Shape of the game: Stats back Bok coach's view - south africa

South Africa’s Springboks’ defensive peak is clear in World Cup-era stats, but post-2023 numbers show a defensive dip that’s fueling questions. In the 2019 tournament, they conceded five tries in seven matches in Japan and allowed just one try in the knockout stages, including a 26-3 quarterfinal over England’s opponent match context where they didn’t concede to Japan or in the final stretch. In France 2023, they averaged 1.54 tries conceded per game. They also led the tournament in tackles with 929, including 209 in the 12-11 Final against New Zealand, where Pieter-Steph du Toit made 28 and Franco Mostert made 49 without missing a tackle. This year, however, South Africa has conceded 27 tries in nine matches (3 per game) and has a 83.5% tackle success rate, with completion dropping to 77% against the All Blacks at Ellis Park after missing 26 tackles. Defensive coach Jerry Flannery said the wider issue is how rugby is changing, with attack scoring more points across world rugby, leaving defense staff “under the pump.”