Mere mortal McCaw

Richie McCaw (left) follows Daniel Carter as he is tackled during last week's defeat in South Africa. Picture / Reuters

Was it more accident than design or did the Springboks come up with an effective way to foil Richie McCaw? Many rugby observers noticed in last weekend's test match against the Boks that McCaw, so often the stand-out player for the All Blacks, was rather less in evidence than fans have been used to in recent seasons.

Part of the reason for that, of course, was an error-strewn All Black performance and perhaps a below-par effort from McCaw, by his own high standards.

But it was also noticeable, after a careful look at the video of the SKY broadcast, that the Springbok forwards seemed to target McCaw almost as much as the more obvious targeting of the All Black halves.

In several of the rucks and mauls, the Springbok forwards drove through McCaw or dragged him into their side of the ruck, tipping him over and upsetting his now famous ability to remain on his feet and burgle loose ball.

It must also be said that McCaw had one of his less accurate tests for the All Blacks - going off his feet more times than usual, missing three tackles and giving away several penalties, two of them significant, possibly because of the extra pressure placed on him.

"I'd say he didn't do so well because he got himself isolated. The All Blacks were too loose and he didn't have enough support in the rucks and mauls," said former All Black prop Richard Loe.

However, as former All Black selector Peter Thorburn pointed out, the key to the Springbok success and their tight policing of McCaw was unusual: they did not attack.

They blunted McCaw's usual sharpness because of the lack of attacking venture from the Springboks. In a game plan which revolved around heroic defence to provoke mistakes, the Springboks effectively countered one of McCaw's great strengths.

"Richie is very good at taking the shortest route to the ball, like all good No 7s," said Thorburn. "But perhaps his biggest strength is his ability to get to the opposition ball-carrier, make the tackle and then stand up and snaffle the tackled ball. He's wonderful at it."

However, with South Africa trying little in terms of attacking by running the ball, McCaw's ability at the tackle was hampered.

Thorburn said: "The Springbok forwards were very physical and they certainly take a lot of players out at the ruck at the breakdown area. Richie seemed to get knocked off his feet when he was trying to lift the tackled ball out."

However, Thorburn said he did not think the Springboks had actively planned to 'get' McCaw - and he'd been caught in the general, smothering defensive effort by the Boks.

"Schalk Burger is always there contesting the ball and Ricky Januarie, their halfback, is also good at getting into the contesting area," said Thorburn, "but I don't think there was any sophisticated plan or anything like that."

McCaw worked hard when the All Blacks had the ball but also played more of a running and supporting role as the All Blacks looked to send the ball wide - and he was thwarted again by All Black mistakes and a ferocious Bok defence.

"In a sense, you could say the Boks won it by not creating opportunities and not creating the type of platform that McCaw usually operates well from," said Thorburn.

A game plan built around not attacking the All Blacks doesn't seem the wisest counsel for opposing sides. But not moving the ball out of the 10m circle and kicking for position - particularly when allied to the Boks' outstanding lineout and a steady scrum - might have merit in blunting the edge of one of the All Blacks' sharpest weapons.

Last night's test against Australia would likely be different, said Thorburn, speaking before the Sydney match, as the Australians played a more attacking game. The South Africans had kicked deep to get the All Blacks to kick out from the 22 so the Boks would get the lineout ball and exert more pressure.

The correct counter to this tactic was to run the ball back at the Boks but the All Blacks' accuracy had been wanting, although not by much, said Thorburn.

Loe put it differently: "I would be amazed if Richie McCaw had another game of that type again this season."

MCCAW WATCH

1min: John Smit cleans McCaw out, All Blacks lose ball.

6min: McCaw dragged into Springbok ruck, Bok ball.

13min: McCaw taken out off the ball by Joe van Niekerk when expecting a pass.

31min: Cleaned out in ruck.

37min: Penalised for entering the ruck from side.

41min: Penalised for diving through the ruck.

44min: Cleaned out in ruck

45min: Pulled into Springbok ruck.

57min: Cleaned out in ruck.

65min: Cleaned out in ruck.

73min: Cleaned out in ruck.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY