‘We all know the risk’ – Handre Pollard weighs in on Springboks’ ‘chaotic’ World Cup tactics

Springboks fly-half Handre Pollard has reflected on South Africa’s Rugby World Cup campaign and their tactics during the tournament, as well as his call-up to the squad.

Malcolm Marx sustained an injury on the training ground during the pool stages, which led to Pollard’s call-up after he had initially been left out of the squad due to injury.

He went on to score 33 points, including 12 in the championship game, and convert all 13 of his shots on goal, playing a crucial part in the Springboks’ title defense.

Missing the initial squad

The playmaker, who finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 69 points, was an important part of the 2019 team that won the World Cup in Japan.

Though he was expected to recover from his injury during the pool stages, he was not included in the first team to defend the championship in Japan.

Pollard said on the Big Jim Show that while he was first sad, he realized the choice was not “personal” and that it was in the team’s best interests.

“It’s very straightforward: you won’t be in the squad if you don’t train, are unavailable to play, and don’t show up,” stated Pollard.

“It doesn’t matter who you are. Siya [Kolisi] was a tight call with his knee [injury], of course, we know the story about that. That’s just the facts. It is what it is; there’s nothing personal.

“We were just told, the standby group of guys, ‘stay ready, go back to your clubs, and if something happens, we might call you back’.”

That call did come for Pollard, but it was not under the circumstances that you would expect, as hooker Marx sustained a knee injury that ruled him out of the tournament.

He added: “I certainly don’t think when Malcolm [Marx] went down that I was going to get the call because it is such a specialist position, and we were thin there as well, but I got the call, and it was unreal.”

Bench splits and buying into the tatics

After famously selecting six forwards and two backs on the bench during the World Cup in Japan, the Springboks took that tactic one step further in France, selecting seven forwards and one back for the clash against Ireland in the pool stages.

They reverted back to the more conventional 5-3 split for the quarter and semi-finals before reviving the 7-1 for the final against New Zealand.

While many feel that the tactics and the decision to implement them were chaotic, Pollard explained that the feeling in camp was vastly opposite.

“No, no, no, I know some of the stuff we do seems chaotic like crazy, but it’s not; it’s a mutual trust that’s growing through the players and the coaches towards each other, vice versa when they come up with these ideas, which might seem crazy for the people from outside, it’s always well thought out,” he said.

“We discuss it openly. We all know the risk of these decisions and plans and we also know the pros on both sides. So we’ll buy into it, and it’s actually very, very calm; it’s not chaotic at all, but I can see why it looks that way from the outside.”

Worry about the 7-1 split

Although the coaches did get buy-in from the players, the fly-half revealed that there were some good-hearted jokes early in the week about how players would fill in if there were injuries in the backline.

“There is a bit of it, but a little bit worried as well at times, the front-row is alright, it’s especially (worrying) with the backs,” he explained.

“We were thinking a lot like we have cover for one injury everywhere, but if we lose two on the bounce like we have been in trouble in the past with a 6-2 split, and we lose two guys in 10 minutes of the game and we are struggling.

“So it was (the conversation) what happens after that second injury was like Kwagga [Smith] was going to go defend on the blind wing, and Cheslin [Kolbe] was doing his box kicks during the weeks, we had a good laugh about that he was hitting them beautifully by the way – he is a freak, so I wasn’t expecting anything else.

“You try to see the funny part of it as well but I mean it was all business by then by that time of the tournament.”