Boks blunder, on and off field
SA now face a huge task in their Rugby World Cup mission
● From their spine-tingling haka before kickoff to the final whistle yesterday against SA in Yokohama, it was clear that the All Blacks are determined to win a third successive Rugby World Cup.
As if they needed another portent, their captain, Kieran Read, whose form and fitness this year have been questioned, led from the front.
It was all a declaration that a team which has never lost a match in the pool round of a Rugby World Cup will again be the side to beat this year in Japan.
Yesterday’s 23-13 defeat of the Springboks was not the only pain to be suffered by SA. A group of South African fans spoilt the moment of the haka with undignified chanting of “Olé, olé”.
It was vile, uncouth and uncultured. They can get away with such behaviour at home, but there’s an expectation to behave better when you are a visitor in someone else’s house.
Unfortunately, that script wasn’t adhered to and it not only showed up South African rugby’s chronic lack of cultural mixing, but that there’s no aboriginal culture and praising in South African rugby.
What went unnoticed was that SA went into the game as favourites, a position that’s uncomfortable for them, while the All Blacks were happy for the opposition to lap up the limelight ahead of the match.
New Zealand then went on to provide a masterclass in using the opportunities. After a fast but unrewarding start, the Springboks committed three errors that New Zealand turned into 17 points.
It’s those narrow margins that separate the good from the great. A team of New Zealand’s class, skill and experience has the sense to know when to grab a game by the scruff of the neck.
It was a message that the All Blacks, despite their recent ordinary form, can’t be taken lightly.
As for the Boks, they will have to take stock. A decision they will regret is not having flyhalf Elton Jantjies on the bench. He would have provided relief for a misfiring Handre Pollard. Instead, the Boks had as a backup Frans Steyn, who did not even come on in the second half. It spoke volumes of Jantjies’s omission.
Faf de Klerk, another key player in Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’s plan, also had a poor game. With the Bok halfbacks malfunctioning, the forwards’ hard work was neutralised.
On the credit side, the Bok pack thrived in spite of referee Jerome Garces’s not unexpected generosity towards the All Blacks.
Nevertheless, this cannot detract from New Zealand’s effective rope-a-dope strategy of avoiding the big hits of the Bok forwards, all the while seeking, and exploiting, the opportunities that came their way with two long-range tries.
The good news for South African rugby fans is that the Boks are not out of the World Cup. They also lost their opening match at the 2015 World Cup (the famous defeat by Japan) and still reached the semifinals, when they narrowly lost to … New Zealand, of course. Today’s match between Ireland and Scotland should determine who the Boks will face in the quarterfinals.
● They were hoping to take the high road en route to the Rugby World Cup final but now their task looks the size of Mount Fuji after the Springboks went down to the All Blacks yesterday.
The objective was always to beat the old foe, win the pool and avoid a potentially tricky clash against Ireland in the quarterfinals, but now the Boks have to do it the hard way. Crucially though, they are not out.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen dismissed talk that defeat would be the end of the road for the team vanquished in this Pool B game.
“We have to win every game but it is the same for them,” Hansen said. “No one is any worse off. History shows that no team has lost a pool game and gone on to win the tournament but history is there to be broken. They can,” said Hansen.
As in recent matches against the All Blacks, the Springboks enjoyed periods of dominance but they failed to make it count.
The All Blacks won this match of brutal intensity on the back of an eight-minute burst in the first half after the Boks seemed to take their foot off the gas.
The men in black drew deep breaths and held sway in the decisive moments to win this much anticipated match.
In front of an enthusiastic crowd of 63,649 the Kiwis held their defensive lines when the Boks came knocking but they crucially also better seized the big moments.
While the Boks’ effort cannot be faulted the All Blacks were again slightly more alert when they had a chance to score.
Bok flank Pieter Steph du Toit threw himself around like a man possessed and his range of influence extended far and wide.
He made tackles with little regard for life and limb and when he stayed down late in the game there would have been huge concern in the Bok coach’s box.
He got up, as he always does.
Apart from Du Toit, Duane Vermeulen and Malcolm Marx grew ever more influential in their ball carries as the Boks grew increasingly restive after the break. Franco Mostert’s presence in the lineout was also keenly felt.
If the Boks’ tall timber stood out, so did
Cheslin Kolbe who squirrelled down the right wing, mostly tantalisingly out of reach of defenders. It required a lot to reel him in. He teased and tormented the All Blacks defence and was a colossus.
Lamentably, however, the Boks’ box kicking wasn’t always on point. It at times lacked depth and only handed over possession.
They also conceded too many kickable penalties to sustain a realistic challenge against a side like the All Blacks. The penalty count was 11-2 in the All Blacks’ favour and tellingly the Boks remain winless against their traditional rivals with Jérôme Garcès armed with the whistle.
“It was an unbelievably well-disciplined performance by them,” said Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, with a hint of sarcasm. “That battle we lost.”
To be fair, it was an area the All Blacks had targeted. “Discipline is always massive for us,” said captain Kieran Read.
“It was a conscious decision from us not conceding penalties. We were at a different level today,” said Read.
Erasmus was disappointed but not despondent about his team’s performance. He knows there is revision to be done, but crucially, he has time to fix what needs mending before they potentially play against the All Blacks again.
“We are creeping closer to them, I think,” said the coach. “They handled our scrum, they handled our maul. People forget as well as they attack, they defend as well. They know how to ramp up the pressure when they get a chance,” said the coach about an area which is perhaps the biggest difference between the teams.
“They are favourites,” said Erasmus about the All Blacks’ prospects going forward. “They will face stiff opposition because teams like England and Wales will challenge them in different ways.
“I don’t want to talk about them too much because we have a helluva lot to sort out ourselves.” With the All Blacks now likely to top the pool, for the Springboks, victory over Italy is now non-negotiable.