Kwagga Smith of South Africa celebrates with his teammates after scoring the team's fifth try at Twickenham. Photo / Getty Images
Kwagga Smith of South Africa celebrates with his teammates after scoring the team's fifth try at Twickenham. Photo / Getty Images
By Liam Napier at Twickenham
South Africa 35 - All Blacks 7
Injuries, cards and a deflating defeat equates to carnage at a heaving Twickenham for the All Blacks.
The All Blacks wanted a full-blown test in their final outing before the World Cup. They got that and much, muchmore.
Two weeks out from the global showpiece the All Blacks suffered a humbling loss to the world champion Springboks. While the result carries minimal World Cup implications, it is another healthy dose of force-fed adversity for Ian Foster’s men.
With the feel-good factor surrounding the All Blacks sucked into the London air, how they bottle this experience and respond will be telling.
For a team that compiled compelling confidence and momentum through their first three commanding victories of the year, the one-sided nature of this loss will ensure the All Blacks are firmly grounded when they arrive in France.
A five-tries-to-one defeat that snaps the All Blacks’ 11-test unbeaten run dating back to last September allows absolutely no room for any heads in the clouds.
The wider spinoffs of a typically combative, physical Springboks test that included four yellow cards leave the All Blacks with a series of headaches.
Scott Barrett’s two yellow cards that resulted in him being sent from the field in the 38th minute will have the All Blacks sweating on his availability.
Barrett’s second yellow for a clumsy cleanout on Boks hooker Malcolm Marx could force a nervy date with the judiciary. And with the All Blacks already without fellow injured lock Brodie Retallick for their World Cup opener against France in Paris, losing Barrett is the last scenario they need at this pivotal juncture.
Starting tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax could be another major causality, too. Lomax’s pained expression painted a grim picture after suffering a deep, nasty, bloody gash to his thigh in an attempted tackle that left him needing assistance to leave the field in the 14th minute.
Cam Roigard's try was the only point at which All Blacks fans had any reason to celebrate. Photo / Getty Images
Barrett’s cards left the All Blacks attempting to compete for 42 minutes with 14 men - a major factor in their struggles. A third yellow for captain Sam Cane reduced the All Blacks to scrambling with two players short for eight minutes in the first half.
In four previous tests this season the All Blacks were yet to concede a card. With the Boks piling on the pressure from the outset, though, discipline issues rapidly reared their head as English referee Matthew Carley pinged the All Blacks off the park in the opening stages. Eight straight penalties – three of those at the maul – had the All Blacks constantly defending their line.
The Boks didn’t escape the cards, either, with Pieter-Steph du Toit fortunate to receive a second-half yellow for a swinging arm that copped a dipping Cane flush in the head.
Prior to this test, many of the All Blacks starters last played a month ago. Those rusty combinations were widely evident in a ragged and rattled display.
While the All Blacks’ defence scrambled to hold the Boks up over the line on two occasions, many other parts of their game struggled to gel. Without their desired front-foot platform, their attacking weapons were completely nullified.
The All Blacks’ set piece faltered, with three lost lineouts and two scrum penalties. They threw wayward passes – Jordie Barrett gifting Boks win Kurt-Lee Arendse his try – missed tackles and frequently spilled the ball.
The clarity and accuracy the All Blacks delivered to lock away the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup earlier this year largely deserted them.
The Boks took full advantage of their one-man advantage to swarm the breakdown and rumble their maul at every opportunity.
The 80,000 pro-South African crowd chanted “Boka Boka” to savour every moment of their side’s utter dominance. From 14-0 at halftime to 35-0, the Springboks were in full flight to register a record win over the All Blacks and suggest they are timing their run to perfection. Inspirational captain Siya Kolisi, in his second test back from a knee injury, received a rousing ovation in his post-match speech.
Replacement halfback Cam Roigard scored a brilliant solo try with a 50-metre breakout that included beating two defenders to state his case for Aaron Smith’s deputy role.
Otherwise, though, the All Blacks barely fired a shot.
With two weeks to assess the damage and regroup, the All Blacks’ credentials hang in the balance.
All Blacks 7 (Cameron Roigard try; Richie Mo’unga con)
South Africa 35 (Siya Kolisi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Malcolm Marx, Mbongeni Mbonambi, Kwagga Smith tries; Manie Libbok 5 cons.)
