Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend reportedly aired concerns about the growing use of forward-heavy benches at a World Rugby meeting recently.
The Springboks have won the last two Rugby World Cups after deploying benches that do not conform to the usual set-up of five forwards and three backs.
Banning the Bomb Squad?
In 2019, Rassie Erasmus named six forwards and two backs on his replacements bench for the knockout matches, including the 32-12 victory over England in the final, with the tactic being dubbed the ‘Bomb Squad’.
Four years later, South Africa upped the ante with the tactic, naming a 7-1 split on the bench for the first time in a World Cup warm-up game against New Zealand at Twickenham. The Springboks emerged 35-7 victors that day and would make use of the tactic again during the pool stage match against Ireland and the final against the All Blacks.
Erasmus would again name a 7-1 split in 2024 for the fixture against Scotland at Murrayfield in November and, until this year’s Six Nations, no other tier one nation had used the tactic before France eventually followed suit for the clash against Italy where they claimed an emphatic 73-24 victory.
Former Scotland coach Matt Williams has repeatedly slammed the tactic as ‘against the spirit of the game’ as he believes that it is an ‘abuse of safety laws’ and went as far as to say that it ‘discriminates against backs’.
Current Scotland coach Townsend seemingly agrees to some degree and voiced ‘misgivings’ of teams essentially fielding two forward packs.
According to a report by Times Sport, Townsend voiced his opinion during a Shape Of The Game event in London where he suggested that the Bomb Squad tactic – which effectively allows teams to replace almost their entire forward pack – is not in the spirit or the best interests of the sport.
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