IN the northern hemisphere we have always been one or two steps behind teams in the south. That’s just a fact and it applies to both club and Test rugby. Teams like New Zealand and South Africa constantly bring something new to the table despite the immense success they’ve had over long periods of time.
These sides are always looking for ways to improve and at any marginal areas where they can get better. They are prepared to do things differently if needs be. We saw that at the last World Cup when South Africa won the tournament with a tactic of using six forwards – their ‘bomb squad’ – ...