N ROLL
GAVIN RICH: Coach plays reverse sweeps while Springboks look precarious
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will go into the litmus test of his first Test against New Zealand in a hole largely of his own making. His chances of getting out of that hole, to borrow from cricketing parlance, might depend on how willing he is to put away the reverse sweep that has prevented him from building a foundation to his innings. Those of us who watched both Rugby Championship games at the weekend might be in agreement that what All Black coach Steve Hansen is trying to do is not dissimilar to what Erasmus is trying to do. They both want to build depth ahead of the 2019 World Cup. It was with his eye on Japan that Hansen made seven changes to his winning team. After two wins against Australia, a home Test against the Argentinians was as good an opportunity as any to give Richie Mo’unga a chance to build some international experience as a member of the starting team. The upshot was that the All Blacks weren’t always as cohesive in Nelson as they might have wanted to be. Alt...
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