ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Wednesday Sep 29, 2021

'It bores me to tears!' - John Kirwan rips into the Springbok style of play

Despite a narrow 19-17 loss to the All Blacks due to a sensational late penalty kick by Jordie Barrett, the Springboks gameplan has been heavily criticized from all corners of the globe.

ADVERTISEMENT

The World Champions have always played to their strengths but the apparent lack of ambition, or confidence, with ball in hand has irked fans and neutral onlookers.

They won the 2019 Rugby World Cup final by sticking to a gameplan while still playing what was in front of them, unleashing the likes of Cheslin Kolbe and the rest of their talented backs, but now they appear void of even giving that a go.

The final six minutes of the match against the All Blacks, as broken down with this excellent piece of analysis, was quite unbelievable to watch, as they themselves seemingly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

“The lack of ambition when they were on attack, I think that was the disappointing thing,” said former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers on New Zealand’s The Breakdown show.

“You put yourself in a position – yes that strategy takes you to a certain area of the field – but then you need to be able to switch on, have the ambition to keep ball in hand and score tries. I think that’s where I felt a little bit disappointed in the approach. If they went on and won the game.. two, three different decisions in the last four minutes, [and they] won the game, would you have spoken about it? I don’t know.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The big question though is can they apply the same strategy this weekend and keep the All Blacks under pressure for 80 minutes as they did last week.. There’s a big question mark.”

Former New Zealand winger John Kirwan was more frustrated, lamenting the style of play and saying that the Rugby World Cup will probably be boring rugby from now on.

“It bores me to tears. I don’t like it,” he said.

“Is that style of rugby going to be the style of rugby that wins world cups now? And are we just going to go and all be bored at a World Cup?

ADVERTISEMENT

“Or are we actually going to say as rugby people, ‘We don’t like this people! We want to run the ball!'”

Related Articles

  • 44 WEEKS AGO

    WATCH: Brilliant footage shows old school...

  • 44 WEEKS AGO

    Crazy scenes as player deliberately kicks...

  • 46 WEEKS AGO

    Jokester has field day with Chris Latham's...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 3 DAYS AGO

    The latest member of the Tuilagi Rugby dynasty dominates in the Top 14 promotion play-off

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Springbok winger with the most athletic non-try of the season

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Jack Crowley drops the ball on dime for brilliant Munster try in URC Final

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    WATCH: World class offload from James O’Connor Leads To Long Range Reds Try

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Leinster up and running with two incredible tries inside the first five minutes

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 4 DAYS AGO

    Marcos Kremer shown red card for reckless shot on Finn Russell

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Heroic tackle from Spanish 7s player goes viral

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    No sanction handed down by SANZAAR for tackle that left Reds player with a fractured neck

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Watch: Cheslin Kolbe Dominates Sebastian Cancelliere with back-to-back big tackles

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Ben Curry's World Cup hopes dashed as he becomes the latest victim of the crocodile roll

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Barbarians Vs World XV highlights

  • 9 WEEKS AGO

    Silly Skill From Toulouse Fullback Highlights French Confidence

  • 16 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea Moment Of Magic In Super Rugby Aotearoa

  • 16 WEEKS AGO

    'Armchair athletes' berate Arundell's seriously impressive bench press

  • 17 WEEKS AGO

    Worcester Warriors - The End

View All

Funnies

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Watch: Savagely cruel bounce see’s Canada U20 concede brutal try

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    Mack Hansen gets Andy Farrell’s face tattooed on leg

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    "Hey Manie oh ah I wanna know if I can block that kick" – Munster's hilarious new song

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Munster Rugby loving life in Cape Town Following URC Final Victory

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    WATCH: La Rochelle Players Gate Crash O’Gara Interview

View All

Amateur

  • 21 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 21 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 44 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 44 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 45 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Legendary playmaker announces new move

  • 5 DAYS AGO

    Horrific footage has emerged of Mohamed Haouas attack on wife

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    Mack Hansen gets Andy Farrell’s face tattooed on leg

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    French international receives prison sentence for attack on wife

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    John Afoa breaks record on return to Super Rugby

View All