Springbok’s 7-1 split gets tongues wagging ahead of Ireland clash

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The Springboks’ 7-1 split on the bench, something first seen in a warm-up match, is now being wheeled out for an epic clash against the number one ranked side in the world, Ireland on Saturday night.  

This latest innovation is bound to catch the ire of many in international rugby, but as former Springbok Lawrence Sephaka says, they’ll hate it, but they’ll be studying its effectiveness as well. 

“They are crying foul about it but I am sure a lot of teams are really looking to it and see the effectiveness of it and how you go about it as well. And if you look at it you are probably the one person the one split that we see there is probably the unlikely character that is only covering one position and everyone else is covering everyone else within the first starting 15.” 

The Boks are set to shock the rugby world yet again, and according to Lawrence Sephaka, there is just one thing that could derail this spectacle of power. 

“The only reason they will run into serious trouble in terms of the hooker position to be honest is when Mbonambi gets a red card. So the question is do you play him until he can’t play anymore or do you manage him as well and bring on the other guys to keep on getting practice. Maybe like this game the burden of losing or winning is really not that heavy. It is probably a good time to test them properly against a proper scrumming team what can they do under pressure especially the third choice.” 

The top ranked Ireland play the second ranked, and defending champions, the Springboks in Saint-Denis late on Saturday night.