The Springboks' brawn was impressive, but the brains were sadly lacking

Now that’s out of their system, you hope the All Blacks and Springboks might play some rugby.

The brave team beat the dumb team at Ellis Park. You have to commend New Zealand for continuing to turn up defensively and celebrate the front row depth that enabled them to beat South Africa 33-16 in Johannesburg.

I knew Asafo Aumua could scrummage, but I feared George Bower lacked the grunt of Ethan de Groot. As it was, de Groot was the prop who had his backside handed to him by the Springboks and Bower who helped shore up a weakness that was going to cost the All Blacks this test.

De Groot, it appears, was battling ill health and a slightly unstable knee, so there may have been mitigating circumstances for the bath New Zealand’s starting front row took.

I thought it was a poor game and that the better team lost. No, that’s not fair. South Africa’s forwards did more than enough to secure victory for their team and then had to watch the backs make a meal of it.

It was shades of last year at Eden Park in many respects.

But that shouldn’t minimise the courage and problem-solving ability of the All Blacks. Many of them looked slight and out of place against their imposing opponents and yet they found a way to win.

Effort should be the first thing any All Black brings to the table, but I’m not sure every one of them has tried that hard in recent years. You couldn’t say that this time.

I’ve mentioned Bower, but Damian McKenzie, Luke Jacobson, Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea would be others I’ve had doubts about in the past.

I’ll start with McKenzie, because I’ve been hard on him over the years. You can’t trust him to play at first five-eight but, gee, he’s a brave and industrious fullback.

I’ve been thoroughly impressed with him so far this Test season and the same for Jordie Barrett.

There’s been times when I felt his status as an All Black owed more to his family name than his actual ability. But, again, his effort and physicality have been so impressive this year and he’s becoming a real Test rugby player in his own right, rather than Beauden Barrett’s little brother.

Jacobson is, I’m sure, a good team man, highly responsible and coachable and a leader on and off the park. But I just thought he had no natural home in the loose trio and was a handy back-up at best.

He’s another who’s proving his worth this season and justifying the faith shown in him by coach Dave Rennie.

As for Tupaea, I suspect he suffered a bit of imposter syndrome early on. But he’s now another player who clearly believes he deserves to be an All Black and the dependability of his play is testament to that.

I hope the Springboks are better from here. I still harbour doubts that some of their players have another Rugby World Cup campaign left in them, but by reputation and past deeds many of them are absolutely elite.

The brawn was impressive at Ellis Park, but the brains were sadly lacking and it was an incredibly untidy performance for a team that was so physically dominant.

There’s no faulting the desperation and accuracy, when required, that the All Blacks demonstrated in this test, but the Springboks beat themselves here. They should be better for the run and present a more thorough test of the All Blacks as their series wears on.

I’ve said from the start that results aren’t necessarily the yardstick for New Zealand. It’s about being punched in the face, as the All Blacks’ scrum was in Johannesburg, and coming up with a plan to stay in the overall contest.

The All Blacks did that magnificently in this match and the success of this series will be measured by their ability to keep competing and keep adapting when things are hard.

Well done to them for passing the first assignment.