Why not just do the Sexton move

We see many versions of ball in hand creativity from other teams. …our’s tends to be more about gimmicks, swop the front rows just before kickoff, call a scrum from the mark, create the open field rolling maul. None of these gimmicks have grown into a tactic that can be employed again and again…they are one off sensations.

So here’s something we don’t even have to create, the video footage is there to see how it is done….enter The Sexton wrap around. In Sacha we have the most dangerous running 10 in the game. In Esterhuizen we have a player who in 90 appearances at Harlequins was a brilliant offloader.

Why not simply put the wrap around in our inventory…..it’s painfully simple . Sacha passes instantly to Andre and lingers behind him. Esterhuizen uses his power to fully engage the 12….13 feints to go wider. And at the critical moment Sacha accelerates onto an Esterhuizen pop pass with the license to run, which he apparently never had last Saturday.

Could Esterhuizen do this better than Bundee or Henshaw, I think so. Is Sacha in space way more dangerous than Sexton…..you bet.

Why play a man at 10 whose best talent is running with the ball, without devising a way for him to deploy that talent. Especially when that tactic, as Sexton proved, can unleashed in every game we play…not just once,

You hit the nail on the head Moz. What makes it particularly frustrating is that I think Sacha and Esterhuizen potentially constitute the most dangerous 10/12 combination in Test rugby, and perhaps one of the most naturally complementary combinations the Boks have ever had.

Sacha reminds me somewhat of Quade Cooper, except I think his physical gifts give him an even higher ceiling. There is that same ability to see and attack space, improvise and turn a defensive picture into something completely different in an instant, but Sacha is bigger, extraordinarily quick and a much more threatening runner himself. Why then constrain him to repeatedly receiving the ball against an organised defensive line? The object should be to manufacture the broken picture for him. The Sexton wrap is a perfect example. Get the ball out of Sacha's hands early, put Esterhuizen into the defensive line and then give it back to Sacha once that line has been forced to make decisions.

And Esterhuizen is almost purpose-built for it. People tend to reduce him to his size, but his Harlequins years demonstrated that there is considerably more to him than being a battering ram. He can carry, draw defenders and offload. If he takes the ball hard enough to engage the opposition 12, while the outside backs threaten width, suddenly Sacha is coming back around at pace against defenders whose shoulders and attention have already been manipulated. That's an entirely different proposition from asking him to manufacture something from a standing start.

Then consider what sits outside them. Pace everywhere, with genuine finishing threats stretching the defence horizontally, and potentially Damian Willemse entering the line as another playmaker and running threat. Who does the defence actually key on? Esterhuizen can go through you, Sacha can go around you or through a gap, Willemse can appear as another distributor or runner, while the outside backs punish any defender who starts biting inwards. You have the personnel to create layer upon layer of uncertainty.

That's what makes the missed opportunities so irritating. We keep hearing about innovation, but innovation doesn't have to mean inventing another novelty that gets clipped for social media and then disappears. The best attacking systems contain relatively simple mechanisms that can be used repeatedly because they present several possible outcomes. The Sexton wrap wasn't effective because nobody had ever seen it before; everyone knew it was coming. It remained effective because the defence still had several threats to solve.

With Sacha, Esterhuizen and Willemse, I think we potentially have the ingredients for the finest attacking combination the Boks have ever fielded. Add the speed available outside them and the possibilities become ridiculous. But possessing those weapons and actually constructing an attack designed to exploit them are two different things.

Sacha shouldn't merely be given permission to run when an opportunity happens to appear. The system should be deliberately manufacturing those opportunities for him.

1:03 and 3:57 for those who want to see it in action.

I'd love to know who disagrees with any of this.

Where is the flaw in what has been said above?

It's such obvious logic that the flaw would have to pretty huge, but I don't see it.

If I had to play devil's advocate, all I can think of is the idea of tiring out our forwards. But even then, it's not like this sort of play has to happen after every other ruck.

On the weekend, the Boks passed 90 times, and some crazy number like 60-70(going on memory) was to forwards.

Look at those numbers and tell me why Sacha should even be there? We may as well just play AE at 10 and let Cheslin kick for us.

And the confusing thing is that when we do play lesser teams, like Portugal, suddenly we're all about backline moves. Why? Why are we practicing stuff that will never be used when it matters?

But ja, I'm anti-Bok and hate the Springboks and Rassie, so I'll say anything.

"But ja, I'm anti-Bok and hate the Springboks and Rassie, so I'll say anything. No Plumpster you are just confused. Bad company etc. How did the Irish fare against us. all these fancy moves mostly amount to little,
By the way I posted a video where it was stated that its a great pity AE was not played as a loosie earlier. It might have been Mallet or Zels, cant recall now.
Stop trying to get the Boks to play like the kiwi ballarinas, Appreciate more what we are great at. Just saying.

A loop or fireball is only really viable off lineout cos of the 10m offside. Maybe a scrum where we've turned their flanker away and even then its going to be right on the gain line.

A better variation would be with the 9 flashing the ball across Sacha's face direct to AE as Sacha loops behind with the 13 running that angle back in towards traffic to draw the defender. the blindside winger follows Sacha becoming his inside option or deep pullback for AE. 13 stays awake for the simple pop if the defender doesn't bite on him (AE would have to be quick to recognise) with AE then becoming the first cleaner to win the ruck. this way there's already a first receiver with two outside options if ruck ball is quick. Play away.