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'Beaten in everything': Springboks label loss the worst since 2018

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)

Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber admitted he had no complaints following his team’s latest defeat by the Wallabies, South Africa getting walloped 30-17 in Brisbane just six days after losing 28-26 to a last-gasp Quade Cooper penalty kick on the Gold Coast. The Boks has been left ruing how they were agonisingly denied a round three Rugby Championship win but there were no ifs, buts and maybe in the aftermath of their latest loss.  

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Asked post-game about the areas of the game where the Springboks lost out, Nienaber said: “Everything. We were truly beaten, every department. We got hands down beaten in everything, defence, kicking game, attack, we just made too many errors. That is something we will have to figure out in the next week. We will have to figure it out quickly. 

“It’s definitely not the worst performance of the year – it’s probably the worst performance since 2018 when we lost against Argentina in Mendoza. That is how poor this performance was. Definitely by far (the worst). Not a great performance.

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What Siya Kolisi has to say before the round four meeting between the Springboks and the Wallabies

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What Siya Kolisi has to say before the round four meeting between the Springboks and the Wallabies

“Our defence, the last time we conceded four tries in a game was against New Zealand in 2018 three years ago so it definitely wasn’t up to standard. Even our exit game, that wasn’t up to standard. It was inconsistent. Sometimes we had a good outcome and then other times we had poor outcomes which led to points for them. No, it wasn’t a great performance.”

The Springboks were looking good for a victory when Lukhanyo Am struck for an early second-half try which put them 17-15 ahead, but that was their last score as they had no answer to a power-packed Australian finish featuring a pair of tries from Marika Koroibete. While the Wallabies conceded 17 penalties to South Africa’s ten, too many other statistics counted against them.

For instance, they conceded a dozen turnovers while they also missed 19 tackles, their figures showing just 69 completions out of 88 for a 78 per cent success rate. “We knew it was coming [the pressure the Aussies put on at the breakdown]. We prepped for it the whole week. They just overpowered us in that department. We knew it was coming and we spoke about it and not only that, we worked on it in training and it got quite heated as well. We had good plans in terms of how we thought we would handle it and we didn’t handle it on the day,” shrugged Nienaber, the Springboks head coach whose record in charge now reads five wins and three losses. 

“We made a lot of errors with ball in hand. We made too many errors when the opportunity was on and then from a defence point of view, we just missed too many tackles. I have been involved in this squad since 2018 and this was an unheard-of performance in terms of missed tackles. It just never happens like that. If each player only misses one tackle, it’s 23 missed tackles in a game and that is probably what happened tonight.   

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“A defence system is there to put a defender across an attacker. That happens the majority of the time but then you must make the tackle and no system can make the tackle for you, that is you. It wasn’t difficult tackles where there were massive decisions that had to be made. We probably had a system failure for the last one where they scored, that scrum where they hit up and then came blind on us. 

“When I looked at our reorganisation on the blindside that was an error from us, a system error. We weren’t in the right places. That is something we can fix, a system fix, but one-on-one tackles, we just need to make tackles and that is my job, to make sure they are up for it. Ninety per cent of that has to be in front of my door.”

It didn’t help either that the Springboks suffered two yellow cards. “The first one was Faf (de Klerk) slapping the ball down or playing the guy’s hands. I’m not 100 per cent sure but they felt he was in an offside position which I can’t say now whether he was or wasn’t. Jasper Wiese’s cleanout, we will have to have a look at that. Yeah, I’ll have to have a look at that. Jasper’s thing, I don’t think it was pressure in terms of going in but Faf’s might because it was after a linebreak.”

Having lost twice in succession to the Wallabies, the world champions now face a week of massive pressure ahead of their eagerly-awaited clash with the All Blacks in Townsville next weekend, the first meeting between the sides since a September 2019 World Cup pool win by New Zealand.

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“A big one, it’s going to be a massive challenge, but the nice thing is it’s nice to play our Sanzaar teams,” suggested Nienaber, whose record in charge of the Springboks is sure to come under scrutiny if two more Championship losses materialise in the coming weeks.  “You get tested differently and for us, it is a big eye-opener in terms of that and that is how big the challenge will be against New Zealand. It’s going to be a massive challenge.”

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Jon 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

28 Go to comments
A
Adrian 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

28 Go to comments
T
Trevor 11 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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