How the Springboks blew a 17-point lead
This one will be painful for the Springboks to watch back.
The All Blacks had no right to win the match based on the first sixty minutes, but did, while the Springboks will have to learn the cruelest of lessons after a poor showing in the last quarter, effectively gifting the visitors the match with a terrible bench performance.
The Springboks had strangled the All Blacks into a six-all stalemate at halftime, using clinical territorial kicking and defensive pressure to keep them deep in their own half. In a staggering reversal of the Wellington test, the Boks had over 70 percent possession and territory.
In the second half, they gained ascendancy by breaking the All Blacks early through Jesse Kriel. When his centre partner Damian de Allende scored another under the posts in the 51st minute it looked like the Boks would make a statement, having the All Blacks totally outmatched at 23-6.
The first blip occurred directly after the restart, when Codie Taylor exposed some feeble ruck defence during transition after a Faf de Klerk box kick, scampering away to put Aaron Smith over.
The Springboks responded very quickly with a return try to Cheslin Kolbe alleviating concerns, restoring the 17-point lead at 30-13 with a quarter to go.
This is where South African stomachs will churn.
Eben Etzebeth and Francois Louw collided with each other, spilling the kickoff and immediately returning the ball to the All Blacks. From the ensuing scrum, they get penalised, handing away more metres. From the five-metre lineout maul, the All Blacks spread wide and Rieko Ioane scores in the corner to give them a sniff at 30-18.
Unfortunately for the Springboks, fullback Willie Le Roux left the field for an HIA in the 65th minute and never returned, leaving them without the experience required in the dying stages.
Pushing for a game-clinching try only 2-metres from the tryline in the 66th minute, Francois Louw was turned over by Ardie Savea after replacements RG Snyman and Vincent Koch failed to effectively clean out.
Still holding a 30-18 lead, Faf de Klerk was substituted with eight minutes left, taking South Africa’s two key experienced players off the field.
Immediately after, Pieter-Steph du Toit and replacement hooker Mbongeni Mbonami were penalised for a lifting tackle, giving the All Blacks another lineout maul from the five. They went 13 phases of one-out running before Scott Barrett crashed over with five minutes remaining, putting them within striking distance at 30-25.
The All Blacks had to exit from the kickoff, giving the Springboks back the ball on their own 40 with three and half minutes remaining. It was now down to a one-possession game, where one mistake could decide the outcome.
On the very first phase, RG Snyman threw a speculative offload to no one that Handre Pollard had to clean up and take into contact. On the next phase replacement halfback Embrose Papier tried to run from the base by himself.
The lack of composure was alarming, with helter-skelter play putting the Springboks out of control.
The kicking from the first half that pinned the All Blacks into the corners and soaked clock by playing for set-piece was apparently not in the thought process.
The next phase three Springbok forwards – Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi and RG Snyman – failed to protect the ball-carrier Vincent Koch, leaving him exposed to Ardie Savea who came up with another big-time penalty. Richie Mo’unga nailed a 60-metre touchfinder down to the five-metre line, giving the All Blacks the ultimate chance to snatch the victory.
Ardie Savea scored from a pick-and-go with sixty seconds left and Richie Mo’unga kicked the winning conversion as time expires.
This would be a Houdini-act if not for the fact that the Springboks not only handed the keys to the handcuffs around the All Blacks’ wrists, they unlocked the cuffs for them.
To give the All Blacks three possessions from the five-metre line, which ended with 19-points, is a capitulation of the highest order.
The Springboks bench completely failed the side, with nearly all reserves coming up with inexcusable errors. With le Roux not recovering from an HIA assessment, taking off Faf de Klerk ended up being a disastarous decision, leaving the side short of composure and decision-making.
Just when Springbok rugby looked so good, it turned so bad.
The pain of this gut-wrenching loss could possibly outweigh the euphoria of the win in Wellington. The All Blacks ‘could’ve’ won at the Cake tin, but they should never have been able to win in Pretoria.
Comments on RugbyPass
To me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
30 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
30 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
30 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
30 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
30 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
30 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
30 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
17 Go to comments