How the Springboks won the World Cup | South Africa's strategy explained 

France and Ireland were incredible. That French game vs SA was the best game I have ever seen.

50% strike rate for South Africa in World Cups. 4 wins in 8 tournaments. Incredible

Some grey haired wisdom and actual analysis of the game. So rare to hear in the NH media. Even when the host tries to drag him into the normal NH Boks bashing... he stays on the point and analysis. Thank you sir. 😊

Pieter Stef du Toit made 28 tackles in that game not one of them was high. Shannon Frizell (spelling) was more deserving of a red card. Firstly the neck roll and then falling onto the jackelers leg. Given the skill level of these players that’s a clear professional foul all day long. Getting Bongi off the park was a definite strategy of the AB’s.

Springbok Doesn't play to entertain they play to win. And that is more than entertaining but fulfilling.

This team is hands down the greatest ever!! We won the World Cup missing key players, tired from the grueling route to the final, with fewer rest days, but still we won. Magic!!! 👊🏿👍🏿👏🏿✌🏿🇿🇦💚💛

I think the thing that many commentators dont get is that the Springboks are all about the team, and the individual players are there to do their brilliant best - for the team. Then their pure determination to win showed through. We beat the best teams when it mattered. We delivered when we needed to. So who played the best rugby is irrelevant. Its called a competition for a reason. And we won. And not just for the sake of winning, but for a higher purpose, for what it means to to the country. That gets my utmost admiration and respect. There is a greatness to this Bok team that many people dont see.

The AB did not lose the match because of the red card or because of the officials. The AB lost because of two missed kicks which amounted to five points. The Boks lost to Ireland for the same reason - missed kicks! Robert, South Africa.

South Africa played brilliantly with what they had left in the tank after a hard fought path in the world cup. Every game every team had missed chances .. final score matters. Lovely watching tries being scored but its lovelier to see a winning score on the board imo as a spectator. In the end its just a ballgame but here at home it feels good to have won. Well done bokke .. lets try for five with three on the trot 🇿🇦

Springboks might not always play “the best rugby” but they play the most adaptable and varied rugby than any other team and are excellent with the basics. If you don’t like that you will have a sad 4 years.

It’s so awful that the Springboks get accused of being what England currently is. Personally, I love the fact that each country plays their own style - I think it makes the sport richer and more interesting. But this Springbok team gave this tournament everything - at times tactical, and times clever and at times bloody brilliant. But of course, because we don’t play New Zealand’s basketball style of rugby, no suddenly it’s “bad for rugby” that the Springboks won. Such sour grapes.

The truth of the matter is that team for team, these Springboks are just better, but not only that, they are master tacticians, this is what running rugby only people don’t get, the Boks excel in all versions but just know which variation works better.

Actually, the Boks record is not that inferior against the all blacks recently. Over the last 5 years, both teams have a 50% win rate against each other. New Zealand went through a dynasty from 2010 to 2017 and won a lot, but over our history, we have tended to match each other.

Aaah, that’s so nice to hear 😊 Thank you for the lovely comments on the springboks From a springbok fan we also find this bunch to be quite special. Something different.. down to earth.. lads who wear their hearts on their sleeves. Wholesome and honest. It’s hard to believe. But it’s true. Refresheningly true

I must say looking at all the media around the world one gets the feeling that if it was SA that got the red card (at the cane card) everyone would have accepted it and would have said thats the rules so sorry SA! I think most people just dont like SA winning and most want ABs to win… But if roles were reversed it would have just been “well done ABs you are once again the best…”

Isn’t odd that Endlands “best” performance was a kicking game.When the Boks kick,the whiny pathetic northern hemisphere media call it boring 🤡

England didn't play any rugby in that semi-final either. At least the Springboks scored a try. But England played that game very well tactically and no NH pundits complained about it. It's unbelievable how one-eyed NH pundits and commentators are.

NO MAN!! South Africa played TACTICAL RUGBY! You CANNOT say SA did not play Rugby!!?? SA PLAYED RUGBY within the Rugby rules and won!

Since 2018 the record between NZ and ZA is: 🇳🇿 5 🇿🇦 5 DRAW 1 Would be nice if Rugby pundits watched some Rugby.

I have a massive new respect for Stuart Barnes. Superb interview.

How good do you need to be to get respect, even when you play 5 of the best teams in a row. England played no rugby against the Springboks and were lauded as being brilliant by keeping within 1 point. What is the deal with all the hate towards to Springboks. We beat France, at home and outscored them with tries. Scotland we played expansive rugby. All Blacks we defended them out of the game. Well rounded and well played in all games. Can run, can defend, can kick, can play knock out rugby in the rain. What more do they need to do

6 to 8 week bans will actually help the Springboks win more titles as this will stress the squad depth more than it currently is. The Boks have the strongest depth and an even deeper player pool than any other team. Be careful what you wish for ...

Stats are since 2018, Points SA 259 / NZ 251, SA 5 - NZ 5 wins and 1 Draw, Very inferior ? I think not.

Cane did what he always does and had already KO’d Henshaw in Dublin with the same exact technique.. now that he has a red for it maybe he will finally learn his lesson.

I'm very impressed by Stuart, always felt he had something against the Boks but to compliment in such detail the Boks is very touching. As Bok supporters we must be humble in our success like our team and only mention how great we are when we get drilled by other teams and they cast the first stone 😂😂😂

so defense is not rugby ?

Fantastic interview, Stuart Barnes is superbly level headed, respect.

I'd love to see a review of defences at the world cup because I LOVE watching the big hits, dominant tackles, turnovers etc. There is this fallacy that the whole world wants to watch Sevens/NRL running rugby only - many people actually love the tactical and defensive game. People throw shade on SA's attacking game don't realise that France and sometimes even NZ kick LOADS more than SA do. Finally, on the subject of low-scoring games... if this had been a 12-11 Final between France and Ireland then it would have been touted as the greatest achievement in rugby ever. People's opinions are grounded in the expectations their teams failed to meet, rather than the actual reality of their performances.

The current springbok rugby team is the best rugby team of all time, period. Not for individual players but for teamwork.

Hilarious to hear people say the team that played “rugby”. As if running is the only aspect of rugby.

Rugby in South Africa draws players and equally spectators from all classes . This depth of personal life experience and community responsibility is the driving force to they winning formula

SA didn't play any rugby? I thought tackling, scrumming, kicking, jumping, mauling , rucking were part of rugby? What were they playing then?

Both teams played the rugby. Tackling, defence and set piece are part of rugby last time I checked

I agree the French 1/4 final was a great game. It only matter when the clutch games happens. You can lose all the others but when crunch time comes. Boks beat France by 1 Boks beat England by 1 Boks beat NZ by 1 That’s 111 Take the scores 29-28, 16-15 & 12-11 and add them up = 111.

Springboks acknowledge that the All Blacks are the best in the world ...and that's why they want to beat them... mutual respect there. My issue is the that World Rugby has not reprimanded coaches and players from teams when they openly cristized the referee decisions... Yet Rassie Erasmus was suspended when he made remarks about the referee decisions in the Lions tour.

Your last comments about the humanity of the Boks was great to hear ;)) Thank you.

It's weird as a Springboks fan (Not South African), To me the game looked very nice, I'm obviously biased. However, I do believe it's about perspective, and South African fans aren't the only biased people. All this looking at the game needs to be played like this and that is also biased against South Africa I'm sure. And surely rugby is such a good game because it's so diverse, go watch another sport if you want to see something else. - This is to the presenter's one section or comment, the overall conversation was nice and the guest was nice as well

I understand them not want to ruin the spectacle with red cards, but I'm not sure anything less will demonstrate the rugby is trying to eliminate errors that can cause CTE.

I find it quite interesting that on one side when certain teams win a coverted price are deemed the best while other teams do the unimaginable all kinds of excuses are sort not to give credit where it's due.

Doing backflips to explain how the team 'not playing the rugby' has won 4 world cups. Come on guys.

It starts in our school system....strong and packed with tradition and history. Long my it live.

SPRINGBOKS STAND ALONE 🇿🇦🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🇿🇦

Very insightful from Barnes. Listen to the whole thing.

Nothing more beautiful than a good solid scrum dominating the opposition. With this setting up a maul, driving across the line is a thing of beauty in itself as is counter rucking. Only after this can the backs be set loose. The style of running rugby produced in Super rugby or some of the pool games are in fact boring and not for the purist

When SA win, there's noise about rules that need to be changed.

No mention of Eng's -ve play against SA (no try scoring effort/spoiling and officiating agitation) and or SA's never before seen difficult route to win (played 5 of the top teams) and how this compares with all the other teams. especially NZ. Yeah, that doesn't mean anything.

Pollard also phenomenal tackler nothing gets past him

After 3 1 point wins, back to back to back, you get the sense that rain, sun or snow, South Africa was going to win. It just felt like it was meant to be. Perhaps its the hubris of the moment. But sometimes one gets those feelings about a team in a certain period.

A replacement may open the door for a "punisher/bully" take out a key player only to be replaced by the better player, might get used tactically

Fantastic Podcast, Mr Barnes gave such a refreshing unbiased outlook🙏 In the end the goal was to win the final, and to do that we had to defend, not attack aka play rugby😊

"They (NZ) could easily have beaten South Africa." Yet who has the RWC 23 Trophy?

