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The New Zealand All Blacks yet again secured their spot at the top of world rugby and most probably their third Rugby Championship title, against their traditional rivals the South African Springboks in Wellington.
The All Blacks just love that winning feeling.
Richie McCaw and his men are moving at a pace that the rest of the world can’t keep up with.
Both the Wallabies and the Springboks pushed them hard in the games at Sydney and Wellington, and a lot of people across the world dismissed these games as a lucky save. But the All Blacks were not lucky in these games, they were clinical, composed and patient.
The Springboks kept them honest last weekend and the All Blacks strive on those types of games. They don’t want every single game to be easy because if it was then they would get comfortable and slip in a crucial game.
It was strange to see the All Blacks make silly little errors in their game against the Boks. Their kicking game was not up to their usual standards, and the defensive pressure the Boks applied forced them into uncommon mistakes.
The All Blacks employed a creative tactic by sending two players off their fly-half. Brodie Retallick received the ball primarily with either Kieran Read, Steven Luatua or Richie McCaw running off him. Prior to contact he would apply a short pass to his loose forwards and more often than not in the first half this made plenty of meters over the advantage line.
But to the Springboks’ credit they regrouped at half time and devised a plan against this tactic, making sure that a forward cover defender would stop this runner and then Duane Vermeulen, who was my man of the match, competed for the ball on the ground and on most occasions get a turnover.
The All Blacks did not adapt to this change particularly well. The Boks started negating this momentum and stole All Black ball, but it wasn’t until the final 20 minutes that the Blacks moved away from this tactic.
Again this was a good thing for the All Blacks, and the win – albeit by only four points on home soil – tastes all the sweeter knowing that they overcame a tremendous obstacle to achieve it. It’s games like these that define a world champion side.
Over the past three years several teams have pushed the All Blacks. The Wallabies did it twice. Both ended up in draws. England obliterated them in 2012 and pushed them hard in 2013 before taking them on at Eden Park this year. France had a highly competitive game in the 2013 incoming tour and again in the end of year tour, so did Ireland in 2012 and 2013.
The Springboks pushed them hard at Dunedin in 2012, where if Morne Steyn had kicked all his goals the Boks would have won by 15 points, and again at Ellis Park they were right in toward the end, and now in 2014 as well.
A lot of people see these games as indicative of a progressive fall of All Black rugby but I don’t think that is true.
With the way the All Blacks are moving we might see a day where they beat every single nation by 30-plus points. It’s highly unlikely though and that’s why it’s unfair to expect a big victory from them every single game they play.
The All Blacks are only concerned with winning and that’s what they’re doing, these tough games are just preparation for the big time.
But when you look at the massive talent pool that they have you have to wonder how strong this team would be if every single player were available, Sonny Bill Williams being one of them.
And so the question remains. Can anyone possibly stop this All Black team?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.