Springboks legend: Why the All Blacks should win the Greatest Rivalry series if it ends 2-2
Springboks' Damian Willemse is tackled by All Blacks' Finlay Christie and an inset of Jean de Villiers.
Former Springboks Schalk Burger, Hanyani Shimange, and Jean de Villiers have weighed in on the prospect of a tiebreaker to decide the Greatest Rivalry series.
The Boks and All Blacks will face off in four Tests, thrice in South Africa and once in Baltimore, later this year in the inaugural tour between the two rivals.
Springboks-All Blacks series won’t end in a stalemate
The even number of games means that there is a real prospect of the Test series ending in a stalemate, like the 2017 British and Irish Lions Series in New Zealand. A draw is something that neither nation wants, according to SA Rugby’s general manager of operations, Yusuf Jackson.
“There will be a tiebreaker in the event the series is drawn, and there will be an ultimate winner,” he told SARugbymag.co.za.
“The question we asked both teams was, ‘Are we happy to shake hands in Baltimore and share the trophy?’ Both were aligned. ‘No, we want a winner’”, he added.
It has yet to be confirmed what kind of tiebreaker will be put in place to decide the series if they cannot be split in Baltimore, with Jackson stating that they are still ‘exploring’ options, whether that is extra-time or sudden death.
Prospect of a penalty shootout?
The trio of former Springboks discussed the prospect of a tiebreaker on the Boks Unpacked podcast with Shimange stating that “It would be the greatest tour of all time if it gets down to two all.”
However, Burger was wary of what would happen if they still could not be split after extra time, as he didn’t want the series to be decided by a kicking competition.
“I thought these tours just end in a drawn series, doesn’t it? Like they’re going to have a tiebreaker, like a goal kick-off,” he questioned with De Villiers interjecting saying, “Please no.”
“I tell you what, if it comes to a kickoff, we might have more kickers than them,” Buger continued. “But surely it shouldn’t be coming down to one of those.
“I’ve actually got no idea, guys, but let’s see. Hopefully, they clarify that with us if there’s extra time.”
There have been precious few examples of kicking competitions to decide the outcome of matches in the past, but perhaps the most famous one was the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final between the Cardiff Blues and Leicester Tigers.
That was the match that immediately sprang to mind for De Villiers, who hoped that Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series didn’t come down to that.
“It can’t be anything other than extra time because I’ve immediately thought of that semi-final Heineken Cup, Cardiff Blues v Leicester Tigers, and it came down to Martin Williams missing a kick from right in front,” he said.
“That’s not a skill set that a flanker is meant to have to get a victory, now it comes down to that. So if they do get something like that, it must come down to the two teams playing more time and then getting a winner.”
New Zealand should win if it’s 2-2
Burger added that “If there are no points in the extra time, they should just share the series at two all. I mean, we can’t go to a goal kick out or whatever.”
De Villiers argued that the All Blacks should then win the series in the event of a stalemate because the Springboks would have home ground advantage with three of the four Tests being on South African soil.
“Three games in South Africa, one in Baltimore, if it goes to 2-2, it’s almost like the victory needs to go to New Zealand because of the home ground advantage that South Africa gets,” he said, but that wasn’t well-received by his fellow former Boks.
“You are feeling very kind today,” Shimange remarked with Burger adding, “Is it like retaining the Ashes then?”
De Villiers admitted that he wasn’t overly comfortable with a potential tiebreaker to which Shimange replied: “It might not happen, though, it might be over earlier.”
