Hairy Bok beasts must wield the sledgehammer

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On a recent trip to the Karoo, I had one goal, photographically - to capture a pronking springbok. This proved to be harder than I thought (hard to tell which member of a herd is about to pronk + they are really quick + they don't do this often) but I was lucky and after some perseverance I managed to bag this shot. It's amazing to watch this behaviour happen right in front of you and I am happy with this image as I feel it gives the viewer an idea of what the real-life action was like.

As tomorrow’s clash of rugby’s heavyweights looms into view, a lesson from 1991 wouldn’t be remiss.

England, having relied on the unerring boot of Rob Andrew, were favourites to win the World Cup final.

But then they got suckered by the Australian press, who labelled them boring. England promptly tried to play a wide running game. Eighty minutes later a grinning Nick Farr-Jones was holding the Webb Ellis Cup aloft at Twickenham.

It was a profound lesson in not moving away from what works. Hopefully the Springboks have learned from history, particularly as they take heat for their unadventurous style.

The only way the Boks can beat the All Blacks in tomorrow’s semifinal is by smashing them. It’s time for the sledgehammer rather than the surgeon.

When you are as big and mean and ugly as the Boks, you don’t try and match the All Blacks for skill. You drag them down to your level by playing industrial rugby. The kicking game the Boks are so wedded to is fine, but the execution needs to be clinical. No good kicking it down their throats, which is why Fourie du Preez should be handed the job. His dead-eye boot can turn their backs and put them in two minds before the marauders pile into them.

The 1995 final also offers a valuable lesson. Glen Osborne, Jonah Lomu and the rest tried hard, but the Boks had their measure at the scrums and breakdowns. Julian Savea and Ma’a Nonu can’t feast if the forwards are locked into a grappling match and producing slow ball. They need to be knocked off their rhythm rather than given a free pass as hopeless France allowed last week.

b3da049a77f63b239f734b4e0e81c762The All Blacks are better than anyone because they execute so well. We admired Duane Vermeulen’s sumptuous match-winning pass last weekend, but the All Blacks can produce such moments 10 times a match.

The Boks’ execution has not been nearly as slick. Tomorrow it must be. Any mistake will be pounced on by New Zealand’s scavengers, chiefly Richie McCaw, the best wild dog in the business.

Given the need to play it hard and tight, any major plays must come off Du Preez. He’s not as quick as he once was, but he’s shrewder than ever and will know how to unpick the world’s best team. His clash against Aaron Smith, his heir apparent, will offer a fantastic sub-plot.

The All Blacks have won 10 of their last 12 Tests against the Boks. History says they will march on, as they usually do, but the Boks have the means – and the muscle – to crush their ambitions.

Bring on the big, hairy beasts.

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