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All Blacks need to knock the front door down first
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If that’s the standard, the All Blacks aren’t far off it.
I’m not remotely discouraged by New Zealand’s 33-26 loss to South Africa in Cape Town.
Yes, the lineout is under pressure and, of course, you’d like the All Blacks to be better at catching high balls. But I feared the Springboks could dish out a hiding in this match and they didn’t.
As I’ve indicated many times, this is a development tour for the All Blacks. It’s about exposing players such as Ruben Love and seeing how they cope.
This is a team that’s rebuilding. The past standards of excellence don’t apply here, because of how far the All Blacks have fallen in recent times.
They have to try and ascend to South Africa’s level and, two Tests in, they’re showing that they might be able to do that.
If there’s an area of concern for me, it’s in the All Blacks’ desperation to go around the Springboks. To shovel the ball across, no matter what pressure that puts on a teammate.
I’d much prefer the team to be more direct and I think they’ve got the cattle to do so.
Peter Lakai would start at openside flanker, for me. Probably Asafo Aumua at hooker too and Patrick Tuipulotu at lock.
No disrespect to the guys who occupied those positions at Cape Town, but they’re just not physically robust enough to give the All Blacks the impetus to then throw the ball wide.
You have to earn the right and the team seems unprepared or incapable of doing that right now.
This is South Africa in South Africa and I don’t think that’s a setting for the soft option.
I’ll go back to the idea that, similar to Wellington last year, the Springboks appeared primed to inflict a heavy defeat upon the All Blacks.
South Africa were poor in Johannesburg, just as they were at Eden Park last year. The All Blacks, fortuitously or otherwise, humbled them.
I expected all sorts of fire and brimstone this week and perhaps a scoreline not dissimilar to 43-10. It is to the All Blacks’ immense credit that, despite going behind early and forever having to play catch up, that they only finished a converted try short.
Did people honestly think the All Blacks were going to win in Cape Town? Do they seriously believe things went wrong and that soul-searching is required? Can they not recognise that the team is a long way from being the finished article and that they’ll only grow from these experiences?
Coaches don’t have magic wands. You don’t wander into the dressing room and transfer caterpillars to butterflies. This team is a work in progress, with the emphasis on the progress.
The All Blacks are better than they were under Ian Foster. They’re better than they were under Scott Robertson.
Far from gradually getting worse, as they did under their previous coaches, this All Black team is actually getting better.
It’s not perfect. Things could improve. But that’s why this tour is so valuable.
The original point stands: if South Africa is the benchmark, the All Blacks are getting close to it.
I wouldn’t have said that previously. I would’ve said they were papering over cracks, rising to small occasions and being exposed for the ordinary team they were any time that the result really mattered.
But you can’t finesse your way to success against the Springboks at home. You have cop some bumps and bruises and that’s what I want to see from the All Blacks this weekend.
I get that Will Jordan and Leroy Carter are able to do good things when given space, but I think it looks a bit weak to not try and bang the front door down first.
Let Rassie Erasmus fuss and fume. Let the great and the good of South African rugby pat themselves on the back because the series now stands at 1-1.
Then be brave, be physical. Stand up to the bully boys of world rugby and see where that gets you.
The All Blacks aren’t far off.
