Rugby Union / Geoffrey Riddle / 09 September 2009 / Leave a comment

The France defensive coach has masterminded two victories over the All Blacks so how does he advise South Africa to go about their business on Saturday? Geoffrey Riddle asked him

"With New Zealand’s attack malfunctioning so far this tournament – they have failed to score more than a solitary try in any game – it seems that a winning bonus-point may be beyond them."

Dave Ellis has been the defence coach for France for over a decade. The Yorkshireman, who currently handles the defence for London Irish, has helped to orchestrate countless landmark triumphs over the years. He was the brains behind the French Grand Slam victories against England in 2002 and 2004, as well as Les Bleus' wins over the All Blacks both at the 2007 World Cup, and in Dunedin earlier this summer. Geoffrey Riddle caught up with him ahead of this weekend's Tri-Nations decider in Hamilton.

Australia's 21-6 victory over South Africa last Saturday in Brisbane has scratched off the veneer of invincibility that covered the world champions after their thumping win in Perth the week before. Wallaby coach Robbie Deans thumbed through the coaching manual of the British and Irish Lions, and his side dished out a perfectly executed game-plan that the Springboks could not live with.

Australia were thunderous in the tackle, and flanker David Pocock comprehensively outplayed his opposite number, the previously imperious Heinrich Brussouw. The match stats, according to the website Scrum.com, make fascinating reading.

There were 40 turnovers throughout the game, which highlights how fiercely the breakdown was contested. South Africa missed more tackles than Australia, although these figures seem quite a distance away from the ones that Deans poured over post-match because the Australian coach reckoned that the Springboks missed 33 tackles. Whatever the figure, South Africa were either very sloppy, or Deans has taken the template that so very nearly worked for the Lions earlier this summer and has improved on it. We now have conclusive proof of how to beat South Africa.

But for those of you who took the suggestion to back the world champions pre-tournament at around [2.64], how on earth are Peter de Villiers' men going to bounce back against New Zealand in Hamilton on Saturday?

The first thing that punters should consider is that New Zealand have not played a Test since their 19-18 success over the Wallabies on August 22, which according to Dave Ellis, is too long.

"The situation is that if you have time off when opposition teams are still playing, once you get to ten to 14 days, it's in the balance," revealed the France and London Irish defence coach.

"You lose your timings, awareness, and your fitness. Certainly fitness, because if you do any fitness work after ten days, it has a negative immediate effect."

New Zealand coach Graham Henry has tried to counter this by making his squad available for their respective regions in the fallow period. The real crux behind beating Henry's patched up side, however, is to target their key players, Richie McCaw and Dan Carter. "I think they have been very comfortable having Carter and McCaw. There is no doubt that without them both, the All Blacks are an ordinary side," Ellis continued.

It is a plan that Ellis has used before, when France defied a 15-point handicap to stun the All Blacks in Cardiff at the last World Cup. "We targeted Carter, McCaw and Jerry Collins in that game.

"Carter went off injured, and McCaw ended up playing on one leg. We did the same to Jerry Collins. You've got to target key players. If you can get to them, and get them off the field, psychologically, the team has big problems."

Although this seems a somewhat brutish and obvious tactic, Ellis was prepared to go into further detail about how De Villiers should go about stopping New Zealand's slick passing game. He added: "You can't go for the legs in the tackle. You've got to utilise a two-man maul against them. They work a system where the guy over the top secures the ball and they get quality ball with two forwards and the scrum-half behind."

Ellis devised a system for that World Cup quarter-final whereby the tackler checked the momentum of the attacker by tackling high. When the pair went to ground, the tackler got up and contested possession with another team-mate, which in turn committed more opposition players.

"When the whole thing went to ground, they committed five of their players," he recounts with glee.

"What had become a well organised attack, where they could play in different zones very quickly, didn't work. They tried to spread out, but if you do it enough times, you pull them all in. On several occasions during that game, we had 13 or 14 men on the pitch, with one or two in the ruck, whereas they had five in there."

And there will be in-running clues abound in Hamilton as to whether these tactics will pay off for De Villiers and his deflated team.

"Instead of Carter taking control of the ball, they had people like McCaw at first receiver at the breakdown. It pushed them out of shape, and when you've got McCaw at first receiver, you know you've got them in trouble."

Henry has learnt from his harsh lesson though, and has named both Carter and Stephen Donald in the crucial 10-12 axis, which should give the All Blacks more options when they are pulled out of shape. It is an interesting combination, especially as it offers the home side a left-foot/right foot combination. That mixture should be critical in countering the hulking kicks of Frans Steyn, who returns to the South African line-up at full-back.

With New Zealand's attack malfunctioning so far this tournament - they have failed to score more than a solitary try in any game - it seems that a winning bonus-point may be beyond them. A closely-fought, low-scoring encounter is expected, therefore, which would be enough to crown South Africa champions either this week, or next. I'm not trading out of my position.

Tags: Australia, Dan Carter, David Pocock, New Zealand, Richie McCaw, South Africa, Stephen Donald