We take a look at South Africa's massive forwards reinforcements - the Springboks' Bomb Squad!
On the way to lifting the Rugby World Cup in 2019, Rassie Erasmus, South Africa’s then-director of rugby and head coach, adopted a system of setting up his replacements for maximum impact. By using a 6-2 split on the bench (six forwards and two backs, instead of the more traditional five forwards and three backs), the team were able maintain a higher level of physical output up front for the full 80 minutes. This group of six massive reinforcements in the forwards came to be known as South Africa’s ‘Bomb Squad’, allowing the Springboks to maximise their traditional dominance in the pack.
The Bomb Squad has subsequently become shorthand for the Boks swapping out their entire front five, often at the same time. They’ve frequently (though not exclusively) selected a Bomb Squad in the years since – including their opening game of the 2024 Rugby Championship. In fact, Jacques Nienaber, Erasmus’s successor and predecessor as Springboks head coach, said during the British & Irish Lions’ 2021 tour of South Africa that the 6-2 split was his side’s preference – and that the decision to pick a 5-3 bench for the first Test owed more to a Covid-19 outbreak in the camp than a switch in tactical thinking.
“We went against the 6-2 split purely because of the situation,” Nienaber said. “When I refer to the situation what I am saying is that Handré [Pollard] has not had a lot of rugby recently. And Makazole Mapimpi too. Both of them are just back from Covid so we decided that maybe this wasn’t the right time to go with just one back covering on the bench because if we had a problem with one of those guys we could be in trouble.
“The thing about a 6-2 split is that we will go with it when we feel it is available to us and we are comfortable with it.”
By replacing most of their pack, South Africa aim to maintain forward dominance for the full 80 minutes. (MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)
The Springboks Bomb Squad-plus
During a warm-up game for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, South Africa made their Bomb Squad even more explosive. Nienaber picked a bench with a 7-1 split to take on New Zealand at Twickenham, adding flanker Kwagga Smith to his replacements after Willie le Roux pulled out with injury. It proved a resounding success, as the Springboks were rampant in a record 35-7 win over the All Blacks – one Rugby World writer even argued that the innovation was “beautiful South African genius”.
The Springboks went on to pick a 7-1 bench for their narrow 13-8 defeat to Ireland during the World Cup pool stages, and again for the final against New Zealand, which they won 12-11.
The future of the Springboks Bomb Squad
The Springboks’ radical approach has proved infectious. Scotland, France and Ireland all opted for 6-2 splits during the 2024 Six Nations, though Ireland were unfortunate to highlight how loading your bench with forwards can be a high-risk strategy when circumstances work against you. Calvin Nash and his replacement, Ciaran Frawley, were both injured during the match against England, leaving head coach Andy Farrell with a shortage of backs that forced him to deploy scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park on the wing.
Read more: Top 12 South Africa players: the Springboks ranked
England secured a narrow victory on the day, though Farrell claimed the 6-2 split was not a factor in his side’s surprise defeat. “Well, you’re damned if you do [and damned if you don’t],” he said of his team selection. “No, it’s the best thing since sliced bread when it goes well for you, isn’t it? I mean, yeah, it’s just rugby, isn’t it? You go with a 5-3 bench and you can run out of backs very quickly, depending on what you’ve got cover-wise.”
Although 6-2 and 7-1 splits are entirely within the rules of the game – and an attractive proposition for squads blessed with numerous powerful forwards – some argue that being able to introduce an entire Bomb Squad favours big-hitters too much, reducing the importance of speed and skill, and diminishing the game as a spectacle. World Rugby has working groups exploring how the quantity and timing of replacements in elite matches might reduce the risk of injury while creating additional space on the field.
They’re due to announce their findings in November 2024, and if – that’s a very big if – they decide to make significant changes to the laws of rugby, South Africa’s famous Bomb Squad could conceivably become a thing of the past.
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