'Not good enough': Rennie highlights key area of frustration after Boks defeat

When All Blacks assistant coach Neil Barnes told Sport Nation’s Mark Stafford ahead of the fourth Test match that they can’t afford to give away DAPS (dumb ass penalties) against South Africa, the messaging was loud and clear.

“We challenge ourselves by not giving away DAPS – dumb-ass penalties,” Barnes told Sport Nation Afternoons.

“Not bloody well getting into positions where we’re allowing them to have access into our area where they can get that.”

Unfortunately for head coach Dave Rennie and Barnes, the All Blacks were guilty of just that, handing back possession to the Springboks in threatening positions in Baltimore.

All Blacks No.6 Tupou Vaa’i was the culprit against the Springboks in the fourth Test, pinged by English referee Karl Dickson for holding onto Cameron Hanekom’s leg past the breakdown.

Speaking to reporters in Baltimore, Rennie was honest when asked about his side’s inaccuracies at the breakdown.

“Yeah, it’s not good enough. Yeah, it just does not affect the game either. But it’s dumb,” Rennie said post-match after their 43-28 defeat.

“So yeah, we’ve got to get this sort of stuff out of our game.”

The 62-year-old head-honcho explained that, despite the set-piece being much improved, there were multiple other problem areas.

“I mean, high ball put us under a little bit more heat again tonight; we couldn’t grab a lot of those.

“I thought set-piece was excellent. You know, scrum and lineout, so I thought that was a real positive, and you know we showed again when we can get our continuity going, we’re going to score tries.

“I think our line breaks were even tonight. I thought South Africa are very good, electric and really clinical when they got their opportunities. That was probably a key point tonight.”

All Blacks tour captain and skipper on the night, Codie Taylor, joked that he would have liked more Kiwi supporters to be in the crowd, but said he was overall satisfied with the Baltimore experience.

“It’s been amazing to come over here and just soak up what America has to offer. They obviously love their sports, and they got right behind rugby.

“I would have liked to see a few more black jerseys, but obviously there’s a lot of South Africans over here, which I wasn’t aware of until I see them in the elevator every time you go up and down at our hotel.

“So that’s been awesome. Loved coming here. It’s been a nice way to sort of wrap up the tour, and yeah, looking forward to getting home now and back to families and connecting back with them before we get into the Aussies.”