The Springboks' win is what rugby is all about
When the All Blacks broke into the Springboks 22 with time up on the clock, every rugby enthusiast tuned into Saturday’s match was holding their breath. The Springboks had thrown everything at the All Blacks throughout the game, scoring three tries in 13 minutes and at one point holding a 14-point lead, but the All Blacks had somehow, inexplicably, managed to claw back the score.
New Zealand supporters knew that even when their team had been behind on the scoreboard in recent years, they would inevitably fight back. At no point during the match would any New Zealanders have accepted that a loss was on the cards, even when behind by two tries.
South African fans, and most neutrals, could taste blood – but they could also taste the almost certain heartbreak that so many of the All Blacks’ opposition had felt in the past.
From the get-go, it looked like the All Blacks could be on track to rack up another record scoreline. Up by 12 points with less than a quarter gone in the match, Springbok supporters were flashing back to last year’s try-fest at North Harbour Stadium, where the All Blacks were a little slow off the mark but still ended up winning 57-0.
Somehow, the Springboks fought back. It has become increasingly obvious that to beat this current All Blacks team you simply can’t rely on kicking penalties. The All Blacks will score tries – there’s no way around it – increments of three are never going to be enough to trump the team that can score from anywhere on the park.
Whether it was the plan of attack right from the start, or whether the game just unfolded that way, the Springboks launched an assault on the All Blacks, the likes of which we haven’t seen for a long time. Even after having scored five tries, it was impossible to call the game’s victor until the final match whistle was blown – reinforcing just how potent Steve Hansen’s current team is.
The All Blacks are currently on track to smash the world record for number of tries scored against Tier 1 teams in a calendar year, currently sitting on an absolutely incredible 43 for 2018 – netting no fewer than four tries in any match to date.
In contrast, the South Africans were sitting on a 50% win record for the year before this weekend’s match and most punters were weighing up how many points the Springboks were going to lose by – not even considering that a win might be on the cards. Steve Hansen may have talked up the Springboks as favourites, but every man and his dog was picking another victory for the All Blacks – and a comfortable one at that.
Barring the odd hiccup in the last couple of years, the All Blacks have been an unstoppable force. It’s fantastic for the game to see one of their oldest foes, who are currently going through a bit of a rough patch, come out victorious in a match in New Zealand – and what a match we were all treated to.
It’s not a given that a high scoring, closely contested match is going to be good to watch – the Chiefs’ 72-65 win over the Lions a number of years ago is a testament to that. Too often we will see the scoreline tick over due to porous defences – an assertion often made regarding some of the better tries you’ll see in the lower levels of competition, but this was simply not the case on Saturday.
There were a few sticky moments, that’s not in question – Jordie Barrett’s horror quick throw-in probably the worst of the lot, but the majority of the tries on display were simply due to relentless attack and individual brilliance.
The first try of the match was the product of the All Blacks’ well-practised offloading and quick passing skills. The second try was in part due to the All Blacks exploiting the front rowers that South Africa had camped out on the wing – but let’s not forget that it was hooker Codie Taylor that had the audacity to throw a no-look pass into space in the lead up to the score.
The Springboks, too, showed a glimpse of the teams of yesteryear with their outside backs in scorching form and dotting down for all but one of their five tries (naturally, man-mountain Malcolm Marx scored the other).
When the powers-that-be are scouring matches come the end of the season to find the best tries of the year, you can bet that they’ll spend a fair amount of time trying to decide which of the weekend’s tries belongs near the top of the list.
Of course, the beauty of rugby is that it’s a game for all shapes and sizes – which is why it was a pleasure to see some well-set mauls resulting in tries for both teams. Whether you’re a fan of the razzle-dazzle or more of a purist, the match had something for everyone. When the whistle blew at halftime, not one fan at Westpac Stadium (nor sitting at home in the comfort of their living room) would have felt they hadn’t received their money’s worth.
Saturday’s result in no way indicates that the All Blacks are not comfortably the best team in the world – nor does it hide the fact that the Springboks have a number of issues that need fixing before the Rugby World Cup next year. It does, however, remind the world that the All Blacks are not unbeatable and that there is life in international rugby yet. This is what rugby is all about.
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Comments on RugbyPass
The best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
2 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
3 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
114 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
2 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
3 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
3 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
114 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
3 Go to commentsGood player but far from being best in the world. That's an exaggeration. Perhaps Best in world by Northern Hemisphere standards and biasis but certainly not Southern Hemi standards
4 Go to comments