The Sonny Bill Effect

In recent times a number of players have popularized the game of Rugby to new heights on the world stage but none more so than the enigma that is SBW. At 1.91m and 108Kgs, Sonny Bill Williams has played a pivotal role in changing Rugby Union as we know it.

Strangely enough, his size and athletic ability are not what sets him apart but rather his ability and expertise in maintaining continuity in the tackle area. He played a pivotal role in securing a maiden Super Rugby title for the Waikato Chiefs in the 2012 season and has been phenomenal in the revered jersey of the mighty All Blacks.

Although the offload in the tackle has been around for many years, SBW has brought it to the fore in a display of utter mastery which has ignited Super Rugby in the previous two seasons. I must admit I was somewhat skeptical at first when watching the so called '50/50' passes being flung out of the back of SBW's rather sizable hands. Growing up in South Africa, passes of this nature were frowned upon due to their assumed level of inherent risk. For me, at this point in time, his biggest strength could very well have been his biggest weakness.As the 2011 season progressed, however, I began to realize that these '50/50' passes were far from 50/50 in nature and anyone at Twickenham to see his display of apparent wizardry for the Crusaders would lay testament to that fact.

It was from this point in time that I began to see the apparent dichotomy emerging in the playing styles of the SANZAR nations. New Zealand, and to a lesser extent Australia, were starting to adopt this relatively high risk/high reward style of play whilst their South African counterparts were still employing the defensive tactics of letting the opposition make mistakes by applying pressure with percentage rugby based on territorial dominance. This got me thinking, where is rugby going and who is going to take rugby to that next level?

One does not need to look any further than the Waikato Chiefs class of 2012 to find the answer. I've always been a huge fan of the Auckland Blues for their attractive style of running rugby but the Chiefs simply amazed me this season. The emergence of Aaron Cruden and Sam Cane showed quite clearly that the All Blacks had now found long-term successors to both Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, arguably the greatest players of the modern era. The Chiefs employed a style of play which was sublime to watch and with the masterful mind of Wayne Smith working in the background, this was certain to be a recipe for success. What was clearly evident was the emphasis placed on the offload in the tackle and the sheer genius in designing set-plays tailored to dismantle their opposition. As logic would have it, it's far more difficult to slow down a team if the ball is always moving away from the contact area and coupled with this, the Chiefs were effectively turning simple offloads into line break assists.

This is where I feel the difference in thinking comes in. Generally speaking, when one looks at an offload the idea is fairly simply; transfer the ball to a nearby player to maintain continuity whilst in a tackle situation. I'd say this is the South African view of the offload, simply a pass in contact. If successful, great. If failed, condemned. I feel in SA we're looking at the offload as a show of great skill by one particular player which is assumed to be risky in nature. What the Chiefs opened my eyes to was something that Fox Sports Fantasy Rugby termed as a 'line break assist'. This may sound quite obvious but the offload is clearly a two man effort. The Chiefs were putting players in the right positions to run onto the ball when the likes of Cruden and SBW were looking for the offload. It had become second nature for the players by the end of the season and we're seeing this approach being carried through into the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship. The offload is an attacking weapon that, when employed correctly, can change the momentum of a game.

The offload is a fairly simple skill of the game which, like any other, needs to practiced with meaningful repetition. South African coaches often yell at players for attempting flashy passes on the park but they are the ones not teaching these skills to the players at training sessions. These same coaches are telling their players to blindly attempt to run over the opposition in front of them as opposed to evading the player or to look for the pass. The emphasis in SA is clearly placed on size and not on skills development as emphasized by the game plan employed by the incumbent Springbok coach, Heyneke Meyer. It's all good and well to be physically dominant on the park but what happens when the opposition is able to match your level of physicality? Let me rephrase that, what happens when a more 'skillful' opposition matches your level of physicality? The answer is quite simple, you're going to be beaten.

Whilst watching the recent Springbok test played in Mendoza, Argentina, I could not for the life of me understand the thinking behind the tactics. The Boks were quite frankly dull and pathetic. It's a hard thing to say as a proud Springbok supporter but the truth hurts. I suppose you could blame the players for a lack of execution on the park but to be honest they were doomed from the start. Heyneke Meyer calls it 'Winning Rugby', but is it really? You're betting all your eggs in the basket that says you're going to pressurize your opposition into making a mistake in a kickable position. One thing Mr. Meyer forgot to factor in was the human element of it all. If your 9 and 10 aren't on form with the boot, your game plan fails. If the opposition is solid under the high ball and is effective on the counter attack, your game plan fails. If the opposition matches you physically and has a superior skill level, your game plan fails. These tactics may work at times at Super Rugby level for the Bulls but this is quite simply not Super Rugby. It pains me to think that the rugby youth of the country are growing up with the mentality that size will determine their success. Size is an enhancing attribute not a fundamental one. New Zealand are encouraging their youngsters to grow up developing their skill level while our youngsters are pumping iron in the gym. Skill level is the key to success and I feel that we are completely missing the point.

So to answer the question of where rugby is going, it's going where New Zealand is taking it. It's going where SBW is taking it. They are taking it to a new era where size and physical dominance are becoming less important, an era where the skill level of the players will determine their success. What happens when the All Blacks find their Eben Etzebeth or another Jonah Lomu? Will we still blindly attempt to dominate them physically in the hope of grinding out a victory?

I feel that South African rugby needs a complete rethink all the way down to grassroots level. The game is clearly changing but we seem to be lagging behind, holding onto a style of play which is clearly redundant. It took a player like SBW to fully open my eyes to the fact that we, as South Africans, are afraid to embrace new ideas and new ways of thinking when it comes to rugby.

Sonny Bill has changed and enhanced New Zealand rugby but at the same time, illuminated the need for change and imagination in South African rugby and if this change is not introduced at the top I fear that we will always play second fiddle to the silver fern. Let me be clear, we are not New Zealand but that does not mean that we cannot learn lessons from our great rival.