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Opinion
In the words of General Melchett’s school song in Blackadder, the Springboks handed out a full on ‘belts off, trousers down’ hiding at Twickenham. The All Blacks head to France with a whole bunch of questions to answer that France, Ireland and South Africa are going to ask again and again come the big show.
Right from the off the Boks played with a directness, a physicality and a ruthlessness in the attacking zone which not only has been missing for while but one which ultimately made such a huge difference on the scoreboard.
The match stats would not lead you to the final outcome, but South Africa had 13 entries to the 22 to 11 from the All Blacks with the major difference being their final phases execution.
Well led by Manie Libbok, South Africa took every advantage afforded them by a long numerical advantage, an advantage well-earned it should be noted, and they supported their pack’s performance with a wonderful mix of running and kicking decision making that the All Blacks never really adjusted to.
Worth noting here is the difference in line kicking from Libbok and Jordie Barrett, Libbok driving his team to maul territory from halfway or further back, while New Zealand could not bring the same pressure.
That tactic, which hasn’t worked for the All Blacks all year now, needs to be shelved. Listening to a few interviews over recent weeks it appears that is a player-led decision. It’s time to make the tough call.
This variation in game play has been dripped into this South African side over the last couple of seasons, and fair to say, its not one that has been working on a regular basis: but at Twickenham their decision making was spot on and the execution of same, excellent.
Repeatedly they went back to their strengths, won penalties, kicked for the line magnificently and racked up the points off the back of that continued pressure.
The opening ten minutes was a superb vignette in its own right, pounding pressure from the South African pack and a set of defensive phases from the All Blacks, which the defence coach would have been more than happy with. But that critical factor of remaining calm under consistent pressure saw a whole bunch of individual decision failures, no more so than the two offences from Scott Barrett, both needless. Playing against this South African pack down in numbers is always going to end badly.
The All Blacks would be foolish to fall back on the numerical difference as the reasons for the loss. It certainly contributed to the final size of the defeat, but the core reasons make it difficult to believe playing with a full complement for the 80 minutes would have made any difference to the final outcome.
The absence of Shannon Frizell not only contributed to a weaker maul defence and ball carrying effort out of their own end, but also holed the All Blacks lineout below the waterline before they even started.
With only two genuine lineout options, the Springboks not only read the All Blacks’ throws with consummate ease but were confident enough to consistently throw up jumpers on their own defensive lineouts cutting off much of the All Black attacking threat at source.
Refer back to the entries into the 22 and the massive difference in points per visit outcomes. A final count of 5-6 lineouts lost is just unacceptable at this level.
Ethan de Groot of New Zealand looks dejected following the team’s defeat in the the Summer International match between New Zealand All Blacks v South Africa . (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
But where the All Blacks will have the greatest concern was how easily they fell out of/ were knocked out of the patterns that have served them so well post the coaching team change over.
The patience they had developed with the ball was gone, the ability and willingness to grind their way into a game disappeared in favour of the trying to score with every touch, and the ball handling skills, which have been so good of late, were gone in a haze of poor offloads and defensive pressure as well as a series of poor individual decisions that conceded penalties. It was a throwback to the very worst days of 2020-2021.
The big difference in this All Black side over the past 12 months has come from control – sticking to a mix of kick and run options that push back the opposition and allow them to strike from the right areas of the field.
Time and again their handling and lineout released any pressure they were able to build onto the Boks, and South Africa missed 40 tackles today so a more patient accurate approach would likely have delivered better New Zealand outcomes.
Beauden Barrett reacts during the heavy defeat. (Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
This was a statement performance from South Africa, high energy, building on rock solid foundations and execution in the attacking third that now pushed them firmly to the top of the World Cup favouritism along with France.
For the All Blacks, perhaps the best outcome is having a loss of this magnitude before it really counts, the confirmation of Cam Roigard as the bench halfback and the surprising ability to keep the match stats balanced while playing for so long under manned.
The mix of squad loose forwards selected always looked light and that was confirmed. The new combo midfield was seriously exposed both sides of the ball. Most importantly, the top two inches had a throw-back wobble, and anything like a repeat under pressure against the top sides in the RWC will likely yield the same results.
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.