{"id":301354,"date":"2025-12-06T01:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T01:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/301354\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T01:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T01:05:11","slug":"change-the-laws-all-you-want-the-springboks-will-still-be-the-best-rugby-team-in-the-world-paul-williams-column","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/301354\/","title":{"rendered":"Change the laws all you want; the Springboks will still be the best rugby team in the world: Paul Williams column"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many want to tweak the laws of the game to de-power Rassie Erasmus’ all-conquering Springboks. But would it make any difference?<\/p>\n

A lot of people are scared of animals. There are the obvious ones like arachnophobia and then there are the more obscure animal fears, such as alektorophobia \u2013 which is the fear of chickens. <\/p>\n

Some of the major animal fears get a lot of unjustified hype, especially when you consider the regularity with which you\u2019ll encounter them. <\/p>\n

Selachophobia being a fine example, as you\u2019re reasonably unlikely to encounter a Shark \u2013 unless you\u2019re swimming in Durban or wandering around Sale.<\/p>\n

But there is one animal that doesn\u2019t even have its own medical\/ Latin term even though virtually everyone is seemingly terrified of them \u2013 Springboks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why the rugby world is terrified of the Springboks
\n\"The<\/p>\n

The Springboks demolish Ireland\u2019s scrum during the Autumn Internationals. (Photo By David Fitzgerald\/Sportsfile via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

If you read social media, Sprinbokofobia is rampant. It\u2019s a valid phobia \u2013 the Boks were devastating in 2025. Yes, they lost two matches, but they won 13 in what is without doubt the most competitive top ten that men\u2019s rugby has ever seen. <\/p>\n

What seems to be particularly galling to many non-Bok fans\/ media\/ pundits etc., is that the Boks are supposed to be in transition post RWC and as a result more fragile \u2013 but they aren\u2019t. <\/p>\n

If you look at Ireland, New Zealand<\/a>, France etc., their RWC cycles and rebuilds have left them weaker as they adjust. Yet the Boks are rotating their squads, selecting younger players, and getting stronger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more: Why Lawrence Dallaglio loves the Champions Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

The word \u2018blooding\u2019 youngsters used to have negative connotations in test rugby, it used to mean that your squad would become weaker, before coming stronger \u2013 like some weird Medieval medical experiment with leaches. <\/p>\n

Yet the Boks seem to have a very different result with \u2018blooding\u2019. Their blooding is giving off more supernatural vampire vibes, rather than the weaknesses associated with leaches nibbling on your flesh. <\/p>\n

Ask yourself this, how many teams have won two Rugby World Cups on the bounce, and yet get stronger as they approach the third?<\/p>\n

Should we change the laws to weaken the Springboks?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The cure to most phobias tends to focus on therapy, yet with Sprinbokophobia the suggested cure seems to be law changes. <\/p>\n

The law changes that many Sprinbokophobics seem to want usually revolve around power \u2013 more specifically depowering the Boks. <\/p>\n

Most of the tweaks seem to involve scrummaging<\/a> and it\u2019s easy to see why. The current Bok\u2019s scrum is without doubt the most destructive that the game has ever seen \u2013 ever.<\/p>\n

Related: What is a scrum and why do they happen?<\/a><\/p>\n

Prior to this current period of Boks\u2019 scrummaging dominance, scrum penalties used to be a nice optional extra in test rugby terms. If your test team managed to win the odd scrum pen, then great. But the current Bok\u2019s scrum has currently turned scrum pens from rocking horse faeces into the more widely available rabbit variety.<\/p>\n

The proposed depowering of the scrum isn\u2019t something that\u2019s solely there to weaken the Boks, either. <\/p>\n

There is a large body of supporters and media who loath scrummaging. They think that scrummaging has become too dominant and \u2018unreffable\u2019. <\/p>\n

Often citing the 1970s and 1980s as the glory years of stable scrummaging \u2013 yet the data is the complete opposite. For example, in the 1987 Rugby World Cup there 32 scrums per game completed at 89%, yet in 2019 there were just 14 per game completed at 95%. <\/p>\n

Some seem to think that having a dominant scrum shouldn\u2019t be the be-all-and-end-all in rugby. That you should still be able to have a magnificent backline, for instance, and still be able to compete at test level. <\/p>\n

But that isn\u2019t how test rugby works, it never has and nor should it. It should be the other way around if anything\u2013 the way the Boks do it. If you don\u2019t have a scrum and a lineout, then your backs simply don\u2019t matter \u2013 this isn\u2019t sevens ffs.<\/p>\n

Is Rassie\u2019s bench use wrong?
\n\"Rassie<\/p>\n

Rassie Erasmus unloads the \u201cBomb Squad\u201d. (Photo by David Rogers\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The other area of the game in which some want to depower the Boks is on the bench. Rassie\u2019s Boks have revolutionised the bench in a manner that shouldn\u2019t be underestimated. <\/p>\n

The bench used to be the afterthought of rugby, now it is largely what we all focus on. The bench has gone from being the desert, to the main course and the rugby world now appreciates that it is the quality of the bench that dictates the result, not merely the starting XV.<\/p>\n

Read more: What is the \u201cBomb Squad?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Rassie has also made bench splits become recognised formats of numbers. A decade ago, 7:1 and 6:2 splits sounded like a coaching term from cycling or athletics \u2013 now those words have become part of the rugby\u2019s every day dictionary.<\/p>\n

Many Bok supporters and media see this attack on their strengths as an insult, but it\u2019s the opposite \u2013 it\u2019s the highest sporting compliment. Only the best requires law and rule changes to stop them from dominating. <\/p>\n

The NBA is a great example. Michael Jordan, Shaquielle O\u2019Neil and Charles Barkley all had laws\/ rules which were designed to especially squash their strengths.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Will this only make the Boks better?
\n\"The<\/p>\n

The Springboks want to win three consecutive World Cups (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But above all, how much do you think that any of these proposed \u2018depowering\u2019 laws would weaken the Boks? This autumn, the Bok squad has seen more yellow and red than a graphic designer at McDonalds \u2013 yet they still won. <\/p>\n

The current Bok squad is able to beat most with their second team, let alone their first. To minimise the impact of the Boks you\u2019d have to attack the depth of their player pool, not simply adjust laws.<\/p>\n

Related: Who will the Springboks face in the 2027 Rugby World Cup?<\/a><\/p>\n

And if you want to adjust the depth of their player pool, then you\u2019re entering the realms of John Wilkes Booth.<\/p>\n

Instead of rugby trying to reduce the Boks to everyone else\u2019s level, maybe everyone else in the game should be trying to elevate their own level of play. <\/p>\n

And let\u2019s not forget, for all the talk of the Boks\u2019 size and power, they also reintroduced the \u2018small\u2019 wing in Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse. The Boks are maybe the greatest team that we\u2019ve ever seen in test rugby, and it\u2019s awesome to witness.<\/p>\n

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