Boks tweak scrums and breakdown play ahead of Scotland clash

30 September 2015 - 13:43 By Craig Ray in Newcastle

Breakdown discipline and concentration will be key for the Springboks against Scotland in Saturday’s Pool B World Cup clash at St James’ Park. That’s according to Bok fetcher Francois Louw.The respected open-side flank made two steals during last weekend’s 46-6 win over Samoa‚ but the Boks still gave away several penalties at the breakdown for not rolling away quickly enough.It’s a theme that’s repeated itself throughout the tournament and an area in which Scotland pride themselves.In the past‚ Scot openside Alisdair Strokosch has caused the Boks headaches and the emergence of former Highlanders flank John Hardie as a breakdown menace in tartan‚ has further bolstered the Scots’ ability in that vital area of the game.“The breakdown will be different to what we faced last weekend‚” Louw said. “We try to evolve every week and play according to the referee.“Scotland are effective‚ we’ve seen it in the past. They will attack ball and try and slow the tempo of the game.“We want quick ball to get momentum‚ play on the front foot and play attacking rugby. That will be a big emphasis for us.“I don’t know John Hardie too well as a player‚ but he has made an impact. Ultimately we try to analyse the opposition but it always comes back to us‚ and our approach to the breakdown.“There has been a big emphasis on the tackler rolling away.“Guys get into the breakdown quickly and you‚ as the tackler‚ can get trapped in there. But refs aren’t having any of that and it’s up to you to roll away quickly.“You actually have to think about where you are going to land post-tackle.“It’s not just a case of getting in there and smashing a guy.“I’ve seen penalties awarded even when the ball is present.“There is massive pressure on the tackler to get away. That makes discipline a key focus because too many penalties at the breakdown could be costly.”Another area of the game where the Boks will be tested is in the scrums.Against Samoa the scrum struggled initially before the Boks eventually gained the upper hand.Scrum coach Pieter de Villiers is happy with the team’s progress in that aspect‚ but he expects a tough approach from Scotland.“They bring a full package‚” De Villiers said. “Technically‚ they are very sound in the scrum and their back five fires well‚ which brings a lot of power to their scrum.“In the past we’ve had some serious battles against the Scots in terms of scrumming.“There were positives and negatives from the scrum last week‚ but we ended well.“In the early stages of the game we didn’t set our scrum well‚ so we will have to look at the technical reasons for that. But what was pleasing is that the guys adapted during the game and fixed it.“We don’t have a lot of time to work on scrumming during the World Cup.“We have a 20-minute session in the week and then there are individual sessions with the front row‚ as well as video analysis.“There is some front-row specific work but the bulk of the work was done before the World Cup‚ so it’s more about mental and physical freshness and getting our analysis of the opposition spot on.” ..

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