The famous line from Jake White will go down in history when talking about the role of a fetcher in his teams, “The only fetcher that I need is my two sons to get me a beer on a Sunday”. The game has evolved drastically from that time but South African teams still seem reluctant to play an out and out fetcher. The role of a loose forward in the modern game is multi-faceted as they need to be able to have the skills to play every position on the field outside of the front row. This need to have a Mr do it all on the team means that someone who is going to mainly attack the breakdowns means you lose a line out option and grunt at the contact point. I will argue that the gains having a fetcher far outweigh the loss of size and lineout ability.
What the fetcher role does is often understated in the ebb and flow of a rugby game but it is often pivotal the result. Having a menace at the breakdown slows down the opposition’s ball which allows your defensive to reset. It may be two or three seconds which sounds silly on paper but the difference is enormous for the defence to line up and all getting aligned as to know what their job is. This isn’t glamourous work but the ten times the oppositions attack is slowed could well be the difference of a line break that is the match winning try. It won’t go down on any stat or any post-match report but it is vital. Outside of slowing down the ball the fetcher also wins penalties which directly results in territory and/or points which is becoming more and more important as the game has evolved. Teams are less reluctant to attack from depth because mistakes in your own half are unforced errors that coaches hate. By winning penalties it frees up your team to attack in the right areas of the field. With defences becoming increasingly difficult to crack the turnover ball is becoming the best possible ball to attack from and teams are giving the green light from anywhere in the field to give it a go. Fetchers are masters at getting these vital turnovers often when an attacking team is stretched through going side to side or a line break isolating the player. Finally how often have we seen during tense moments at the end of matches when a crucial turnover changes the momentum or stops the attacking team dead in their tracks?
So why aren’t teams pencilling in the fetcher right after tighthead prop and fly half? Well the argument to get some extra grunt in the loose trio is too enticing for some coaches. Everyone sees the big hits and three extra metres the flank made after contact but what good is a great carry on your own 22 metre line when you could be in the oppositions half after a penalty. I also don’t fall for the argument that a team has many semi-skilled fetchers on the team, usually a hooker and centre, as that is the no their primary role so they will never be the best at it. The moment a player tries to get involved in a job that is not their core competency they neglect the basics of what they need to do. By selecting a fetcher at six you need to have the right personnel at seven and eight or the whole project falls flat. Looking specifically at the Sharks, they have not looking the same without having either James Venter or Dylan Richardson at six. They created turnover ball which made Sikhumbuzo Notshe look like an out and out star with all the space it allowed him on attack. Having a more traditional loose trio with Siya Kolisi at six means that the turnover ball has dropped significantly and Notshe fades into the background as he is not a Duane Vermeulan type eight man. Siya is an outstanding player but he needs to play as a ball carrying, tough tackling seven next to a jackal allowing Notshe to be the linkman. At the moment you have a two men in Henco Venter and Siya Kolisi who are both playing half as open side and half at blindside without making being difference makers in each department. Equally how much better have the Stormers looked with Jaco Coetzee, the Bulls with Marco van Staden and the Lions with Marnus Schoeman?
Sometimes it is addition by subtraction and losing some of the collisions you are gaining so much more of the intangibles that wins rugby matches. Hopefully SA teams see the light sooner rather than later with the bleak Northern Hemisphere winters calling where matches are won metre by metre not on a tackling highlight reel.
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