Henry Pollock came off the bench for England as Steve Borthwick’s team unleashed their heavy artillery.
Henry Pollock came off the bench for England as Steve Borthwick’s team unleashed their heavy artillery.
Fixation on forward rotation threatens to turn rugby contests into war of attrition
Every team aspires to their own ‘Bomb Squad’ and the modern-day arms race is focused on unleashing heavyweight power from the bench
here was a time in rugby union when the phrase “Bomb Squad” felt novel. South Africa were ahead of the game in maximising the impact of replacement forwards off the bench and the sight of all that fresh beef rumbling on to the field early in the second half was certainly arresting. As the Springboks have proved repeatedly, it works a treat if you possess the requisite strength in depth.
As with all good ideas, however, other people love to copy them. And so we have a modern-day arms race. Everyone now has, or aspires to, their own Bomb Squad. Around the 45th-50th minute in virtually any game there will be an army of stunt doubles preparing to replace the players who started the game. And if a coach can field fewer than three specialist backline reserves in order to bolster further his forward resources, happy days.
Happy, that is, for those with enough quality artillery. Which, increasingly, includes England. On Saturday
who unleashed his heavy mob en masse, with five British & Irish Lions forwards rumbling on simultaneously. It worked a treat, the Wallabies ending up crushed beneath the caterpillar wheels of the home tanks.
Henry Pollock can be spark England need but should rein in on-field antics | Robert Kitson
The same formula has been assisting the English champions Bath, who also stack their bench with the aim of flattening less powerful opponents late in games. Under the regulations there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Last year World Rugby did task a working group with looking into the whole subject – “to determine options that might create more space on the field while improving injury rates” – but, ultimately, that did not result in any suggested changes.
Read the full article at: The Guardian
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