New Zealand was handled by South Africa in a 26-10 win in the first match of the 2022 Rugby Championship. For the fourth time in punting history, the All Blacks entered the underdog by about 3 points, but until late in the match, it seemed 3 points would be all they’d score.
The Springboks brought a power game and did not miss a beat despite losing starting nine Faf de Klerk in the first minute after he tried to bend Caleb Clark’s colossal knee.
Arguably, Jaden Hendrickse then outplayed the best scrumhalf in the last ten years: Aaron Smith.
Smith was not to blame. The All Blacks lost the scrum battle (4-1 in penalties, as Angus Gardner was not in the mood to forgive slips and lost binds). This kept them trapped in their half in the first half. Frans Malherbe continued his record of winning the tighthead: he is plus-34 in his career in penalties won/lost.
The visitors also lost the breakdown, with 50-cap Malcolm Marx dominant, but supported by Lukhanyo Am, a lively Pieter-Steph du Toit, and massive cleaning by the locks who ruled the pitch: Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager.
The game was almost already lost before deep in the second half, the All Blacks won enough territory to build red zone phases. The Boks played old school rugby in Mbombela, hard and direct and strong.
Lukhanyo Am of South Africa during The Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand. (Photo by Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Handre Pollard and Hendrickse out thought the Kiwi kickers who seemed to find the Bok back three over and over in space, from whence Damian Willemse easily pinned the stifled All Blacks back in their half. Against a frenetic Bok high line, with behind-the-line defenders hunting loose ball and passes, the All Blacks simply could not launch from deep, except for one or two breaks. Shoelace tackles by the Boks or cover scramble saved the day until down one man, Caleb Clarke finally got close and a fresh Shannon Frizzell was rewarded for chasing.
It was a squeeze game. It was a scorpion, dangerous, but put in a bottle, and never let out.
The All Blacks simply needed more Ardie Saveas. Carries seemed to be futile into the green wall.
But the most impressive edge besides the starting Bok front row (4-0 in penalties) was the aerial battle. The All Blacks named Clarke against diminutive Kurt-Lee Arendse, but KLA was on fire, taking clever angles around the All Black shepherds and high ball guards. By last count, the sky went the Boks’ way 8-2.
The first really poor loss led to a brilliant Bok try, with Am clever at finding the scraps and feeding a streaking Arendse who had beaten a shell shocked 6 foot 5 Jordie Barrett in the air.
Exits were poor by the All Blacks, they lost the aerial battle all game, their haka was unconvincing, and Ellis Park is higher and bigger and louder.
The Bok defence is very, very high and makes mad incursions (PDST, Marx, the nines, and Etzebeth all have licence to roam out of the defensive line).
Barrett does not look as comfortable as Mo’unga up against this setup, but to be fair, his midfield was badly outplayed by de Allende and Am, so Barrett was tempted to join Savea in “hero ball.”
The bright spots: Jason Ryan’s maul defence was better, until the second half when the All Blacks seemed to tire more than the Boks, ominous for next week.
The bigger problems are these:
1. How can NZ get over the gain line?
2. Who are their best two props at scrum?
3. How can they hold some good territory if they don’t know the answers to 1 and 2?
4. Why is there so little variation on restarts?
5. Who can bring more speed and power in loose to help Savea?
6. Is Cane playing well enough to justify his spot?
7. Who can bring calm urgency back?
It was fitting and quite lovely to see Willemse, who has now replaced his mentor, and beloved teammate, Willie le Roux, celebrate with sheer joy as ‘Spiders’ pounced on yet another loose All Black pass to score near the posts and be hugged by a nation.
26-10 seems about right, but 19-3 would have been exactly right. It was a suffocation.
From the Irish series, the All Blacks made changes but it made no difference.
Marx loves playing the All Blacks. His 4.5 turnovers, hard carries, big tackles, and pinpoint throwing was massive.
It was a commanding performance by the Boks. Not as pretty or uplifting or Michelin star as the Irish, but a big braai of juicy meat and brandy.
The oddly off-kilter All Blacks continue a bad season (for their standards) and maybe even more so than against the Irish, could just not seem to get into the game.
Nothing seemed to work except line breaks off 50-50 money balls. The Bok tacklers backed NZ up and got in deep — not just getting up and reversing back into line.
After the match, always honest Cane admitted: “We absorbed it in the first half but it took a lot out of us. The kicking game, the contestables, they probably won that too. And the breakdown.”
In a Test against the Boks, that is usually all it takes to lose.
On to Johannesburg.
OracleRugby
Roar Rookie
100% Harry, 19 v 3 would have been a better result, I do suspect though, that this week will be worse for the AB's, I really believe they will battle to get more than 10pts, its not so much about a good bok team, and much more about a really out of sorts AB team, rudderless, hail mary's etc, no idea and that you cannot fix in a week
tuohyred
Roar Rookie
Look at when he did "Michael Jordan" out jump of AB Forward. One fabulous success maybe set him up to be over=ambitious. If not Kolbe, he looks like the "MAN"
tuohyred
Roar Rookie
Bring back Mick the Kick - Look at what he did with Te.Nugi, who fully acknowledges mentorship. Get him back to coach the halves??
