On the way to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, then South Africa rugby boss and head coach Lassie Erasmus adopted a system of substitutions to maximise effectiveness. By using a 6-2 split on the bench (six forwards and two backs instead of the traditional five forwards and three backs), the team was able to maintain a higher level of physical output up front for the full 80 minutes. This massive six-man reinforcement of the forwards became known as South Africa’s ‘bomb squad’, and allowed the Springboks to maximise their traditional advantage in the pack.
Bomb squad has since become a shorthand term for the Boks often making full five substitutions at the same time. They have frequently (though not exclusively) selected the Bomb squad since then, including in the opening game of the 2024 Rugby Championship. In fact, Erasmus’ successor, Jacques Nienaber and The former Springboks boss said he preferred a 6-2 formation for his side on the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa, and his decision to bench 5-3 for the first Test match was more down to a Covid-19 outbreak in the camp than a change in tactical mindset.
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“We were against a 6-2 split purely because of the circumstances,” said Nienaber. “When I say circumstances, what I mean is Handré (Pollard) hasn’t played much rugby recently. And Makazole Mapimpi too. They’ve both just come back from Covid, so we decided it wasn’t the right time to have just one back-up on the bench because if one of them has a problem, it could be a problem.
“The beauty of the 6-2 split is that we will do it when we feel we can and feel comfortable doing it.”
South Africa will look to maintain their lead up front throughout the 80 minutes by rotating most of their pack. (MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)
Bomb Squad Plus
South Africa’s 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up saw the Bomb squad become even more explosive. Nienaber came off the bench to face New Zealand at Twickenham in a 7-1 defeat, and brought in flanker Quagga Smith as a replacement after Willie Le Roux was injured. The Springboks enjoyed a huge success as they recorded a record 35-7 victory over the All Blacks. One Rugby World reporter even claimed the innovation was “a beautiful piece of South African genius”.
The Springboks picked a bench for the 7-1 win over New Zealand in the final after a narrow 13-8 defeat to Ireland in the World Cup group stage, and a 12-11 win.
The Future of Bomb Disposal
The Springboks’ radical approach has proven contagious. Scotland, France and Ireland have all opted for a 6-2 split for the 2024 Six Nations, but Ireland were unfortunate to highlight that benching forwards can be a high-risk strategy when the going gets tough. Calvin Nash and his replacement, Cierran Frawley, were both injured against England, and coach Andy Farrell was left short of backs, forced to deploy scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park on the wing. England narrowly won that day, but Farrell insists the 6-2 split had no effect on his side’s surprise defeat. “Well, either way, it’s going to be damned,” he said of his team selection. “No, when it’s going well, it’s the best thing since sliced bread. It’s just rugby, right? If you go to a 5-3 bench, you can run out of backs very quickly, depending on what you can cover.”
While 6-2 and 7-1 splits are entirely within the rules of the game and are an attractive proposition for squads with a lot of powerful forwards, some argue that the introduction of a full-on bomb squad would be too advantageous to the hard-hitting players, reducing the importance of speed and skill and detracting from the entertainment of the game. World Rugby has a working group looking at how the quantity and timing of substitutions in the elite game could reduce the risk of injury while also creating extra space on the pitch. They are due to publish their findings in November 2024 and if they decide to make any significant changes to the rules of rugby (a very big if), South Africa’s famous bomb squad could become a thing of the past.
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