Rudderless Boks no equal to All Blacks

NEW Zealand and South Africa both went into the often-transitional post-Rugby World Cup year needing to fill some big boots and while the All Blacks achieved it with barely a stutter, South Africa’s 2016 turned into be an annus horribilis.

On the other side of the world England changed their coach but little else after their World Cup disaster and Eddie Jones transformed largely the same team into Europe’s dominant force and the unquestioned challengers-inwaiting to New Zealand’s world hegemony.

The two top-ranked teams avoided each other in 2016 and will not meet again until at least 2018, helping build the anticipation of a showdown that will be further spiced by next year’s British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.

After becoming the first team to retain the World Cup last year, New Zealand faced what should have been the daunting prospect of replacing Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Ma’a Nonu, Keven Mealamu and Conrad Smith – more than 800 caps-worth of top-drawer experience.

But if their fans were worried, they need not have been.

Carter’s flyhalf replacement Beauden Barrett filled in so seamlessly that he also inherited Carter’s world player of the year title. Kieran Read proved an able new captain, while powerful centre Anton Lienert-Brown, and loose-forwards Matt Todd and Liam Squire were also impressive additions.

New Zealand swept to a 3-0 series win over Wales and won the Rugby Championship with embarrassing ease before bouncing back from losing to Ireland in Chicago –a defeat which ended the All Blacks’ record run of 18 victories – with a clean-sweep three-match tour of Europe.

South Africa had a similarly high quality exodus in the shape of Victor Matfield, Schalk Burger, Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez and Bismarck du Plessis but found their replacements badly wanting.

The result was the worst year in the country’s history – eight defeats in 12 Tests, including a humiliating first loss to Italy on a November tour that also brought defeats by England and Wales.

Coach Allister Coetzee had to work with assistants he did not choose, quotas and a ban on selecting overseas-based players and his future lies in the balance as the SA Rugby Union reviews the car-crash season in the New Year amid much debate on how the whole base of the sport is being eroded in one of its real heartlands. — Reuters