PAUL REES LOOKS AT THE CHANGING FACE OF SCRUM-HALF PLAY SINCE THE 2019 WORLD CUP

Adefining feature of the 2019 World Cup was the kicking of Faf de Klerk, the scrum-half who bossed the winners South Africa. It summed up an era of hang time, chasing and territory.The box-kick was, and still is, an essential part of a scrum-half ’s tool kit, but de Klerk’s all-round kicking was a central component of South Africa’s game as they completed a remarkable turnaround having been outside the top six in the world rankings two years before.In the quarter-final against the...