Cape Town - Finally there’s a former Springbok coach who agrees with us here @IndyCapeSport about one of the lines we despise most in rugby: “You’ve got to earn the right to go wide.”
Of course, Nick Mallett seldom holds back when talking about the game he loves, as he is as famous for guiding the Boks on a 17-match winning streak as he is for his “blow-dryer treatment” he dished out to players (and anyone else in rugby, for that matter) who were not following his script.
Old Nick has calmed down ever so slightly in recent years (don’t tell him I said that), but the thrilling action produced by the Lions and Stormers at Ellis Park on Saturday night got him going again during a studio discussion on SuperSport.
Often heard bemoaning the standard of attacking play in South African rugby, and rightly so, while praising the skill levels of the New Zealand teams, Mallett went on about how the 30 000-odd spectators were “royally, royally entertained” and how it was a good advertisement for South African rugby.
And then he pulled out this gem: “It’s been a long time since I have enjoyed a South African derby as much as this, where normally you’re watching box-kicks and jumping, reset scrums, driving mauls, kicking for territory…
“That stupid word about, you’ve got to, what do they say, you have to earn the right to go wide. It’s absolute garbage! If there is space out wide, pass it wide. If there is space behind, chip into the space.”
And so say all of us!
@IndyCapeSport
Independent Media