I have so much respect for Mr. Barnes as a journalist and pundit because he has such a deep appreciation for the game of rugby. He understands that it can be played in a multitude of different ways and gives plaudits when sides get their execution right , whatever their approach maybe. Whether it's the high-flying All Black sides of the 2010s and this latest iteration of power Boks with their quick strike ability out wide. Bravo, sir, bravo.

Let me remind you that SA finished with 14 men. Just give it to the boks the thumbs up. They had fought to the end in every single game.

Top insight by Stuart Barnes. Yet all missed that by 2.33 Springboks missed 4 key players for the RWC campaign. I.E. lood de J, Amm, Pollard (Made the final) Marx and Mbonambi! Yet Boks adjusted.

Both teams played rugby mate - different but rugby.

Of course NZ have a better overall record. Racked up in the Tri-Nations, SA were always at a huge geolocational disadvantage.

Great show. And like most (and i'm South African) i thought it was so tough Cane was sent off .

Nicely said, it's about winning the cup

Where does this “very inferior”myth come from? The head-to-head is 60-40, that’s a 10 game differential. 10 games over the course of 100 years is absolutely negligible.

The boks will appreciate being underrated again. Bodes well for the future

Wonderful analysis. Thank you.

Rugby (and Cricket and football) isn't a private school thing in SA, especially not in the Western Cape. It isn't in NZ either. I have no idea why that one older guy said that.

Everyone says the Boks no rugby until they get 4 or 5 tries put on them. Wisely we play to the conditions

From a Springbok supporter. The All Black team is and has always been THE team to beat. One of the few teams that handles their rare losses without excuses and give credit where needed with super sportsmanship, Jeff Wilson excluded as he is a bad ambassador for All Black Rugby. I admire the All Blacks and the final could have gone either way, but the two best teams showed the world what rugby is all about, unconditionally.

I agree with the views on red cards that needs to be looked at. I do no necessarily think the red card cost NZ. Firstly the red card didn't cause 14 v 15 for most of the game. If is was only a yellow he would have been back at 37. So 43 minutes left. SA had 2 yellows after that so roughly 20 mins. So the red card only resulted in 20 mins of extra 14 v15 vs had it been yellow. Secondly SA were dominating until the red card. I said at the time this is going to wake NZ and it did. Who knows they might have lost further was it not for the red.

News flash: Rugby includes all parts of the game. And how many tries have been scored against the Boks in four finals? One (maybe legal) How many tries has England scored in the last four World Cup games (the last 20 years) against the Boks? Zero

When NZ won in 2011, no 1 complained about the style of rugby played to win. So why do you do it when SA won? In the semi, SA looked like the only team to score a try (and did). So to say they payed no rugby when Eng did nothing in that regard us disingenuous at best

This radio host clearly dislikes the Springboks but that's ok. They win.

Sir. Stuart Barnes we love you for seeing the goodness of our guys after the France game. I can vouch for their sinceresty. God bless you.

We did'nt play Rugby. what were we playing? Golf. This host is so bitter

Springboks plays a strategic game. Its all strategy. Sometimes comes off. Sometimes not. But most times, it works. Its a Sun Tzu mentality. Know the ground, know your enemy and victory is guaranteed.

Wonderful analysis as always SB!! Objective, zero bias. For me Ireland only had faith in their 15 starters, All their 15 starters in 1/4's, baring Sheehan, played more minutes in 5 games than the Sprinbok team played in 7 games. Poor player management in my view? Look forward to viewing many more pods going forward.

I think the 14:15 is overplayed. It does not mean that make the AB’s lose. The Bokke played better against a 15 AB squad than a 14 squad….why? Because they probably slackened off psychologically. I don’t believe it was the deciding factor at all.

Stig Abel really didn't want South Africa to win, his bias is seeping throughout all his statements labeled as questions. Scrimmage is part of rugby, kicking is part of rugby and there are many ways to skin it. South Africa won, lets give them the credit they deserve.

What a one-sided pod, the Springboks are the World Champions and not by fluke 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🏆🏆🏆🏆

Barnes is a rugby man through and through... has a complete understanding of the game, no fluff just brilliantly accurate every time he speaks...you can listen to him all day.

Stuart Barnes is such a good rugby brain! Well done.

The best team does not guarantee you to win the tournament, otherwise in soccer Brazil and Maybe France would win the world cup every time the tournament is played. Tournament are about who has the best strategy and execution. South Africa lately has been good at that, it seems like they build a team in between world cups to compete at the tournament, wether they lose in that period, they dont mind. And Rassie said it best , “ we dont have the best players in the world, we pick the best players for our system”. So if you have the players to execute your plan or strategy, you will win anything.

