Boks set-piece power again central as South Africa target series win in Baltimore

South Africa will again rely heavily on their scrum, lineout and maul when they face New Zealand in Baltimore on Saturday, with victory sealing a 3-1 series win for the Springboks in the Greatest Rivalry Series.

Assistant coach Deon Davids says the set piece was identified as a decisive area before the four-Test contest and believes the work done by the forwards is now producing clear results.

The Springboks have used their scrum and lineout to significant effect during the series, particularly in the third Test in Soweto. A dominant scrum earned South Africa a penalty try, while a lineout provided the platform for a maul which travelled 25 metres before crossing the line.

South Africa have also applied sustained pressure to the All Blacks’ lineout. That pressure has forced New Zealand to throw to their first jumper, a tactic which does not provide the best attacking ball.

“We were under no illusions that it was going to be very important to have a good set piece,” said Davids.

“The hard work we’ve been putting into the scrums, the lineouts, and the mauls is starting to show now, and we’re glad things have come together to provide a solid platform for our attack and defence.”

The set piece is an area in which South Africa take particular pride, although New Zealand have questioned whether the Springboks’ scrummaging has always been legal.

Those claims prompted a war of words in the press, but Davids says the controversy will not distract South Africa from their efforts to keep improving and maintain their advantage in the key forward contests.

“That said, there’s always room for improvement, and we continuously try to evaluate our systems, individual effort, and our performance as a pack of forwards, so we’ll keep striving to improve and find better cohesion.”

The Springboks will again look to those areas in Baltimore as they attempt to complete the series victory. Their scrum has already delivered direct points, while their lineout and maul have created attacking opportunities close to the New Zealand line.

For Davids, the focus is not only on continuing to disrupt the All Blacks but also on ensuring South Africa provide a dependable foundation for their own attack and defence. The coaching staff will assess their systems, the individual contribution of each forward and the cohesion of the pack as they prepare for the final Test.

New Zealand will be seeking to prevent South Africa from extending their advantage, while the Springboks know one more win would give them a 3-1 result in the series.

The match in Baltimore kicks off at 23:00 South Africa time on Saturday.