The high ball, New Zealand’s weak spot
Caleb Clarke spoke this morning on Sky Sport NZ’s Breakdown Show. The All Blacks winger admits his side has been struggling under the high ball since the rule change.
World Rugby banned escorts at the end of 2024. A receiver can no longer be shielded by team-mates backing up around him. Teams now have to make way for the chasers. The aerial battle is back to being a proper one-on-one fight.
The Springboks have turned it into a weapon. During the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, Rassie Erasmus’ men kept reclaiming their own bombs again and again. New Zealand took the hit.
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Tactical tweaks that came to nothing
Clarke broke down New Zealand’s attempts. Wingers running backwards to take the ball over their shoulder. Others charging straight down the middle. None of it worked against the South Africans.
“We tried different things,” he said. “But credit to the Boks, they really put the receiver and everyone else trying to mop up under huge pressure.”
Clarke missed the whole series. He was injured in the warm-up game against the Sharks in Durban. Even so, the Blues winger is widely seen as the best All Black under the high ball. His absence hurt.
He also spent time with the Sydney Swans this year to work on his aerial game. Not every technique carries across. In Australian rules you reach with your hands; in rugby you have to take it on the chest or it spills forward and the opposition get the ball.
Seven years of continuity for the Boks
The winger offered another explanation. “South Africa have been playing together since 2019. It’s basically the same group.” He pointed to Jesse Kriel and Siya Kolisi.
New Zealand, by contrast, arrived in South Africa with only two or three months under a new coaching staff. Dave Rennie took over the side this year. The combinations are still not quite there.
“The depth they have in every position shows they are a step ahead of everyone else in the world.” Clarke, meanwhile, is still working his way back from injury.
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