The British and Irish Lions face South Africa this summer in what promises to be a fantastic series. Both sides are incredibly well matched, and it is almost certainly due to come down to small margins. One area of the game that will be incredibly tight is the lineout. South Africa had an incredibly strong defensive lineout, preventing teams from completing their attacks over 60% of the time. This is a rate beaten only by Ireland and New Zealand. Therefore it will certainly be a struggle for the Lions to gain advantage here. Luckily for the Lions, the best performing team against South Africa at Rugby World Cup 2019, was the Welsh who completed 80% of their lineouts. The man who masterminded this lineout was Robin McBryde, the man responsible for the Lions lineout this year. So what ways can we expect McBryde to target the Springbok strength.
One of the ways that Welsh lineout gained an edge was through the use of non-jumping pods. 20% of the Welsh Lineouts used a non-jumping option last time they faced the Springboks. The non-jumping option, injected pace and gave the Welsh some much needed ball security as they avoided direct competition with the Boks lineout.
Wales start from a seven man lineout just outside the South African 22. Wales begin with Jake Ball walking into a spread lineout formation. The spread lineout is useful as it allows Wales to disguise their call till the last moments. Jake Ball is the lineout caller and acts as the trigger. Once Ball enters the lineout, he calls “SET” which begins the lineout sequence.
Props Wyn Jones, and Tomas Francis peel out of the lineout. This peel means that Ross Moriarty is left alone at the front while Wales load the back of the lineout with multiple threats. As Jones and Francis peel away, Justin Tipuric jams forward, which creates two distinct pods within the lineout. The two pods formed, Francis-Ball-Tipuric and Jones-AWJ-Wainwright, all draw the Boks’ attention towards the back.
South Africa are defending in a 2-5 split, with Vermulen acting as the Pivot at the back. This was a common defensive tactic, and open which we will cover in more detail. The important part here is that the movement from Wales leaves a solitary option at the front in Ross Moriarty. Ross Moriarty not being lifted at the front allows Wales to get quick ball to the backs, and avoids any contest with the South African defensive lineout.
The Welsh lineout has operated with speed and quickly gives Wales a chance to launch one of their common tactics against the Springboks. The importance of clean ball for this attack and to stop major pressure being applied to the kick allows Wales to execute their plan. However, this was not the only example of speed lineout working against the Springboks.
Here England uses a non jumping pod to launch their attack from a 5 man lineout. The non-jump component of this attack means that the ball is undisrupted. While allowing the ball to quickly get to the hands of the England backline. While the pass from Youngs maybe slightly poor, it does show the opportunity if the Lions can execute their speed lineouts.
Most interestingly, the South African defence on a 5 man is incredibly similar to the 7 man against Wales.
With just 5 players, South Africa have loaded the tail of the lineout, which makes any throw to the back more dangerous. They have also aimed to cover two jumping pods, with Number 8 Duane Vermulen acting as a pivot. This deliberate loading of the back of the lineout carries over into their 7 man lineout, as we saw earlier against Wales. The Springboks also have another interesting addition to their lineout in the 7 man, a single man lift.
Right at the front of this lineout the Springboks have placed Pieter Steph Du Toit, and the Beast, Tendai Mtwarria. This gives them a pod capable of competing at the front. Though they can’t get quite as high as the Welsh pod they are still able to apply pressure. It also allows South Africa to cover the back of the lineout with that same 5 man team. This makes the Springbok lineout really difficult to escape, and forces teams to try and win easy, but worse ball at the front.
However, no defence is impregnable and there are always weaknesses with rugby being a game of trade offs. This is why speed in the Lions lineout is going to be crucial. With Vermeulen not fully committed to a pod, the Lions may be able to beat the back pods into the air. This could leave the Lions with plenty of opportunities for their attack, and could be worth the risk. The Lions series promises to be a fascinating coaching and tactical battle, with the teams so well matched. With Robin Mcbryde and Warren Gatland taking on the South Africans yet again I am sure we will see some carryover in how they plan to beat the Springbok Lineout.
The Analysis Guy 