Coetzee’s All Blacks nightmare
Latest heavy defeat rubs salt into Springboks’ wounds
WHATEVER Springbok coach Allister Coetzee does, he will always be judged by how his charges have fared against the All Blacks.
After three encounters, Coetzee has not only encountered repetitive bloodied noses, but soul destroying solar plexus punches in the form of three heavy defeats.
Saturday’57-0 defeat is one that’ll stand out for eternity and not because New Zealand have widened the gap between them and their fiercest rival, but fact heavy defeats are becoming synonymous with Springbok/All Black clashes.
The All Blacks know what the lay of the Southern Hemisphere rugby land looks like and they’re surveying it from the best vantage point.
The Boks currently stand at 155 points conceded and 23 tries scored against them in the past three matches against New Zealand in Christchurch, Durban and Albany.
It would be wrong to say the Boks are back to square one but it’s clear they have no response to New Zealand’s power, precision and intensity.
They conspired in their record breaking demise as they were not able to deal with the All Blacks defensively and convert their own opportunities.
A big lesson learnt and one Coetzee may need to take to heart is the need to soak up pressure and let the other team do all the attacking.
The Springboks did most of the attacking in the first 20 minutes yet they had nothing to show for their efforts except for the 17 points they conceded through turnovers.
There’s nothing wrong in taking the game to the All Blacks but there needs to be a calculated and patient manner in which that needs to be done.
The need to be accurate in execution is also a prerequisite, along with a functional set-piece. It was the set-piece that allowed the Springboks to force a draw in Perth and play themselves into a position of winning the same test.
With New Zealand going into the game on the back of heavy criticism despite their near-perfect Rugby Championship record and the drawn series against the British and Irish Lions, the All Blacks had a point to prove.
They had the air of a team who did their homework and made sure they wouldn’t give their rivals a sniff.
It’s always tough to make changes but the familiarity of victory, the five the Springboks collected before the Australian draw, may have bred an air of contempt.
The Boks found themselves in a position where they were to mount a gallant resistance but the performance was far from that.
It wasn’t a capitulation similar to Durban last year where the Springboks simply stopped playing rugby in the last 20 minutes.
It was a sustained frontal assault after the absorption of early pressure and that transference of pressure was too much.
If it was fortitude, an element of fortune and skill that allowed the All Blacks to break out early, their adherence to basics for the rest of the game spoke of an appreciation for the small things that build successful rugby team.
Having weathered the storm, their forwards took charge and dictated the pace of the game. It’s something Coetzee will learn over time once he’s identified the correct individuals to take the Boks to a level where they are competitive against the All Blacks.
If South Africa beat Australia and lost narrowly to New Zealand, the tour would have been qualified success.