All Blacks still hold power despite losing steam at one point
THE first weekend of the Rugby Championship threw up no surprises in terms of the results of the two matches and it remains clear that the All Blacks are still the team to beat.
New Zealand beat Australia 54-34 in a bizarre match that yielded the second highest aggregate score in the tournament’s history as the All Blacks went to sleep for the final 30 minutes.
By the 47th minute, New Zealand had scored eight tries and raced into a 54-6 lead with the Wallabies mistaking Test rugby for touch rugby judging by their defence in that period.
And then suddenly it was the mighty All Blacks who amazingly lost the ability to tackle as the Wallabies scored four unanswered tries to lose by a still significant 20-point margin.
If this were a cricket one-day international, eyebrows would be raised at the nature of the match.
The All Blacks are usually ruthless for the entire game and don’t let up even when they’re inflicting embarrassment on opponents‚ just as they were in Sydney.
But they did ease up and the Wallabies used the All Blacks’ sloppiness to raise a few half-hearted cheers from the stunned crowd.
It seems the All Blacks battled to retain their intensity after such a rampant first 50 minutes when tries came easily with the Australians missing in action on defence.
In fact‚ it was probably the most tepid Haka the All Blacks have performed in recent memory‚ although it did not translate into their performance during the first half.
Leading 40-6 at the break and adding two more tries inside the first five minutes of the second half underlined the devastating nature of their brilliant attack that brutalised the anonymous Wallaby defence.
The All Blacks picked holes through a Wallaby defence that was about as useful as a sieve is to collect water. At one stage it appeared 80 points might be on the cards for New Zealand.
So the take away from this game is that even playing for 50 minutes the All Blacks can win big away matches by 20 points.
“The first 50 minutes is probably as good rugby as you’ll ever see and the last 30 minutes was probably some of the ugliest rugby‚” All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said.
Wallabies beware week.
The All Blacks pack was superb and with centre Ryan Crotty fit again‚ the backline has a general to run both attack and defence.
His intelligent performance showed how much he was missed in the recently drawn series against the British and Irish Lions, in which he only played 20 minutes.
The Springboks again provided evidence that they have turned the corner in Dunedin next after their pathetic season last year that yielded eight losses in 12 Tests by securing their fourth straight win of the year.
The 37-15 scoreline over the Pumas was a fair reflection of the Boks’ dominance‚ as they had to work hard to break down some fierce defence.
Unlike in Sydney‚ the Pumas didn’t wilt under wave after wave of Bok attacks‚ which was a little one-dimensional at times.
The win will further boost the confidence of the squad as they head into the toughest phase of their season with three away games over the next four weeks.
Under Allister Coetzee, the Boks have never won an away match but after witnessing Australia’s poor effort in Sydney and the Pumas’ uninspiring endeavours in Port Elizabeth‚ there is genuine belief now that away wins in Salta and Perth are within reach. — TimesLIVE