Broken Shoulder
Roar Rookie
Great analysis - thanks, mate. Will attempt to drink less beer and stay awake to watch it this time.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
World Rugby would need to agree that a Shakespearean battle cry was of cultural significance to England. Australia tried this with Waltzing Maltilda. World Rugby declined.
Harry Jones
Expert
Yes, nothing illegal about jumping or running PAST the ball and forming a cordon around it to catch all spills or put off the airborne catcher. ABs used to create space for their high ball catchers so well. What happened?
Harry Jones
Expert
Yes, I can see why NZRU had that doctrine. Hansen really did the job. But Foster's results at the Chiefs were a warning sign. I call him Allister Foster now. Same thing. Great guys. Good men. But best as assistants.
Harry Jones
Expert
Yes, a NZ side only defusing 5 of the 15 bombs thrown their way and losing the scrum pings 4-1 and conceding 17 turnovers and losing 10% of their rucks is always going to struggle in Bokland. One of their clean breaks was one inch from being a Bok 50-22. So, there is a menu to fix. I think the ABS will score more than one try at Ellis Park. But the problem is I think it'll just be two. And the Boks will continue to score 25-30. Maybe more if NZ's maul defence isn't perfect.
Ulrich
Roar Rookie
The All Blacks did OK in the scrums, considering. Lineouts were good and the defence was also good. The Boks were ferocious so it will be interesting observing if they have another week of the same in the tank because the All Blacks will be better. If the All Blacks can sort out their aerial game (entirely doable) then it's a different ball game. They will be back, I'm hoping it's not this weekend though.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
It should be a good game, Suzy. The Smith/Farrell axis is a work in progress. It’s not there yet by any means. The Bok pack looked very tasty last Saturday, and I really liked the winger that got sent off. It was interesting that Eddie Jones and Proudfoot were at the Bok-NZ match. I suspect Eddie still has sleepless nights about over-focussing on the ABs for 3 years and missing the renaissance of the Boks under Erasmus. Whatever happens, he’s not going to make that mistake again. England’s fixtures in EOYT are Argentina, Japan, NZ and Boks, in that order. It mirrors a possible RWC sequence. Certainly, England can’t complain about the draw. Pool B looks tough. Even Tonga will inflict some bruises.
CUW
Roar Rookie
just curios - i did not see water breaks during the previos 3 test series. so is it a new thing for 4 nations ???
KiwiHaydn
Roar Rookie
It wasn’t stopped by desperate Bok defence, it was stopped by a sh!t pass from Akira ‘the ball player’ Ioane
Jeff
Roar Rookie
No they did not. Hart continued to coach the ABs until the RWC where they were knocked out in the semis by the French. Hart in his own way was just as dogmatic as Foster and only kept his job because the Auckland mafia on the board backed him.
adam smith
Roar Rookie
"Kiwi's" didn't spit the dummy, the poor excuse of what is supposedly called "media" in Nz, ignorantly, made a mountain out of a molehill. The do not speak for, or on behalf of Nz. No-one with any knowledge of what "haka" is, made any such complaint. It was & is one of the best moments in Union history. Same as when any other team has confronted a "haka" in whatever form the choose. Generalisations make your argument weak & just shows a "chip" on your shoulder.
Rugby Tragic
Roar Rookie
Just as Paul Keating said “this is the recession we had to have“ sone years ago .. so too is the reset of the All Blacks “the period of mediocrity we had to have” ring true. It is however largely a problem of their own making, following what seemed like forever, a policy of continuity. In all honesty, like it or not (for the Kiwis), it is good for the game to not have a single dominant team, the uncertainty of game results bring intrigue and seemingly richer rewards. I have no doubt that after the NZRU resets (yes it starts way up there), the All Blacks will be competitive again, meanwhile, every now and then ‘this correction’ needs to be experienced.
Suzy Poison
Guest
FunBus, as a Bok fan, I expect England to edge the Boks this year. Forwards are even. Where England have a clear advantage is the Marcus Smith, Owen Farrell axis. Pollard and De Allende great on defence, not that flash on attack. England have a great draw in the World Cup too. Pools A and Pools B are a meat grinder.
CHUCKED
Guest
Gardner is now one of the best refs in the world. Like Jacko I also thought the chasing Boks were continually jumping with no chance of getting the ball - it was very obvious. Gardner saw it, Foster is too late after the game to mention it, which is why it was astounding All Blacks didnt do the same thing - harrass in the air. Hardly any was illegal - but it puts the receiver off. Similiar to the Rush (Offside) Defence performed admirably by the Irish - if you cant beat them join them - do the same - yet All Blacks on defence stand so bloody deep. Two tactics that the coach or 'stand in' captain should and can negate easily. Cane is a joke as Captain, he has no Mana, he is worse than Stephen Moore or David Pocock
Dale
Roar Rookie
Long one. Controversial view perhaps, but I think team management needs some degree of responsibility for conduct of their players in a general sense, and to a degree that applies with incidents like this. An experienced player is less likely to do this than a rookie on a mission to impress. I don’t think that means the rookie shouldn’t be selected, but there should be strong incentivisation of coaches to prepare players (especially wings and full backs) for the perils of the aerial game before they send them out there to do battle.
Harry Jones
Expert
Ellis Park will be closer.
Kaptein_Kakhuis
Guest
I think you're right. Without Sexton look at what Leinster did against the Bulls.