It’s the weapon that has delivered back-to-back World Cups to South Africa and now Joe Schmidt and the Wallabies are tasked with detonating the Springboks’ most dangerous weapon: the Bomb squad.
For decades, ‘bomb’ when talked about within the Rugby lexicon consisted of towering spirals and torpedoes targeting the outside backs and their handling
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However, the Springboks have revolutionised the term and turned it into a major physical weapon.
Returning head coach Rassie Erasmus is the main genius behind this, adopting it initially before the 2019 World Cup and it has become a cult-like phenomenon for any Springboks fan.
For some like pundit and former Waratahs coach Matt Williams, it’s an ‘abuse of safety rules’ against the spirit of the game and what those players in jerseys 16-23 are there for.
But what is it and how does it work so effectively? rugby.com.au breaks down ‘The Bomb Squad’ ahead of Saturday’s first Test
In simple terms, the Bomb Squad refers to the forwards that come off the bench to finish the game in the final 30-40 minutes.
Conventional bench splits have seen teams opt for a five-three split (with five forwards and three backs on the bench), often with three front-row replacements, two covering second and back row along with a scrum half, playmaker and outside back cover.
However, the Springboks have opted for maximum impact with a six-two split and even a seven-one split at certain stages of last year.
The role of being a ‘finisher’, ‘reserve’, ‘replacement’ or whatever term used has been revolutionised as a result, with Springbok lock RG Snyman giving an insight into the mentality that has been created.
“It’s actually if a guy gets selected in the starting lineup off the bench, we say, ‘I’m sorry man, maybe next game you will be back in the Bomb Squad’,” Snyman says in ‘Chasing the Sun 2, a documentary about their 2023 World Cup success.
“We take that role very seriously.”
“They don’t call it the Bomb Squad for nothing,” legendary South African backrower Duane Vermeulen said.
The effectiveness of the Bomb Squad comes around the execution, with the majority of the six or seven forwards on the bench introduced at the same time.
Often teams stagger their substitutes or will only do it in groups if it’s around a certain combination such as the front row and halves.
But the Springboks do it in a sudden way that has completely overpowered the opposition and leans into a playing style that forces teams to engage with their fresh forwards.
In the opening Test win against Ireland, all six forwards came on in the 49th minute to a thunderous reception like a closing pitcher coming on to shut an MLB game.
It proved beneficial as they took out the 27-20 win thanks to a powerful scrum effort against a tiring Irish pack that produced a penalty try.
The effectiveness of this strategy comes down to the unique versatility Erasmus and the Springboks have in their squad.
Flanker Kwagga Smith is just as comfortable over a breakdown as he is on the wing after his decorated career with the Sevens program.
Deon Fourie plays his club football in the back row but was thrust into hooker after injuries to Malcolm Max and Bongi Mbonambi.
Scrtumhalves Cobus Reinach and Grant Williams can fill in on the wing, with Williams starting and scoring a double in the outside backs against Romania.
The massive risk around the strategy is injury.
The Australians tried to match fire with fire the last time the Springboks were in Australia in 2022 but it backfired when Hunter Paisami and Noah Lolesio both left the field with concussions.
As a result of the six-two split, Jake Gordon found himself on the wing for close to half an hour as the Springboks ran away with the contest.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt acknowledged that risk when speaking about the Bomb Squad.
“Talking to [Blues coach] Vern Cotter around the Blues this year, with the 6-2 split got two injuries very early on in their back line and played a halfback on the wing for the whole of the second half. So you can get stung by it,” he said.
“Any innovation is great until it’s not, I guess.”
But when it’s great, it’s great.
The Springboks have become the masters of closing out late games thanks to their impressive finishers.
Their World Cup success was powered off the back of a trio of one-point wins that saw them wear down opposition and dent any chance of a late comeback.
Their seven-one split against the All Blacks 12 months ago delivered a 35-7 win thanks to tries from replacements Mbonambi and Smith in the final 25 minutes.
The same strategy worked against the Kiwis in the World Cup Final as they hung on for a famous win
Whenever teams look for new strategies to succeed, the rule makers are often close behind them to find a way to neutralise them.
In many Springboks’ fans' minds, this comes in the form of World Rugby’s attempt to speed up the game and limit the time between set-pieces.
In May, the governing body announced a series of law changes centred around restricting the time teams could take in between set pieces (30 seconds) and shots at goal (60 seconds).
On top of this, teams could not longer call scrums from free kicks, which became one of the iconic moments of the Springboks’ World Cup campaign when Damian Willemse called for one after a mark, leading to a Springboks scrum penalty.
Schmidt believes the added fatigue could bring opportunities to press members of the ‘Bomb Squad’ later in the game.
“One of the challenges is to keep players moving from set piece to set piece,” he explained.
“With the new law trials, 30 seconds to set a scrum, 30 seconds to have that line-out underway, 60 seconds not 90 seconds for a conversion now.
I think some of those times are being contracted a little bit and maybe that will impact on the size of the player.”
