In what has been recognised as one of the most brutal and punishing Test matches of recent times, the All Blacks once again showed why they are the rugby kings of the world.
Their sensational 29-15 bonus point victory over the Springboks was not necessarily a true reflection of the class between these powerful nations.
But it’s All Blacks first, daylight second.
They even fluffed a few tries, yet were still dominant in many aspects.
Kieran Read will rue the moment he missed an opportunity to score a hat-trick, a rarity to achieve such a feat in the most gruelling of matches.
Amazing scenes followed the very first scrum, when the mammoth South African pack won the early stoush in putting the All Blacks under immense pressure.
It immediately led to some ridiculous over-the-top pat on the backs as if it was game over, not to mention Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira attempting to create his own version of a one-man haka.
Strangely, there was not much high-fiving and excessive jubilation as the match wore on.
This is the prime example of why the All Blacks are so good.
Veteran loosehead Tony Woodcock and his partner in crime at the tight, Owen Franks, responded as only they can.
It was reminiscent of cricket’s Sir Richard Hadlee at the peak of his powers, when the poors sods who would whack the legendary bowler for a boundary or over the fence, Hadlee would come back and completely rattle their stumps the very next ball.
The All Blacks’ engine room similarly that it was merely a wake-up call in turning around a minor glitch and taking complete control of proceedings from the very next scrum.
Suddenly the Springboks pack were found back-pedaling and conceding more penalties than the New Zealand Warriors winning games.
Apart from their trademark maul resulting in an excellent try, South Africa had no answer to the All Blacks’ supreme fitness.
Despite the huge loss of captain Richie McCaw, and subsequently the unfortunate injury suffered by Dan Carter in the early stages – who was dealt with a legitimate hit from Springbok strongman, hooker Bismark de Plessis – the men in black were all over their nemeses.
It was testament to how they readied themselves for the onslaught, after a week of eager anticipation in witnessing two giants colliding in the cauldron.
The All Blacks continue the legacy with their advanced skills and innovation.
The lineout that led to Read’s first try is a classic example where if they needed to evolve and transform certain things around, they will execute it with confidence and accuracy.
The Springboks had absolutely no idea what had hit them, despite the wall of desperate defence.
Read has the knack of demanding the ball near the opposition try line, and who could argue when he is more than often unstoppable.
He possesses the typical fundamentals of a forward surging from that close – sturdy low body height, persuasive ball control, powerful leg drive and irrefutable determination.
There were massive accolades for several individuals, particularly the influence of long-term-goal skipper Read.
Others to shine were Brodie Retallick, Aaron Smith, Sam Cane, Ben Smith and the brilliant impact off the bench from Beauden Barrett and Charles Piutau.
Unfortunately for Ma’a Nonu, he displayed exactly why the local Super franchises do not want to go near him.
He is undoubtedly a brilliant player at his best, but to continue his poor discipline resulting to yet another spell in the sin bin, perhaps he seriously need a to seek help because not much has changed regarding his attitude over the years.
His interview – albeit humorous – in sending his best wishes to the America’s Cup Team New Zealand was nothing short of immature and childish.
Let’s face it, we all used to behave like that, for sure, but way back in high school.
Sonny Bill Williams will only need to walk to his letter box to collect the coveted number 12 jersey. He has come a long way from being the most hated and despised sportsman, to the most admired and respected human being.
No guessing as to how much he has completely embarrassed the NRL, he is that good.
Unless Nonu can address his fast-falling reputation and whether he cares or not, he will continue to be ostracised, scorned and disliked.
Besides his usual brain-snaps, Nonu had a mixed-game, although he played more as self-centred than an inside centre.
Nevertheless, it was a marvellous team performance, with Conrad Smith, Sam Whitelock and Liam Messam aptly behaving as elder statesmen.
But the over-riding fact is a lot of people tend to overlook the reason why the All Blacks are still the best team in the world.
Coach Steve Hansen thoroughly deserves his share of the limelight and credit where it’s due.
He has prepared a fantastic era right from the word go, in developing up-and-coming youngsters like Julian Savea, Cane, Barrett, Piutau, Dane Coles, Steven Luatua, Francis Saili and TJ Perenara.
Even an unheard-of tutoring of hookers galore coming into the squad on separate occasions to ply their trade and familiarise with the systems while the elders the calibre of Keven Mealamu and Andrew Hore are still around.
We should be grateful the All Blacks are ahead of schedule, knowing there should hardly be any concerns when even the greatest and finest players in McCaw and Carter are not, or will not, be available anymore.
There’s a reason why rugby league legend Laurie Daley, coach of NSW’s State of Origin team, flew over to observe and absorb the training methods and the environment requiring out-and-out strict disciplinary culture and absolute professionalism.
Hansen should be commended for his impressive record, thus far.
Long may it continue.
buy generic prilosec
Guest
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
StrYdeRZA
Guest
Brilliant Rassie... if that's anything like the "War Dance" that was being mooted then it's better left in the change room. Maybe the answer to why other countries don't do a haka is because they can't :-)
petersa
Guest
Rob, I was merely highlighting the hypocrisy of Jokerman's claim that Kiwi's don't 'bitch', when you do, just like us.
David
Guest
Couldn't agree more. I must admit when Bismarck went off the thought of losing by 50+points crossed my mind. To lose by 14 is still disappointing but the Boks went 100% the whole game. Ad good for them there.
daz
Guest
It's an observation not a generalisation.
