ABS determined to lose respectfully
The Springboks will be world beaters by the time Kieran Read gets to Pretoria.
They reckon you should never write the opposition’s team talk for them, which is why so many sportspeople offer so little prematch. Better to say nothing at all, than utter something that could be used as motivation.
If Read, the All Blacks captain, had his time again, it would be interesting know how much praise he would’ve heaped upon the Springboks. Asked at his Friday press conference if South Africa remained New Zealand’s greatest rugby foe, Read hummed and harred a bit. He said the Springboks were special in their own way, but no more important than any of the All Blacks’ other opponents.
No sooner had South Africa beaten New Zealand 36-34 the following night than the defeated coach, Steve Hansen, was looking to reassert the primacy of that rivalry.
‘‘I think a lot of people got seduced by the [57-0] score in North Harbour [last September] but the game after that we won by a point [25-24 in Cape Town] and this game was exactly the same,’’ Hansen said.
‘‘They’ve been our traditional rivals for a long time and a team we have a lot of history with and respect for and, from a rugby point of view, if you weren’t involved right at the coalface of the All Blacks then you’d say ‘wow, what a game’. But, at the same time, I am involved right at the coalface and the players are and Joe [Locke] the media man is and Kat [Darry] the dietician is, so all of those people feel the pain because we want to be successful.’’
It’s right that the All Blacks feel bad after a defeat such as Saturday’s. They did beat themselves, after all, thanks to a mixture of poor execution and bad option taking. There’s no need to make a meal of it, though.
Lifting for one-off occasions is something of a Springboks’ specialty. It’s maintaining the sort of level that we saw at Westpac Stadium, which remains their challenge.
Nevertheless, you can expect the All Blacks to sing South Africa’s praises from now until their next meeting, at Loftus Versfeld on October 7. In part to avoid adding any fuel to the Springboks’ fire, but also on moral grounds.
‘‘Sport’s a great showcase for people’s character and, when you lose and you’re meant to win, or when you win when you’re meant to lose, you see a range of emotions,’’ Hansen said.
‘‘When you’re used to winning all the time, as we are, I think it’s really, really important that you show the same range of emotions as when you win. You’ve got to stand up and be counted and thankfully I think [the players] have done that. I don’t think they’ve been poor losers. I think they’ve accepted the fact that they got beaten on the night by a team that played better than we did.’’
The All Blacks now leave for Buenos Aires on Friday, where they meet Argentina on September 30 before going on to Africa. Blindside flanker Liam Squire will miss that trip with a hand injury, with Luke Whitelock, Shannon Frizell and Jackson Hemopo – who is close to being over a bone-bruise on his knee – the other members of the squad who can play at No 6.
Beyond them, Vaea Fifita might be deemed to have done his time in Mitre 10 Cup, if reinforcements are required.