Saturday, 24 October 2015

SEMI FINAL REVIEW: SOUTH AFRICA V NEW ZEALAND

I will be brief. This will be a marvellous contrast between a direct, brutal, relentless forward onslaught and complete 15 man rugby trying to score from every phase and putting width on the ball. To successfully achieve the latter, you need the individual handling skills, discipline and ability to play with your head up and take the right decision based on what's in front of you. This NZ team pass the ball like no other, not just shipping the ball on down the line, easily defended by the opposition, but always attacking the space, moving at least one defender to create space and putting a fellow player in the resulting hole. Just watch them and see how many passes they deliver in a game. The game of rugby is about getting over the gainline and outnumbering the last line of defence, then executing the final pass under pressure. NZ is pretty good at this, that is why they have only lost three games since the last RWC. To beat them SA has to deny them quick ball and not allow their backs the space they need to wreak havoc. And SA has to retain the ball and not allow it to be turned over, as NZ score more tries on the counter attack than any other.

Prediction: NZ by 10

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