World Cup warning for time-wasters

The Springboks wait for the decision on the final try in their defeat to the Wallabies. Photo / AP

Former Springboks coach Nick Mallett has sent out a World Cup warning to teams who attempt to protect small leads by running down the clock.

And there is a prediction the 'Boks will set out to trample the All Blacks in Johannesburg on Sunday morning by repeatedly using driving mauls from lineouts.

The highly respected Mallett said Welshman Nigel Owens' officiating in the test at Brisbane - where the Wallabies scored a shock comeback victory over South Africa - needs to be noted on a key point.

"You have to be very careful to play out the clock by using your forwards in little pods off the loose scrums because northern hemisphere refs don't like it," Mallett wrote on SuperSport.

"They look to the side with the ball and their players for sealing off the ball, and that's exactly what happened. We were penalised and it gave them (Australia) the opportunity to kick for the corner."

Mallett saved special praise for Australia's replacements in the test, particularly loosie David Pocock who packed in the unfamiliar No. 8 position, and props Scott Sio and Greg Holmes for their scrum work.

Meanwhile another South African pundit believes the Springboks will wheel out repeated driving mauls from lineouts, after the All Blacks surrendered tries to outstanding Pumas hooker Agustin Creevy in Christchurch.

SARugbyMag writer Simon Borchardt said Springboks' coach Heyneke Meyer's pre-planned substitutions backfired in Brisbane, and the result raised more concerns about the 'Boks' inability to apply the killer touch.

Borchardt also wrote: "The All Blacks are vulnerable when defending lineout driving mauls.

"The (All Blacks) put too many players on one side of the maul...with a furious Richie McCaw lashing his players on the second occasion. The lineout driving maul is one of the Boks' biggest strengths."

Meanwhile Sbu Mjikeliso, writing in the Sunday Times, lamented a lack of leadership which did not bode well for the World Cup.

"Like lemmings, the Springboks disappeared mentally against the Wallabies to lose a match they were winning...and this was not even the pressure of the World Cup," he wrote.

"There was little evidence of leadership in the final 20 minutes , when it counted the most; the lemmings had jumped ship."