{
  "id": 20157690,
  "title": "Is South Africa’s scrum obsession costing the Springboks?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/is-south-africas-scrum-obsession-costing-the-springboks",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-15T10:17:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/south-africa-obsession-scrum-costing-101353818.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Africa's obsession with the scrum may be costing them against France, according to Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus. During a post-match interview, Erasmus suggested that the team had enough scoring opportunities but failed to capitalize due to a series of poor decisions, such as not kicking for the corner. This sentiment echoes a similar remark Erasmus made after a recent loss to New Zealand, where a crucial penalty won by the All Blacks swung the series in their favor. In both instances, Erasmus has highlighted the value of taking the three points, potentially due to the impact of referee decisions on the outcome of matches. South Africa's powerful pack has often dominated set-piece play, but the coach believes that the team is neglecting the potential attacking opportunities that arise from a steady set-piece. By focusing solely on penalties and corner kicks, South Africa may be missing out on crucial scoring chances.",
  "summary": "ANALYSIS: After Rassie Erasmus admitted that his side should have taken the points against France, Harry Latham-Coyle analyses why referees may not always reward their scrum dominance",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SABC News",
        "title": "South Africa U23 beat Madagascar 1-0 in Olympics qualifier",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/south-africa-u23-beat-madagascar-1-0-in-olympics-qualifier",
        "published": "2026-11-14T16:44:14.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}