Stephen Donald outlines how ambitious All Blacks attack had Springboks 'in disarray'
The All Blacks‘ kicking game put South Africa under all sorts of pressure in their round two Rugby Championship win in Auckland.
Whether it was Aaron Smith, Richie Mo’unga, Beauden Barrett or Jordie Barrett, each and every time boot was put to ball, the All Blacks profited.
That’s a stark turnaround from previous encounters between the two when South Africa’s kicking game pressured the All Blacks into mistakes and territorial submission.
The statistics show that not only did the All Blacks make double the amount of kicks that the Springboks did, their retention rate was an other-worldly 55%, helping the team initiate scoring opportunities and claim 56% possession for the game.
The Springboks were also their own worst enemy, dropping two kicks in the opening 26 minutes and struggling to retain the ball when the high kicks were contested. The duo of Will Jordan and Mark Telea on the other hand each found success under the high ball.
“The Springboks’ backfield was in disarray as far as taking anything,” Former All Black Stephen Donald said on SENZ The Run Home. “Obviously, Kolbe’s a small man so it’s always going to be a 50/50 crack there if the kicks are good.
“They also isolated Willemse, who was back there a lot, who was the Springbok 10. Well he couldn’t catch a cold and every time they went up on him, Telea wasn’t always catching it but what stood out about Telea was every time Telea chased there was a contest, there was usually scraps and invariably we got the scraps.”
Donald went on to explain the effect of the kicks on the ensuing plays, how they disrupted the Springboks’ defensive structures and contributed to the rapid pace that the All Blacks managed to play with.
“From there, we were just able to keep changing the point of attack. We were able to keep the ball moving and sometimes it looked like touch footy, boys would get to the edge and go ‘I don’t like this, we’ll just go back infield a bit.’
“But it never allowed the Springboks to set, it never allowed them to get that physical dominance which you might have actually seen a bit in the second half where the Springboks were able to set their line and able to fight rucks which brought them back into the game.”
Despite the All Blacks’ high number of kicks compared to the Springboks, they were in no hurry to exit when under pressure in their 22, instead trusting their execution and chancing their arm at attacking opportunities.
The All Blacks were happy to set 12 rucks in their own 22 and varied their exit strategy between touch-finders, cross-field kicks and contestables. The Springboks on the other hand offered a more traditional exit strategy with clearance kicks looking to find touch each time, making for just two rucks in their own 22.
The different philosophies are also evident in the 22-50 metre zones, where the All Blacks played their way through 26 breakdowns compared to South Africa’s seven.
Comments on RugbyPass
End to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
7 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
3 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
3 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
3 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to comments