Since 2018 the all blacks springboks played 11 games drew 1 and won 5 a piece ,i wouldnt say the all blacks have been the dominant team ,actually its been a tossup

A couple of flaws in your arguments: 1. Cane red card: you say there was no malicious intent. What if Kriel went out cold and he was out for the rest of the match? That justifies the red card. It came down to poor tackling technique. 2. If we infer the argument of no malicious intent, then deliberate knock-on yellow cards should not exist, because when going for a calculated intercept attempt, it is not malicious. 3. Boks can play a massive running rugby game, look at the France game. The Boks are a complete team for all the dimensions of the game. Just because NZ and other teams are not as complete and competitive at scrummaging than the Boks, does not mean the Boks are not playing rugby. 4. England Boks game: England kicked away 93% of their ball, they played the most negative rugby one cane think of, and the Boks adjusted and responded to the game and beat them. Point is, you must be able to adjust every game to different opposition, the Boks do that the best. 5. Wet field dry field: Boks still would have won, then Rassie/Jacques would have picked a different bench split (adjusting to the conditions). 6. Boks / ABs results: as of the past few years it is much more a 50:50 split with an average point margin of 2 points (ignoring the two 35 point games as outliers). Conclusion: Boks are a much more complete, versatile team. With defense, physicality, running play makers. More importantly, they play for each other as a team and MORESO for their country. There is more passion.

The ABs in the final were absolutely awful before they lost Cane. They were mistake ridden and lacked desperation. Losing Cane galvanized them and forced them to play with risk, which nearly got them home in the end.

Naas Botha was and is the best fly-half. 20 points before the game started.

Best review of the World Cup by far!

I just enjoyed this interview. Wow. South Africa is really respected out there. Stuart Barnes loves South African Rugby

Stuart got it right in his analysis. South Aafrica is a tactical masterpiece. England just fell short of that, but did not show any other dimensiins throgout the competition. Bazball works j the right conditions. Sometimes, gota have a different approach. This is where the Boks and the Proteas have got it right. The right game for the conditions.

For a 3rd world country to beat a well oiled 1st world country is just amazing. Here's the issue, British are generally not a strong physical nation, your DNA is just that, so you can never compete against a SA team who's DNA is superior when it comes to being tall and strong.

Very well rounded answers Stuart!❤

Tired of people saying we didn't play any rugby, Tackling well is rugby, kicking well is rugby, scrumming well is rugby, carrying hard is rugby. Running with the ball is one small part of rugby, there are times when it makes sense and times when it doesnt. If all you want to see is running with the ball, watch rugby league.

South Africans are just incredible rugby players. Ireland, Scotland, to name a few have a some Safas playing for them in order to up their game

That NZ/IRE game was outstanding too. I felt that NZ probably peaked on that day. What a weekend of Rugby that was!

What an interview and wrap on RWC 2023! Superb.

For the first time someone makes sense!! Stuart should head the rules panel for Union. He has it spot on

England played the same game in the semi as S Africa played in 2019. They said in 2019 that S Africa weren't playing "rugby". Now I am really confused. Let's have a look at ALL of the kicking stats. Please help!

Stuart absolutely the best pundit on the air, only wish we could see him more. What a legend.

One of the best rugby interviews and interviewees I've seen. Impartial, interesting, rivetting infact, and putting rugby ahead of national loyalties. Well done Chaps!

SA by 1995 was the most dominant Beaten all teams more than being beaten incl NZ Transformation politics & policies forcing the issue instead of letting it happen naturally had us lose our way through a tumultuous time where NZ reversed that dominance we alao had first loss to Wales for example Our style of play suffered but under Rassie has been returning Our record vs NZ past 4 years is 50/50 so of late it is not inferior record. 35-7 at twickenham just before world cup is a record loss by NZ. On tackles PSDT tackled low each time. Old school days thats how we did it. Super rugby brought this high tackle style. Players know better. No excuse. You know you in a rwc final and want to win - dont tackle high. But what you guys fail to acknowledge was pressure by boks caused those cards. Tackle low.

dont forget that there was a long period of time where politics played a big role in springboks selection. Also would be a few games lost due to trying things that others might not. The aim.. to win the world cup so a few extra games get lost in between. good example splitting the squad in 2 during the rugby championships.

Rules should apply every time the same way, in a friendly game and most importantly a final, its about adaptation, springboks lost a key player due to injury in the second minute of the game, went on to lose 90% of the line outs as a result, rules that every one is aware of were applied on the night, simple as that..

I think the injury to Bongi was deliberate by NZ to disorganize the bomb squad of South Africa.

Very insightful and objective comments.