How the Boks did a rush-job on the ABs
It turns out that the All Blacks don’t live on another planet. They haven’t got a Tardis. Like the rest of creeping humanity, they are subject to the stresses of time. Take time away from great players such as Beauden Barrett and they make mistakes.
Or to look at the acronym Tardis in a different order. Sport depends on space and relative dimensions in time. As the great footballer Johan Cruyff said: ‘‘It’s about distances.’’ Where’s your team-mate in relation to you? How much time have you got? How near is the defence?
The teams that have been successful against the All Blacks in the previous two years are those that have cut down their time and space. It is no coincidence that Ireland and the British and Irish Lions had the same defence coach. The rush defence continues to cause New Zealand problems.
In an exclusive column for Stuff last week, South African Brendan Venter shrewdly identified three areas where South Africa needed to concentrate in order to have a chance. Make your kicks contestable, play more off 9 so that you don’t turn over possession and prepare an accurate defence at the set pieces.
South Africa did all these things well in Wellington, but there was another factor, perhaps the most important at all. They rushed the ball carrier. Faf du Klerk was the first missile. He rushed Beauden Barrett off the first scrum of the match, he scragged Jordie Barrett behind the gain line, he was always after Aaron Smith.
The rest of the Boks took their cue. Captain Siya Kolisi was part of a big tackle that drove Ryan Crotty back in the opening minutes. Handre Pollard monstered Jordie Barrett and South Africa lost something in defence when Damian Allende had to leave the pitch in the second half, forcing Pollard to move to second-five.
The hits kept coming. Yes the All Blacks scored an early try when Beauden picked up a pass superbly and flicked it up for Jordie. But it was a bonus try. South African centre Lukhanyo Am had been off for ice treatment and, having rushed back onto the pitch, had not properly picked up his defensive cues when Jordie went through the hole.
It didn’t faze South Africa. Jesse Kriel jammed in very well from his wing position and they kept making hits. And New Zealand started making mistakes. Sam Cane lost the ball having a peek at the tackle to come, Kieran Read lost possession in the tackle, the forward replacements coughed up the ball.
We saw the same effect of relentless physical pressure in New Zealand’s loss to England at netball. The New Zealand shooters were pilloried, but they never had a moment’s respite. The England defence contested every shot. They hadn’t played together before, but Geva Mentor was named man of the match and her partner Layla Guscoth was not far behind.
‘‘Her athletic ability is incredible,’’ said Mentor.
And that was the noticeable gulf between the teams. England were more athletic. Their centre Serena Guthrie never stopped moving. And when every pass and every shot is made under stress, sooner or later the mental strain tells. New Zealand were wiped out 14-5 in the final quarter. Their brains and bodies crumbled.
There is a notion called the ‘‘central governor’’ theory where the brain tells the body to shut down in order to protect itself when it is over physically exerted. This happens typically in long-distance running. But sometimes stress can cause body and mind to shut down. New Zealand’s netballers were stressed. So were the All Blacks.
Those South African tries did not come about by chance. De Klerk and Willie Le Roux ran like madmen to close down Jordie Barrett’s throw in. They stressed Rieko Ioane and caused him to make a poor decision in moving away from the long throw instead of toward it. He was moving away from the charging South Africans and so didn’t catch the ball on the full.
The interception of Anton LienertBrown was also a mistake borne of stress. Kriel had rushed Liam Squire.
He [Beauden Barrett] remains a magnificent player. But the Carlos Spencer factor nags. When defences are at their most aggressive, will Beauden have one of his bad days?
Pieter-Steph du Toit rushed LienertBrown. A L-B avoided him, but Kolisi and Le Roux had taken up good cover positions and time was running out. The interception was a result of the squeeze.
Beauden Barrett suffered similar problems. Malcolm Marx’s try was preceded by Barrett kicking away possession into the in-goal area. The execution was poor under pressure. Barrett followed that by a crosskick that went out on the full. South Africa scored from the position and possession Barrett had given away.
He continued to kick too far and as the tactical leader of the team he made a poor decision in failing to take a drop goal at the end. But we have seen him struggle before against the Lions and against the Crusaders when his time is taken away.
New Zealand are still more than good enough to win the World Cup with Beauden at 10. He remains a magnificent player. But the Carlos Spencer factor nags. When defences are at their most aggressive, will Beauden have one of his bad days?
It has always been the extent of the range of his performances, from low to high, that has been the worry. The low is too low, the range too great. Would New Zealand have lost on Saturday with Richie Mo’unga or Aaron Cruden at 10? Perhaps not.
And don’t be fooled by the final scoreline. South Africa were absolutely done in by Nigel Owens. The All Blacks scored a first half try preceded by a colossal Lienert-Brown knock-on. And Owens gave the All Blacks seven consecutive second half penalties in the space of 22 minutes, half of which were absurd.
Happily for South Africa, Owens did not deny them a deserved victory, he just narrowed the margin.
Finally time ran out on New Zealand.