All Blacks defeat offers World Cup hope for rivals
paris — A rare defeat for the mighty All Blacks has offered a glimmer of hope to teams hoping to wrestle the Webb Ellis Cup away from New Zealand at next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The Springboks’ 36-34 victory in Wellington on the weekend ended a 15-match winning streak for the All Blacks, who have dominated world rugby since winning their second World Cup title in England in 2015 after previous success on home turf in 2011.
Excluding the 24-21 defeat by the British and Irish Lions in the drawn series in 2017, it was New Zealand’s first defeat at home since 2009.
With the 2019 Rugby World Cup just a year away, the result has been seized upon as evidence that there is at least a chink in the all-conquering team’s formidable armour.
“We lost the game because we allowed South Africa to score 36 points and that’s something that we can control as a team. It’s a team game,” said All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.
Star All Black Beauden Barrett had an off-day with the boot, missing four of six shots at goal, and there were a number of elementary defensive errors you never normally associate with New Zealand.
But tellingly, South Africa, like the Lions in their drawn series, proved that a physically confrontational defence and competing at the breakdown can pay dividends against the attack-minded All Blacks.
Hansen rued the fact Barrett did not go for a drop-goal at the end of the match which would have sealed the win, adding that the defeat might be a timely wake-up call for a side too used to victory.
“Sometimes in sporting events you can get things too easy and you mentally switch off a bit and when you play quality opposition they come back at you and it bites you,” Hansen said. —