Rob
Guest
Guys!! Look at that world cup and tell me the best team won?? I'm only commenting on what i viewed and reasons for the loss followed. You can read all types of information on the subject(some good/some not)but one thing will never be in doubt - All Blacks were going greatguns, then what? Why is it so hard to accept the ABs getting felled by ill means, to bring them back to the pack is sourgrapes or beyond the realms??
David
Guest
Actually most of the SA supporters on this blog and others were very, very cautious about our chances Let's no take the words of a few fools to tar us all
David
Guest
The Boks love the haka. Silly debate
David
Guest
Rob, what was Suzie's surname? What evidence has anyone produced that anythng deliberate happened? not the speculation of the security consultant. I do t doubt that Wilson and some others were sick btw Some info gleaned with my own eyes and ears then some that I have read - about 2 weeks before the final I was in Johannesburg and I shared beers with some of the ABs (friend of a friend). I saw many of the ABs eating at every take away in the area (KFC, burgers, pizzas etc) - they were joking about hiding this from Laurie - takeaways were being taken up to their rooms in large quantities Now what got written by the hotel manager (I concede his bias) - he warned management about the takeaways - he suggested that the team eat the same food as the residents - after the abs got sick he asked that samples get sent for analysis - it never happened - after the abs checked out they found spiced sauce bottles (not in fridges) in the rooms. He sent them for analysis and they came back positive with forms of bacteria - since there were no samples to compare one cannot conclude that it caused the sickness I don't know what happened but the conclusion that it was deliberate is silly.
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Rob: France beat the the All Blacks in 1995 and twice the year before in 1994. Australia beat the All Blacks in 1994 too, they did not play each other in ’95. Boks beat BOTH Australia and France in 1995, then the All Blacks in the final. That same year Boks beat Wales 40-11, (29 point margin, All Blacks won 34-9, 25 point margin). They beat Scotland 34-10 (24 point margin), All Black won by an 18 point margin 48-30 They beat England by 10 points, All Blacks did better and won by 16 points. This same French team who’d beaten the All Blacks twice in 94 and again later in 95 and were extremely strong….. Boks beat them. They beat every top nation, New Zealand, Australia, France, England, Wales, Scotland. Plus a few extra’s such as Argentina, Italy and Samoa. The only team they did not play in that year was Ireland. They did not lose a game that year. Coach Kitch Christie has 100% winning record ,14 games won 0 lost. They won 15 games in a row and were undefeated in 16 games in a row starting when they drew 18-18 to NZ in 94 at Eden Park. NZ only won 2 games in 94, lost 3 and drew 1. NZ lost 2 games in 1995. Boks did not lose a game. So now based on these results and stats and pure objectivity, which perhaps you haven't taken note of before and may rattle your preconceived ideas, you have to ask yourself the question again: "Which team really was the best heading into the WC final in 1995?"
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Coconut.... go and read the thread again and count how many Kiwi's there were spitting vitriol compared South Africans..... and don't count the "neutral" Aussies. It may surprise you.....
Charging Rhino
Guest
Seems like you're the only one coconut...... Go and count the number of comments with vitriol on them from gloating Kiwi's from the SA & NZ game, then weigh them up against foolish Saffa comments who were being distasteful and proclaiming that they definitely would've won if it wasn't for the ref. And don't confuse Saffa's with the Aussies who were simply calling it the way was as "neutrals". You'll be surprised. And regardless of the team you support, only a fool would ignore that the ref had a big influence on the game. As your ex All Black and coach John Mitchell said, "it was a disgrace". Or maybe I sold stop bothering with you because you've proved your ignorance over and over again on other articles..... And then make out as though others are hypocrites!? .... The irony....
StrYdeRZA
Guest
Just be careful not to make your own generalisations. There are a fair few South Africans who've stepped in and called for reason, even on SA sites, but it might take a while for the message to sink in. Maybe all those Saffa's still harping on about this should go back and read Heyneke's and Jean's responses again, ultimately our captain and coach have put this behind them, the supporters should too. It might be difficult from a foreign perspective to understand the backlash this has caused in Bok circles and I'm not going condone or make excuses just ask you to bear in mind, that this last reffing "issue" is only the latest in what has become an all too frequent occurrence, we could debate the reasons until the cows come home, but really it's up to SARU to address this issue with SANZAR and the IRB; the rest of us should be looking forward to the next game or if you really can't let it lie then take it up with SARU.
daz
Guest
This is just a small morsel of the absolute chidish crap appearing on SA rugby sights. Conspiracy theories aplenty, but the vilification and nasty generalisations of the entire population of a country due to the result of a game of rugby shocked me.
michael
Guest
Don't, worry pal, they'll be up for it, not sure about books.
michael
Guest
There's actually no space between 'joker' and 'man', its jokerman.
Fox08
Guest
Kevin , c'mon my china. Match fixing? Now that just paranoia. I'm a Saffer and to suggest that is madness. The ref was just useless, with a typical chip on his Frog shoulders
daz
Guest
ABs had nothing to prove, did they?
Fox08
Guest
The Boks didn't give up mate. Its just bloody difficult when your loosiesin effect are completely neutralized, scrum is on the backfoot and all the other build up of pressure as a result of having one man down. I can assure you some sides would have dropped 30 extra points in this situation and I include that shameful Bok side of 2000/2004 Our boys stood up when it was tough. There has been no crying from the coach or players so I think it's time that people get off the box mouthing off how the Boks gave up or didn't show any guts. Go ask the ABs if they thought the Boks were soft and just gave up as has been suggested.
Fox08
Guest
And then pulled a soccer style Oscar.