Former Scotland coach bashes Springboks’ bomb squad
A former coach has suggested the Springboks are ‘abusing’ the spirit of the game with their ‘bomb squad’ bench composition.
Last Friday, the Springboks notably named seven forwards on their bench in a 7-1 split that gave new meaning to the team’s bomb squad strength.
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Although this bench configuration only came into effect after a late injury to Willie le Roux, it has caused a big debate in some rugby circles, with former Scotland rugby coach Matt Williams suggesting South Africa were “abusing the bench” and jeopardising player safety.
“What South Africa did is totally against the spirit of the game and certainly against player safety… World Rugby should act and say ‘during the World Cup you need 3 backs on the bench,” he commented during a wide-ranging rant.
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YOU CAN WATCH WHAT WAS SAID ABOUT THE SPRINGBOKS BELOW:
🗣 "What South Africa did is totally against the spirit of the game and certainly against player safety.
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) August 29, 2023
🗣 "World Rugby should act and say 'during the World Cup you need 3 backs on the bench."
Matt Williams on South Africa's 7-1 bench split at Twickenham.
#RWC2023 #VMTVRugby pic.twitter.com/M7VieBrKd3
Williams, who coached Scotland between 2003 and 2005, also urged World Rugby to act out against this tactic.
“What South Africa did is totally against the spirit of the game and certainly against player safety. The South Africans are just abusing the bench at the moment,” Williams told Off the Ball’s Monday Night Rugby.
“The bench [orignially] came in all for safety reasons. People didn’t come on for positions they weren’t trained for so we weren’t putting back rowers in the front row. Everything was done for a reason.
“They had seven forwards [against New Zealand]. Seven forwards… really? Seriously? And World Rugby has just got to act on this. The way you fix it is say you must have three recognised backs on your bench. And that stops it. But right now South Africa just change the whole pack.”
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