All Blacks wary of Bok attack: South Africa more dangerous than the old stereotype, warns Umaga

All Blacks assistant coach Tana Umaga warned on Wednesday that the Springboks pose a far bigger threat than their forward prowess.

Following comfortable wins for the All Blacks against the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls so far on the this tour, Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry has sparked to this week with a verbal back and forth between New Zealand’s Dave Rennie and his Springbok counterpart Rassie Erasmus with the former accusing the latter of deliberately slowing the game down and time-wasting.

But on Tuesday, Umaga switched the focus back to the rugby when he discussed the highly anticipated first Test of the series between the sides.

UMAGA ON THE THREATS POSED BY THE SPRINGBOKS

Speaking to media in Johannesburg ahead of Saturday’s first Test at Ellis Park, Umaga said South Africa’s backline has added real danger to their game. He made the comments while previewing the first match of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, explaining why the Kiwis cannot afford to focus solely on the Springboks’ forward prowess this weekend.

Umaga, who played 17 of his 74 Tests against the Springboks, began by acknowledging the obvious: South Africa’s pack remains one of the most powerful in world rugby, because their set piece continues to form the foundation of everything they do. But he was quick to point out that stopping there would be a mistake.

“They’ve added some really soft touches to their game with the skill set that they have within the backs,” Umaga explained. “Once you concentrate on what’s coming to you up front, they look for space out wide and they look for space in behind.”

The danger, according to Umaga, lies in how easily a defence can lose focus.

“When you focus on one thing, you take your eyes off another and their ability to interchange between it,” he added. “Again, that’s rugby. Our ability to make sure that we’re focussing on what’s important at this minute and making sure we’re looking in the secondary around how we can alleviate some of that pressure.”

HOW THE ALL BLACKS PLAN TO NEGATE THE SPRINGBOK ATTACK

Turning to strategy, Umaga outlined the fundamentals his side will need to lean on in the opening Test at Ellis Park this coming Saturday.

“Don’t give them entries into the areas that they want to get into, that promotes their strengths,” he said. “Obviously everyone talks about the set piece, but they’ve grown in terms of their attacking prowess in the backs and utilising their force in the right spaces.”

“It’s about making sure that you look after the ball and control the ball as much as you can. That means catching it and looking after it, but also it’s trying to imprint your own game,” the All Blacks defence coach explained.

“If you look after your own ball – your go-forward ball – invariably you’re putting pressure on them, and more likely you’ll come away with points. If you don’t do that, then you’re on the other side of their ledger.”