What a magnificent Test match! In a season where we’ve seen some one sided stinkers, and free flowing yawners, this was everything Test rugby should be about; it was brutal, exciting and ultimately heart breaking.
The Boks were fantastic.
The first half saw them dominate the Kiwis at the collision, drive them back on defense, and elements of doubt crept back into the All Black game. Pressure forced dropped catches, missed passes and dropped balls.
The brilliant form of the All Blacks may have a lot to do with the lack of pressure they’ve been under, more than a sudden improvement in their play. For sixty minutes they were beatable – barely, but the cracks were showing.
And then a series of events conspired to see the Boks grab defeat from the jaws of victory; 22-14 up with twenty to play should be an automatic victory at altitude.
Some of the most telling were:
1) The substitution of Juan Smith. He was epic in defense and at the breakdown, and not too shabby with ball in hand. The coaches claim it was injury enforced, if not, they made a serious blunder, because Spies was clearly the loosie to sub. When Smith left the field, the Boks defensive resolve began to crumble.
2) Morne Steyn’s missed touch finders. Those two kicks – the penalty and the grubber to the corner – shifted the momentum of the match entirely. Instead of pressuring the All Black five metres out on two occasions, probably sucking up 5 to 10 minutes of playing time, the Boks found themselves facing a powerful All Black scrum deep inside their own territory, contributing directly to New Zealand’s scoring opportunities.
3) Bok fatigue. This Bok team is clearly not fit enough. When it came time to put bodies on the line in those last five minutes, they just weren’t up for it anymore. The cover defense was slow on McCaw’s try, and non existent on Dagg’s.
More tellingly, with one minute to play and a drop goal in range, they turned over ball because there were no forwards to the breakdown when de Villiers went to ground. The All Blacks strolled over the top to secure the ball, and ultimately victory.
This player run team clearly doesn’t have the self discipline to ensure they are properly match fit. Under Jake White, this team would have closed out the game because they were superbly conditioned. Peter de Villiers is clearly too interested in being the players’ mate to crack the whip and get those fat boys running.
4) Poor use of the bench. When the Boks were flagging, and out of steam, they sat with three unused players on the bench. Why play a 4/3 bench when your game plan is forward oriented?
South Africa has some spectacular forwards, but instead Chiliboy, Olivier and James watched from the sideline while Smit almost collapsed with fatigue, and Matfield lay about trying to catch his breathe whilst the Kiwis ran rampant. Play a 5/2 bench! De Villiers never uses all his backline subs anyway.
All is not lost for the Boks. They proved that their game plan, when executed with skill, is still the way to beat the All Blacks. They don’t have to start afresh, they just need to get fitter, and select and sub a little smarter.
The return of Bismarck and Brussow will also have a massive effect on their breakdown dominance.
Should be a cracker of a World Cup semi!
C.H. Oker
Guest
That's correct mate, the Boks never peak a year ahead of a world cup....just look at our 2006 record. Peaking early and then flaking when it counts is your speciality, not ours! We are missing so many vital players at the moment yet u were still lucky to pull off that last win. If I were u lot, I'd be very afraid of next year - get the anti-depressants ready so long !
Danny
Guest
Yeah yeah woulda coulda shoulda. Heard it from AB opponents forever. ABs could have put 6 trys on them as well. Boks took pretty much every opportunity available. Their lineout and scrum was average. Tactics outdated. Kick kick kick sooooo yesterday. Could have won 22 nil if they'd kept the ABs scoreless as well. Says nothing.
Danny
Guest
Maybe but if the ref had picked the boks for not being back 10 from the quick tap it would have been another penalty and another quick tap and over? Bok ran out of gas and just weren't good enough. Well they should have dominated in Jberg as they have for most of history, To lose in that circumstance,with fatty missing the tackle on his 100th birthday in front of 95k, was pure comedy. For his sins I see Smit has dropped others but not himself for this weekend. Its a circus, the clowns are out, the fatmen are flopping around and its pure entertainment.
Derm
Roar Guru
Could be a very exciting World Cup as well, by the sounds of it. Boks could play Australia in the first game, and then play New Zealand as the sitting ducks in the second game. A short, but no doubt, mesmerising tournament.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
There's nothing quite like a Bokke. I thought we reached our peak the last time we played you guys. Is this one of those law of averages things where finally you'll be right? The Boks were pretty average for a Jo-burg test, it has to be said. There's sure as hell no peaking going on there.
C.H. Oker
Guest
Although the Boks lost (narrowly and thanks to some ref blunders) I am very happy to announce that all is well on track for the AB's decent into darkness. Mark my words, they have reached their peak and it's downhill from here! The Boks will beat the Aussies both games and I won't be surprised if a tired Wallaby side beats the AB's in the last game. I can't wait for the world cup! The Boks will be back with Brussow, Bismarck, Fourie Du Preez, Bakkies (YES, Bakkies!) and a few others....and the AB's will be the sitting ducks! I love it!!!
