World Rugby’s statement about the controversial Bomb Squad has brought a smile to Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus’ face.
There has been criticism from some sections of the sport, particularly in Ireland, over the move towards forward-heavy benches which was started by South Africa.
In 2019, Erasmus’ men predominately went with a split of six forwards and two backs to win the Rugby World Cup before moving to a 7-1 at times four years later.
France have since adopted that tactic to great effect in the Six Nations as they claimed the title with dominant victories over Italy, Ireland and Scotland.
In all three of those encounters, they used the 7-1 bench and, despite the obvious risk it brings, it paid off by winning their first championship since 2022, and just their second in 15 years.
There have been concerns that going down this road could lead to more injuries and make the game more dangerous, but that is not the case according to research done by the global governing body.
“We looked at it from a science, medicine perspective. Was there a distinctive view that a bunch of fresh players coming on with 20-30 minutes to go is going to create a more injurious position, and the science said that’s not the case,” World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin told the Guardian.
“So there was no reason from that perspective to look at how we might do replacements differently. Ultimately, there are a lot of different ways to win a rugby match.”
Erasmus therefore took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his delight that World Rugby are not looking at changing the bench laws.
“So Lekka,” was the Springboks head coach’s response before he added South Africa and France flag emojis.
The Boks boss will hope the governing body continues to stand firm as the ‘Bomb Squad’ has come under increasing scrutiny over the past couple of years.
Ireland legend Keith Wood was a critic during the 2023 World Cup while Irish-based Australian pundit Matt Williams has been consistently vocal about it.
Even Scotland boss Gregor Townsend has expressed reservations despite sometimes going with forward-heavy benches during the recent Six Nations.
They were stung in the match against Ireland after losing two backs in one incident in the first half when Finn Russell and Darcy Graham clashed heads, forcing them to rejig the backline.
The Scots would eventually succumb 32-18 to Simon Easterby’s men and it led to Williams’ latest rant about the bench tactics.
“World Rugby says: ‘You have got to have front-rowers’ and I just can’t believe that World Rugby hasn’t stepped in on this particular point since South Africa went 7-1 and everyone’s going 6-2 and Ireland’s stayed with 5-3,” he told Virgin Media Sport in February.
“That game was over at that point [when Russell went off].”
He added: “This problem is so easily solved. We’ve been talking about it for a couple of years now and all they have to say is you got to have three recognised trained backs on your bench â- it can’t be a forward who can play in the backs â- just have three backs on the bench.
“We do it with the front-row and if they did it with the backs, this conversation would be over â- it’s such a simple solve.
“Until we get to that point where World Rugby starts saying: ‘You do have to have three suitably trained backs as part of your eight’, this option that we saw on Saturday is going to be a constant in the game and that’s a shame because it’s easily solved.”
However, World Rugby has now rejected Williams’ concerns and teams can continue using the ‘Bomb Squad’ with the governing body’s blessing.
