Corne Krige has questioned whether Jeremy Guscott would have called for a law amendment of the use of bench players if England had won the World Cup.
Guscott – a former England and British & Irish Lions centre – has called on World Rugby to implement a football-like substitution law, by restricting the number of replacements from eight to three per match to allow for a fairer contest.
Guscott’s proposal was in reaction to South Africa’s tactically superb usage of their replacements bench throughout the World Cup – with the now famed ‘bomb squad’ of six forwards and just two backs playing a major role in the Boks’ title triumph.
Krige, who made 39 Test appearances for the Boks and also captained the team, has commented on Guscott’s call.
‘I don’t think it’s sour grapes, but I wonder if he would have made those comments if England had the upper hand,’ Krige told Netwerk24.
‘I think it was brilliant from Rassie Erasmus to pick six forwards and two backs on the bench.
‘Remember, you can only do it if you have a guy like Frans Steyn on the bench, who can cover almost any position from No 10 to No 15. Without a guy like that you can’t follow that strategy. Not every team has the players to do it,’ Krige concluded.
Photo: AP/Shuji Kajiyama
