The Springboks won’t be chasing a third straight World Cup by doubling down on defence alone.
That’s the message from defence coach Jerry Flannery, who says South Africa’s evolution is about blending every part of their game as they build towards next year’s global showpiece in Australia.
The Boks are gearing up for a bumper international season and it starts with this week’s alignment camp in Cape Town.
MORE: SA U20 stars to attend Bok camp
Flannery paid tribute to former defence guru Jacques Nienaber for laying the platform for the 2019 and 2023 triumphs.
“I think the biggest one is that, if you speak real plainly, Jacques has laid a massive foundation for the two World Cup wins with the work that he did around the defence,” Flannery told the media in Cape Town on Monday.
He added that Nienaber’s blueprint tapped into what the Boks do best.
“He was embracing the stuff that South Africans do better than anyone else, which is being so physical, being so fit as well. And I think that that’s given a great framework.”
WATCH: Nienaber back with Boks
But the Boks aren’t standing still.
With attack coach Tony Brown adding fresh layers, Flannery believes the world champions are expanding their arsenal.
“I don’t think you can ever say you can consolidate and sit on something and say it’s OK because as we’ve seen, the game is constantly evolving and you’ve got to be on it every single week looking to see where there’s a small gain that you can make.”
He believes Brown has been world class in driving that growth.
“The evolution of Springbok rugby is how we combine our defence, attack, kicking game and set-piece, and try to put teams under massive pressure to obviously score points and win Test matches.”
ALSO: Rassie vs Razor to kick off Bok season
Rather than choosing one weapon, the Boks want them all.
“We always go, this is how we control the game, this is how we use our kicking game. This is how we use our defence to crack turnovers. And then we build our attack off those two things.
“So I feel as though we’re in a powerful position to push that forward over the next 12 months.”
Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
The post Flannery: Boks are evolving, not coasting appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