SteveDarke
Guest
I actually think the key to the game was the forward pass in the 77th minute. If it had been spotted there would have been just about enough time for one scrum, and then the Boks would have won. Such is life.
MarkR
Guest
Agree, although I don't think the ABs were that out of sorts, a couple of missed kick offs & Carters dodgy boot, but I saw it as they could only play as well as the Boks allowed them to play. The Bok defence was in their face all night, stopping the offloads that have been such an integral part of tehir game this season.
stash
Roar Pro
Mark R - yeah, I'm still laughing into my coffee on that one. The crazy thing is that its true!!
MarkR
Guest
Stash - A game won by a man with dreadlocks wearing eyeliner and one sock Pure gold !
stash
Roar Pro
100 games - 95,000 spectators, 1,000 wins by the all blacks - and 1 shoe. Damn that shoe, damn that shoe to hell - was heard from the kneeling, sobbing, broken captain. The game I SAW had a strong hitting, dedicated defence that struggled on attack. An out of sorts all blacks that had trouble shifting up a gear until the last twenty - remarkably quick hands and great ball retention playing with an injured playmaker that missed 50% of his kicks. A game won by a man with dreadlocks wearing eyeliner and one sock. ...it was an odd evening, that evening....
Stormer
Guest
it will be so much sweeter next year when they do klap the AB's!!!!
dunc
Guest
When Tony Woodcock scores a try, the All Blacks normally win. The South African fans can go on about team selections and their future line-ups, and how they are going to take the ABs down next year, but the truth is.... ...It was a famous All Black victory. Equal to our 19-nil win over the Boks in SA two years ago, in my view.
cm1
Guest
I've been expecting a torrent of Saffer whinges that McCaw was out before he grounded the ball, or at the very least his foot touched the ground simultaneously with the ball (and hence no try). IMHO it was the latter. Either way, while not understating the significance of Woodcock's try, the ABs wouldn't have finally broken SA's resolve if McCaw had been denied. So surely we should expect at some point this week some Saffer (come on down, PDV!!) insinuations that the match officials are "STILL" in cahoots with the ABs to promote the RWC 2011?
MarkR
Guest
OJ - I'd have to agree. Initially I thought the pass to him was forward initially, then checked the replay & Woodcock was a good 2m behind Donnely (I tihnk it was) & there's no way a prop can run fast enough to have put himself offside. I loved that try, the tight 5 out on the wing for a quick outflanking of the Bok back 3, absolutely hilarious ! Interesting point the commenatators made that Woodcock has only scored against the Boks & the Wallas.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
The Boks could've won the game by stopping the All Blacks from scoring their final two tries, but the other way to look at it is that they never really put enough points on the board. The most pivotal moment of the game was probably Woodcock's try just before half-time, reducing the gap to two.
MarkR
Guest
Jeremy, yes Carter did miss a couple, but my point was that the Boks could've won that game in 3s. They had a couple of dodgy kicks that went over the deadball & let the ABs put pressure back on when the Boks could've been looking for more 3 pointers. Their aggresive defence was awesome & their backrow seemed to click for this game, but as you say i nthe last 10 they seemed to be hanging on by their fingernails.
jeremy
Guest
Mark, He missed a couple as it was, and there were a couple of near-tries by the ABs (Carter and Jane twice). Carter's apparently been injured for the last couple of games which is enlightening given it matches his form slump. Bok tackling was back up there at the level I remember at from 09 - but only for 60 min. Not gonna win a world cup that way unfortunately. Wallabies have a real chance to do it but they have to repeat the Christchurch performance in intensity and stone-wall the Boks. I think the Boks are now in disarray and will struggle to have a cohesive performance again this season. If they can't do it in front of 90k with the skipper on his century there's not much left in the mental tank.
MarkR
Guest
DS - I'd disagree, the Boks kept the ABs under pressure through keeping 3 pointers ticking over. Throw in a couple of drop goals & Carter missing a couple & the Abs could've been in a worse position. What I liked about the Bok game was they got their kick chase working the best I've seen it this year & their gang tackling tactic was well executed. Rather than one on one tackles in close & the next supporting player trying to pick up the player who receives the offload they hit the player with 2 or 3 bodies, it meant the tackled player got driven back & were too busy holding onto the ball to be able to offload.
Ben S
Roar Guru
'Should be a cracker of a World Cup semi!' With John Smit, CJ van der Linde, BJ Botha, Jannie du Plessis, Flip van der Merwe, Victor Matfield, Francois Louw, Pierre Spies, Ricky Januarie, Morne Steyn, Wynand Olivier and Zane Kirchner you'll be lucky if it's a cracker of a World Cup Quarter Final.