Springboks Being Reminded Size Isn’t Everything In Rugby

Rugby, from the very beginning, has been a game for all sizes, yet as the sport has become more professional, a growing obsession in player size trend has followed the game’s growth across the globe. Slowly, favor has turned against the smaller guys who have dazzled us for years with their skill and footwork. That aptitude for larger players has even extended beyond just those up front in the scrum.

Jonah Lomu, one of the first superstars of rugby, was one of the first popular big guys running around in the back line. He carved up defenses and batted aside other back lines which did not have behemoths, perhaps changing the sport as we knew it while doing so. Lomu’s impact on the game gave birth to big guys playing in the backs. Before his days, Ray Gravell, the Welsh winger who played in the late 70s and early 80s, was considered massive, weighing in at 83 kilograms. George North, the incumbent Welsh winger in 2018, weighs 108 kg.

South Africa, in particular, has always been obsessed with size, breeding behemoths like Bakkies Botha, Eben Etzebeth, Bismarck Du Plessis, and JP Pietersen to name but a few. For a very long time, this tactic worked; South Africa was able to bully and bat aside opponents at will. Winning World Cups, Super Rugby, and any competitions they found themselves in, size was a winning recipe for the Springboks. Others slowly caught on, seeking out giants of their own to instill among their unions. And while that change in emphasis has bred a winning evolution for some, it remains that bigger is not always better, least of all in rugby.

The beauty of rugby union and the 15-man game is that it’s a game for all sizes, for larger and smaller folk, everyone has their niche. As unions like South Africa continued to harp on size obsession, the list of smaller players who’ve had their developments peaked simply because they don’t fit the size mold grew. Guys like Gio Aplon, Juan de Jongh, Ricky Januarie, Schalk Brtiz, Curwin Bosch, and plenty more, despite possessing fantastic talents, have found their ascension roadblocked at times via this size aversion.

While these guys weren’t often known for knocking back their opposition in every tackle, they all brought an X-factor and diverse skillsets to the backs group. A moment of magic can win the game, all which were capable of producing such. Over the years, the Springboks have been hesitant to blood these smaller players in. While other countries have embraced the likes of their more nimble wizards like All Blacks’ Damian McKenzie and Nehe Milner-Skudder or Australia’s Kurtley Beale, South Africa has long turned an unfortunate eye on that of their modest-sized athletes.

Luckily, that sense of perspective has begun to change. Under Rassie Erasmus, the Springboks have shown that they are not afraid to blood the little men. And Rassie has been rewarded with some standout performances as a result of that faith. Aphiwe Dyantyi was named World Rugby breakthrough player of the year. For Toulouse over the weekend, Chesslin Kolbe blitzed the Wasps in Champions Cup play with his feet, even showing off his strength with a mouth-watering bounce to run in a try.

Earlier in the year, during the England series, bloodhound Faf de Klerk picked up and drove back Nathan Hughes. To provide some clarity, that is an 80-kg scrum half driving a 125-kg flanker and dumping him on his backside. It was a moment of pure elation.

Size is not everything, there is a place for individuals of all sizes in the game. It is to your own detriment to pick your team solely based on size. South Africa is slowly coming to that realization and straying away from the size-obsessed formula. Simply look at the Emirates Lions, who have found themselves in the Super Rugby finals each of the last three years all whilst feeding smaller players like Kwagga Smith, Courtnall Skosan, Sylvian Mahuza, and Warren Whiteley. All of them have been integral to the success for the Lions. It simply goes to show there is a need for game-changers like them.

Now it’s not to say size doesn’t help. But overly focussing on it births a one-dimensional game plan. One certainly won’t win a World Cup with a bash forward approach alone in 2019. It’s an aspect of the game that can be opened up, but you also need a plethora of dazzling feet, skill, pace, and power. It’s a combination that has bred world dominance for the All Blacks.

South Africa, and the rest of the rugby world for that matter, must abandon their obsession with size alone. A continuation of such an attitude will only lead to thousands of children simply being discouraged from ever pursuing rugby, all because they’re too small. Imagine how many Gio Aplon and Faf de Klerks could be lost along the way?

Just recently, Christian Wade, one of the deadliest wingers and top try scorers in the Premiership, retired from rugby and made a switch to the NFL after repeatedly being excluded from the English national setup due to his physical stature.

Rugby is not a game for giants alone, there is a place for them here, but it’s a sport for those with giant hearts. Stop the size obsession.

-By Chace De Villiers