Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend reportedly aired concerns about the growing use of forward-heavy benches at a World Rugby meeting recently.
The Springboks have won the last two Rugby World Cups after deploying benches that do not conform to the usual set-up of five forwards and three backs.
Banning the Bomb Squad?
In 2019, Rassie Erasmus named six forwards and two backs on his replacements bench for the knockout matches, including the 32-12 victory over England in the final, with the tactic being dubbed the ‘Bomb Squad’.
Four years later, South Africa upped the ante with the tactic, naming a 7-1 split on the bench for the first time in a World Cup warm-up game against New Zealand at Twickenham. The Springboks emerged 35-7 victors that day and would make use of the tactic again during the pool stage match against Ireland and the final against the All Blacks.
Erasmus would again name a 7-1 split in 2024 for the fixture against Scotland at Murrayfield in November and, until this year’s Six Nations, no other tier one nation had used the tactic before France eventually followed suit for the clash against Italy where they claimed an emphatic 73-24 victory.
Former Scotland coach Matt Williams has repeatedly slammed the tactic as ‘against the spirit of the game’ as he believes that it is an ‘abuse of safety laws’ and went as far as to say that it ‘discriminates against backs’.
Current Scotland coach Townsend seemingly agrees to some degree and voiced ‘misgivings’ of teams essentially fielding two forward packs.
According to a report by Times Sport, Townsend voiced his opinion during a Shape Of The Game event in London where he suggested that the Bomb Squad tactic – which effectively allows teams to replace almost their entire forward pack – is not in the spirit or the best interests of the sport.
The report adds that several nations shared Townsend’s view about teams selecting six or seven forwards on the bench, despite the Scotland coach making regular use of the former in recent seasons.
It is added that the matter was not debated at length as there is not much appetite to tinker with the game’s laws and regulations considering the changes that have recently been added – something which SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer confirmed when speaking to reporters earlier this week.
“There are no changes for this season, so there are still some variations that we are working through,” he said.
“I must say it is sometimes difficult sitting in the meetings, and I did say in the meetings that it feels to me that you get punished by World Rugby when you become world champions with certain law changes that they’re talking about.”
SA Rugby chief: ‘Springboks punished by World Rugby for becoming world champions’
Research being conducted
The report states that the issue is expected to be tabled for further discussion at a later date as many critics believe the present regulations are being exploited by those teams blessed with power forwards.
However, those discussions will wait until World Rugby completes its current research into the impact of tactical replacements with regards to injury risk.
While Williams has been one of the most outspoken critics of the Springboks’ and France’s use of 6-2 and 7-1 benches, he is not alone in thinking that it should be changed.
Former Ireland hooker Keith Wood believes that the replacement bench should be reduced from eight to four.
“I would say that I would like it to be an awful lot less. I would want there to be three front-rows for health and safety reasons,” he said back in 2023.
“I would like to have a utility forward and a utility back. With five, it would cover it; you have a squad of 20.”
READ MORE: Keith Wood weighs in on bench debate and calls for change from eight players
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/banning-the-bomb-squad-scotland-boss-leads-calls-at-world-rugby-as-tactic-dubbed-against-the-spirit-of-the-game
