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Date: 2023-12-03 02:01:29 | Author: Online Bingo | Views: 213 | Tag: dota
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“We are the bomb squad and we knew we had to play a massive role dota
” If South Africa’s narrow win over England in the Rugby World Cup semi-final could be summed up in one sentence, then this proclamation from Vincent Koch after the game would probably be it dota
When Koch emerged from the replacements on 55 minutes to take the place of starting tighthead prop Frans Malherbe, Owen Farrell had just slotted a drop goal from downtown Paris to give England a 15-6 lead dota
Nine points may not seem a lot but, with the final quarter of the match beckoning and the rain and wind increasing at the Stade de France, it was a comparatively huge deficit dota
Throughout the first few minutes of the second half, the Springboks had more or less emptied their bench as Ox Nche, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith, Deon Fourie, Faf de Klerk and Willie Le Roux all entered the fray to go alongside the controversial 30th-minute substitution of starting fly half Manie Libbok for Handre Pollard dota
With their World Cup title defence hanging by a thread, South Africa trusted their bench and got their reward dota
Koch and Nche splintered the previously effective English scrum, Snyman burrowed his way across the line for the game’s only try and Pollard nervelessly converted tricky kicks to complete the hardest-fought of turnarounds – 10 unanswered points, a 16-15 win and a date with the All Blacks in another World Cup final next Saturday dota
Of the various phrases rugby has adopted over the years to describe those players in the matchday squad but not in the starting line-up – from the traditional “replacements” and the dota football-ised “substitutes” through to the Eddie Jones-preferred ‘finishers’, the slightly patronising “impact players” and the frankly ludicrous “game-changers” adopted by Harlequins during the Paul Gustard era – none has captured the imagination quite like South Africa’s “bomb squad” dota
It doesn’t matter if you think it’s a slightly self-serving and faintly ridiculous term, the players fully buy into the ethos of what it stands for dota
The intensity and physicality that generation after generation of Springbok has prided themselves on is summed up by this two-word mantra dota
“Each person knows exactly his role in the team, whether you’re starting or in the bomb squad,” explained Koch dota
“When we created the bomb squad, we knew exactly what our job is dota
The starters start the whole process and it’s for us to come and finish it dota
“All the players on the bomb squad are very excited to make a massive difference in the game dota
”Vincent Koch celebrated RG Snyman’s try as the bomb squad thrived (AFP via Getty Images)And against England, when the chips were down, they realised they needed to step up more than ever dota
“The bomb squad always stands for energy,” added Koch dota
“We needed to create a nice vibe dota
Putting the replacements on a bit earlier helped the boys to start to bring that energy and lift up the spirit and bring a massive work-rate dota
”Where South Africa’s replacements thrived, perhaps England’s faltered just a touch dota
The English gameplan, devised by Steve Borthwick and perfectly executed by the players for the windy and rainy Parisian conditions, relied upon relentless kicking, winning the subsequent aerial battle, slowing the game down and dominating the set-piece dota
Maybe then, they could escape with a win against an objectively superior team dota
They kicked 93 per cent of possession away (the highest percentage of the tournament), had an average ruck speed of 6 dota
73s (the slowest of the tournament) and had zero linebreaks (the only team to do so in a game at this tournament) dota
They disrupted South African lineouts, turned over multiple mauls and Borthwick’s decision to play his two strongest scrummaging props – Dan Cole and Joe Marler – from the start earned them scrum parity and redemption from the disaster in that facet during the 2019 World Cup final dota
Ox Nche was immense from the bench against the Springboks (EPA)This is a Springboks side that pride themselves on their dominance up front, as shown by opting for a scrum after calling a mark in their own 22 during the quarter-final victory over France dota
Of course, they won a penalty from it dota
Yet England were holding their own during those engagements, even thriving, and most importantly winning on the scoreboard dota
But the innate problem with starting your best scrummagers came to fruition in the second half dota
Replacement props Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler are far more dynamic around the park and more destructive carriers than their veteran counterparts but, with England showing no desire to run any plays more than two metres either side of the previous breakdown, those skills were negated once they came on for Marler and Cole dota
Instead, their inferior scrummaging was brutally exposed by a fired-up Koch and Nche, who turned parity into Springbok dominance dota
They won two scrums against the head, including a vital one at 15-6 down on their own line, and engineered multiple penalties on their own feed, including the most vital of all – on halfway, with 77 minutes on the clock and England leading 15-13 dota
Pollard banged over the long kick and the rest was history dota
Handre Pollard broke English hearts with his late penalty (PA Wire)Nche was coy when asked in the mixed zone after the game what had made the difference at scrum-time in the final quarter and how he bested his opposite number, Sinckler dota
“That is the dark arts,” he smiled dota
“It is hard to explain to you dota
We had a plan for that dota
We knew what we were trying to achieve dota
“They have had a great scrum for the competition and a great hit dota
Our focus was surviving that and applying pressure dota
Our mentality for every scrum is to get a penalty if we can dota
If they do survive, we play out the back and get into our shape dota
”The “dark arts” ultimately won the day, South Africa survived a second straight one-point knockout match and must now plan how to overcome the All Blacks in a battle to be the first side to win four men’s Rugby World Cups dota
Luckily, they have a not-so-secret weapon dota
“We are the bomb squad dota
