EXCLUSIVE: Omar Mouneimne looks at two key players for the Springboks
- 2343
Eddie Jones and Rassie Erasmus will be looking to out fox one another in the Rugby World Cup Final in Yokohama on Saturday.
Having already looked at the attacking and defensive threats of England, Omar Mouneimne turns his focus to the Springboks.
First up, we have a look at Damian de Allende's fantastic tackle technique.
In the first GIF below, you can see how he gets stuck into George North and drives him backwards. He gets what we call 'sumo grip' on the shorts, gets him to the ground counter rucks superbly - that is his trademark.
Here is another look at his excellent tackle and drive:
In the next clip, Wales have the driving maul. Look how he shoots up the line - reading the attack perfectly - he catches Rhys Patchell ball and all with a big hit and gets back to his feet quickly to compete for the ball.
That is destructive defence and something that could really hurt England, who were able to generate extremely quick ball from their first phase ball against the All Blacks.
The double hit from him and Pollard also draws in more Welsh attackers to retain possesion.
Again, a massive hit from him and Pollard. They shut down Hadleigh Parkes quickly and he is right back on his feet extremely quickly and drives over the ball.
While England were able to get away with one or two cleaners against the All Blacks, Wales were forced to pile in and as you can see here, De Allende's defence draws in 4 or 5 attackers meaning Wales have less men on their feet to attack making their attack less effective and easier for the Springboks to defend.
De Allende is well known for his massive ball carries but his defence is really underrated. In the World Cup he is the centre with the most dominant tackles and it is a massive part of the Springboks' defensive structure.
His ability to get back to his feet and draw in numbers to clean at the breakdown means the attack is less effective.
Faf de Klerk
Faf de Klerk is well known in England for his high work rate and you can see it clearly in the clip below...
His first kick is far from perfect, and probably too shallow to use against England - I would rather go long down town into England's half - But the Springboks get the ball back and he calmly puts another kick in.
He races like crazy to get possession back and if it weren't for a knock on he could have caused even more havoc.
The kick did cause confusion in the Welsh backfield and winning the scrum for his side.
In the final GIF, you can see how Faf's tactical kicking game is paired with de Allende's fantastic defence.
Faf attacks the short side from a scrum and spots a gap in behind. George North reads this well and does brilliantly to get back and cover. But de Allende has anticipated this and chases up with Faf and puts in a big hit on North.
This wins Wales back a few metres from the line and the Springboks almost force the turnover.
So in closing Damian de Allende and Faf de Klerk are massive factors in playing personnel and are essential to the Springboks' game plan.
