Former Sharks coach John Plumtree believes All Blacks coach Dave Rennie has focused on the wrong area with his criticism of the Springboks’ scrum ahead of Saturday’s third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test.
Rennie accused the Boks of “walking around” at scrum time after their 33-26 victory in Cape Town, prompting a furious response from coach Rassie Erasmus.
But Plumtree believes the All Blacks’ real issue lies elsewhere, and says the visitors must fix their lineout if they are to get the front-foot ball their attack needs in Johannesburg.
“The All Blacks have got some problems,” Plumtree said on the PlayZN TMO podcast.
“For me, the scrum is not really the issue. The lineout is a problem for the All Blacks because they’re not getting quality ball. They’re not getting middle ball. What we’re looking at now is an All Blacks team that needs possession – and quality possession – and their lineout is not functioning.
“There are more lineouts than scrums in a game and the quality of that lineout ball for the All Blacks, wasn’t good enough. Eben [Etzebeth] is getting his arm across [during the lineout jump]. I don’t know how many steals he’s had, but it must have been around four.”
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While New Zealand improved their scrum performance from the first Test, Plumtree feels their lineout prevented them from building the momentum required to unleash their dangerous backline.
“If they can get to five or six phases eight to 10 times in this Test match this weekend, they can score five or six tries because their attack looks deadly in phase play,” he said.
“But the problem is if they’re not getting front-foot ball from first phase, they’ll struggle to get to four or five phases because the Boks are so aggressive defensively.”
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Plumtree also questioned the timing of Rennie’s public comments on the scrum.
“Going back to what Dave said afterwards, I don’t think that’s the platform to talk about a technicality like that, and I think Rassie is right in calling him out,” he said.
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Photo: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images
