NZR must act over Barrett’s gamesmanship
Last Saturday’s Springboks performance, although it ended in a 16-16 draw, was much better than the win against the All Blacks last year in Wellington.
Last year the men in green and gold had a bit of luck but this time there was nothing in that regard. In the first 40 minutes, South Africa were by far the better team but struggled to capitalise on possession and territory.
The All Blacks looked rusty in the first half but, in the second stanza, you saw a typical All Blacks team, as they lifted their intensity and tempo. All of a sudden, it was the South Africans who were on the back foot, which exposed various disciplinary weaknesses within the South African set-up. Some were forced owing to good play from the All Blacks and others were purely down to stupidity.
It looked like the All Blacks were cruising to victory when a little bit of magic from Cheslin Kolbe and Herschel Jantjies resulted in a fantastic try.
The All Blacks are a great team but the likes of England, Ireland and Wales will be looking at this game thinking that they will be in with a chance at the World Cup. The All Blacks will still be favourites but there will be four or five teams that will
believe they can beat New Zealand.
When I watched the All Blacks on Saturday, my main takeaway was how average their work ethic was. When the ball was kicked into the air, I noticed how they didn’t work to get back and often left Beauden Barrett on his own at the back to sort out the problems.
It just didn’t look like the same energetic All Blacks who have traditionally done all the little things better than everybody else.
The All Blacks have always had game-breakers – individual players who can make magic – and if you looked at them quickly you would have thought that that is why they were good.
However, when you studied the All Blacks more closely, you realised that they did the small things well. That, for me, is what this All Blacks team is lacking. Nothing they did in this game was exceptional.
Their defence was OK, as was their kick-chase and the way they got back. However, everything has become like most other teams and, when that’s the case, you then become beatable.
The All Blacks-Springboks rivalry is in a good place and the question would be: Is it because the Boks are getting better or because the All Blacks are getting worse?
I think it’s a combination of the two. In the last four encounters, South Africa have gone toe-to-toe with New Zealand and there is now nothing in it between the two sides.
The opening World Cup Pool B clash in Yokohama will be epic.
For me, the talking points post-match are relevant. The first one was the apparent knock-on before Barrett took the penalty. Makazole Mapimpi as the tackler played the opposition on the floor and ripped the ball, which resulted in a legitimate penalty against him. Although it had looked like Ben Smith lost the ball forward, I have no problem with Mapimpi being pinged by referee Nic Berry.
However, what I do have an issue with is what Barrett did by stealing yards for his penalty by kicking the ball forward three metres when the referee’s back was turned.
To offer an analogy, if you’re a professional golfer and you throw the ball two yards closer to the pin, you would be banned for life if caught. But it seems that if you’re a professional rugby player and you get away with it then it’s fine.
What Barrett did was wrong and New Zealand Rugby should have come out, taken a stand and said it actually disagreed with what he did. Barrett is a good guy, and by definition he is not a cheat, but what he did was wrong and we need to draw the line.
I believe NZR should take a leaf out of NZ Cricket’s book, which said it would like to play the game fair and would look to limit the sledging.
I thought it was admirable how it said everybody can choose to play the sport how they want to but we will play the game as gentlemen. I was actually hoping something similar would come from NZR.
From a South African perspective, there are plenty of positives the Springboks can extract from the stalemate but there are also aspects they will be disappointed in. For me, the standout feature from this Springboks performance was how they kept going defensively although they were fatiguing.
However, the ease at which they gave away the try would have piqued the interest of future foes. Teams are going to put the ball in behind the Springboks when they take the ball into the outside channels because their wings are coming in too much and their fullback is joining the line too early.
* South African Brendan Venter is a 1995 Rugby World Cup winner and a former assistant coach of the Springboks.