Rival coaches Rassie Erasmus and Dave Rennie exchanged barbs about South Africa’s scrumming tactics after the Springboks beat New Zealand 33-26 in a pulsating second Test in Cape Town on Saturday.
Although the world champion Springboks dominated large portions of the game, they failed to exert their customary supremacy in the scrums — despite a late switch of their starting and back-up front rows.
All Blacks coach Rennie hailed an improved performance by his New Zealand forwards, and praised Australian referee Angus Gardner for his policing of the set piece.
“The scrums were better tonight. I think Angus was pretty strong around setting a mark and then trying to keep the hookers in the same sort of spacing,” Rennie told reporters.
“If the Springboks moved across further left, then he stopped them. So we will give a bit of feedback around that. It’s still a bit of an issue them walking around.”
Erasmus said “it was the first time in history that people are talking about us walking around”.
He blamed the All Blacks for causing a large number of indecisive scrums.
“The first six scrums New Zealand had, every one collapsed. And it was reset, reset, reset, reset. So why is it only on their ball that it’s going to collapse every time?
“So don’t come with that nonsense and saying we’re walking around and try and put things out in the media.”
Erasmus said his late decision to move the original front row of Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw to the bench was based on the weather.
“The weather prediction was that it was going to be wet and we thought we would need a heavier front row for the first half.”
Rennie said the late Springbok changes — which also included the return of captain and flanker Siya Kolisi and wing Cheslin Kolbe — had not affected his thinking.
Rennie said: “We were under the pump at various times and showed a lot of character and fight to stay in the game and could have stolen a draw at the end.”
Erasmus acknowledged the danger posed by the tourists: “They are a brilliant team and when they run the ball back they are awesome.”
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