” More aboutSouth Africa rugbyEngland RugbyRugby World CupJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/4How South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalVincent Koch celebrated RG Snyman’s try as the bomb squad thrived AFP via Getty ImagesHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalOx Nche was immense from the bench against the Springboks EPAHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalHandre Pollard broke English hearts with his late penalty PA WireHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalSouth Africa’s replacements shone to overcome England Reuters✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today dota
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsdota BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy dota
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply dota
Hi {{indy dota
fullName}}My Independent PremiumAccount detailsHelp centreLogout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes slidedown-video{0%{transform:translateY(-100%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}}@keyframes slideup-video{0%{transform:translateY(200%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}} dota
First came the crack in Alexander Volkanovski‘s defence dota
Then, the crack in his voice dota
If the first crack was consequential, allowing Islam Makhachev to skim his shin off the Australian’s head, the latter was a consequence in itself – a consequence of one of the best fighters alive staying silent on his struggles with mental health dota
That is, until now dota
Volkanovski would have emerged from UFC 294 with credit anyway; he stepped in on 11 days’ notice and moved up in weight to challenge a man who had beaten him eight months prior dota
Even in this surprising, first-round defeat by Makhachev, Volkanovski lost very little dota
His featherweight title still rests firmly on his shoulder, and he will soon return to that weight class where he has been unbeatable dota
But soon may be too soon dota
In his post-fight press conference, Volkanovski began the dissection of this defeat – his second this year, but just his third as a professional mixed martial artist, with his first having occurred a long decade ago dota
The 35-year-old started to dissect the technical reasons for this knockout loss, but it soon became apparent what was of greater importance: the psychological reasons for his presence in Abu Dhabi dota
“He’s not somebody you should be taking a short-notice [fight] with, but I needed it,” Volkanovski began dota
“Obviously a lot of people will say it’s for the money and all that, but it was much more than that dota
It is hard, it is really hard for athletes dota
dota
dota
Sorry, um dota
dota
dota
I never thought I would struggle with it,” he continued, ignoring the blood over his eye, instead wiping a tear from beneath it dota
“But for some reason when I wasn’t fighting or in camp dota
dota
dota
F***, sorry,” he said, attempting a laugh, looking away and to the ceiling, then gently rapping his hand on the table to bring himself back into the room dota
RecommendedIslam Makhachev stuns Alexander Volkanovski with head-kick KO in first round at UFC 294Conor McGregor reacts to ‘illegal’ strikes in Islam Makhachev win at UFC 294Khabib explains why he wasn’t in Islam Makhachev’s corner at UFC 294“I was just doing my head in,” he continued, tears floating at the bottom of his eyes dota
“I needed a fight, and this opportunity came up dota
I’ll be honest: I wasn’t training as much as I should have, but I thought I had to do it dota
I had to take it dota
I’m telling myself, ‘It’s meant to be dota
’ I was struggling a little bit not fighting, doing my head in dota
I don’t know how; everything’s fine, I’ve got a beautiful family dota
But, I don’t know dota
dota
dota
I think you just need to keep busy dota
I need to be in camp, otherwise, I’m going to do my head in dota
“It’s weird, [it’s not that I] never ‘believed in that stuff’, but I never got it dota
It was something that – I don’t know – maybe the more and more I learn about myself, the more I understand dota
I talked about us having a smile on my face, me and my wife dota
My wife could see it does get hard, I don’t know why dota
”Makhachev consoles Volkanovski after their fight, the main event of UFC 294 (AP)Volkanovski pointed to the birth of his third child, in August, and surgery on an injury this summer as reasons why he had not been training dota
Clearly, the knock-on effect of those moments – as joyous as the former seemed to be – has led Volkanovski’s mental health to suffer dota
Last week, all the talk was of how brave the Australian was to face Makhachev on short notice; braver was this admission that he is struggling, which simultaneously offers a different lens through which to view his choice to fight dota
Keeping himself engaged and busy is healthy, but that is complicated by the inherent risk in his profession dota
“Maybe it was just a silly decision under the circumstances,” he admitted dota
Perhaps it was, though it was also understandable dota
Volkanovski’s next challenge, however, will come outside of the ring dota
It must dota
He naturally sees the antidote to his current struggles as a quick turnaround to fight again, likely against the dangerous Ilia Topuria in January dota
Yet, that fight could go the same way as Saturday’s against Makhachev, if the Australian does not first tackle these thoughts and feelings, and find the right balance for him dota
We knew Alexander Volkanovski was brave dota
That is even clearer now than it was last week dota
Now, however, he must be sensible, and get to work outside the ring before he can return to work in it dota
More aboutAlexander VolkanovskiIslam MakhachevMental HealthJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/2Volkanovski’s bravest move yet? Talking about his mental healthVolkanovski’s bravest move yet? Talking about his mental healthMakhachev consoles Volkanovski after their fight, the main event of UFC 294APVolkanovski’s bravest move yet? Talking about his mental healthVolkanovski, moments after suffering a knockout loss to Islam MakhachevAFP via Getty✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today dota
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsdota BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy dota
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply dota
Hi {{indy dota
fullName}}My Independent PremiumAccount detailsHelp centreLogout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes slidedown-video{0%{transform:translateY(-100%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}}@keyframes slideup-video{0%{transform:translateY(200%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}} dota
