Wales were poor on Saturday this is now well documented. Instead of looking back over an appalling Welsh performance, let us salute the Springboks and in particular their maestro at full-back, Willie Le Roux. The Cheetah’s full-back has grown year on year and has become one of the best full-backs in world rugby. Quality full-backs are readily available at the moment and are beginning to become the glamour boys in the same way that outside-halves have been before. Rob Kearney, Leigh Halfpenny, James O’Connor, Israel Dagg and Stuart Hogg all makeup the current crop of quality full-backs. This is without mentioning Mike Brown and one of the most talented all round rugby players of this generation, Israel Folau.
Willie Le Roux is quite possibly at the top of this incredible list of talent. In the past the 24 year old has played at outside-half and on the wing. This is very apparent when watching the South African. He places himself in the line of attack far better than any other full-back at the moment, with the possible exception of Israel Folau. When the ball does come to him he is very comfortable on it a makes good decisions, a sign of a good outside-half. He also has the pace to create things and put people in himself, a sign of a good winger. He has merged the two positions to create the player that he is today; it was his devastating attacking force that took Wales apart last week.
The Springboks ran in five tries as they taught Wales a lesson in rugby. Of course the game was won up front and they provided good ball for the backs. This is where Le Roux took over and began to weave his magic. Of the five tries scored, four of them directly involved him. Habana is a world class finisher and scored another two tries on the weekend but most of the work was done for him by the creativity and pace of Willie Le Roux. In a deserved man of the match performance Le Roux showed that the Springboks are evolving under Heyneke Meyer.
Le Roux only has thirteen caps at present but is an integral part of this new Springbok outfit. They have been developing a wider game under Meyer over the last few years. Last weekend we once again saw the full force of their wide game. As a European team travels down to South Africa there is a guarantee that someone will say “they’ll be very physical” or “we’ll have to match them upfront.” Wales did neither of these things, nor were they ready for such a potent backline, with Le Roux leading the charge. Jon Davies who is normally so reliable defensively found himself turned inside-out by the eventual man of the match.
The Springboks have based this ‘evolution’ on the power play they have always had, that remains plan A. However, that is so far ingrained now that they have added to the game to freshen it up and it is working. This bares several resemblances to Wales, uncomfortable though they might be. Wales also play a power game and went to South Africa attempting to outmuscle the kings of that style of play. It was no surprise when it didn’t work.
If Wales want to move forward one route is to follow the Springbok model and keep ‘plan A’ but allow the backs far more freedom when they get the ball. A change in personnel would be needed to apply this strategy and faith would have to be put in the young player’s ability. Cory Allen and Jordan Williams could help to evolve the Welsh game, with Matthew Morgan playing a similar role to Le Roux. It might not work immediately; it didn’t in South Africa’s case either. If a coach wants to play wider then there will be more knock-ons and forward passes. However, that is why it is called an evolution, and without trotting out a list of Darwinian phrases, Wales will reap the benefits after they commit to adapting their style.
No comments:
Post a Comment