Wallace Sititi could be called upon by the All Blacks to provide firepower from the bench. Photo / Photosport
Wallace Sititi could be called upon by the All Blacks to provide firepower from the bench. Photo / Photosport
Sweeping changes are unlikely as the All Blacks attempt to right their wrongs in the rematch with the Springboks.
After their second defeat in their last three tests under Scott Robertson, the All Blacks enter familiar backs-to-the-wall territory as their quest to topple the Springboks shifts from Johannesburg to Cape Town, a venue where they draw historical support, for the first time in seven years.
Just as they did following defeat to the Pumas in Wellington to their response at Eden Park, the All Blacks are expected to largely favour continuity, other than reshuffling their bench, for their second crack at the World Cup champions.
Rather than panic in the face of defeat and mounting pressure, New Zealand will again attempt to lose and learn.
“When you’re playing a team twice, it’s about the ability to adjust. We’ve faced them, we understand them now. They’ll see opportunities and so do we,” All Blacks assistant coach Scott Hansen said following the 31-27 loss at Ellis Park. “We know their DNA. They’re very good at squeezing teams. We need to be better about how we adapt but also keeping our game around our ability to attack and find space.”
Hansen suggested their squad had rebounded in a healthy state – and that Dalton Papali’i has recovered from the thumb injury which precluded him from featuring last week.
“At this stage he’s likely to be available for selection,” Hansen said. “There’s a couple of sore men around the environment but most, if not all, are available. Everything is looking pretty positive.”
The Springboks are assessing a double injury setback, with inspirational captain Siya Kolisi in a race against time to be fit for the rematch after suffering a blow to his jaw and wing Kurt-Lee Arendse nursing concussion.
Papali’i will come into contention to start but after Sam Cane left his mark on defence, the Blues openside’s return could add impact to the All Blacks’ underwhelming bench contribution.
Damaging Chiefs No 8 Wallace Sititi may also be promoted to the bench, possibly in place of Samipeni Finau, as the All Blacks seek to counter South Africa’s “Bomb Squad” replacements that propelled the Boks to overturn a 10-point deficit by sucking Robertson’s men into a pressure cycle of doom.
The All Blacks may turn to Wallace Sititi in order to add firepower to their bench. Photo / Photosport
Chiefs lock Josh Lord is another candidate to inject size to the bench but, otherwise, the All Blacks have limited options and are therefore expected to focus more on tactical shifts than personnel changes.
“When the bench come on, that’s the pressure moments in test matches,” Hansen said.
“They’re the last quarters when we need smart decisions and accuracy in what that looks like with our technique. We didn’t get that right. It was the result of accumulation of pressure on us. Ofa [Tuʻungafasi] came on at a time when whoever got the next penalty in that zone was going to the bin. We spoke about that so we need to be better with our decision-making.”
Improving their errant kicking that sparked their final-quarter collapse by repeatedly gifting the ball to the Boks, rectifying costly discipline after being on the wrong side of a 14-5 penalty count and amending their restart errors are among the All Blacks major focuses.
“If we’re going to those kicks and we’re not getting the return in the air or on the ground, then how do we adjust,” Hansen said. “A lot of our kicks going out allowed South Africa to go to set piece. We’ve definitely spoken about how we can move them differently; how our kicks need to look if we’re not getting the return and how our attack needs to create better space for our kicking game. We’ve acknowledged that.”
With largely the same starting team expected to be trusted to source solutions, the All Blacks have attempted to strike the balance between building on the impressive platform laid by the first-choice XV and fixing their late collapse.
“When you feel a bit of hurt and pain, you’ve still got to look at the things you did well. There were 60-odd minutes of influencing a test exactly how we needed to. It’s about looking at that and saying ‘well done’ but being honest about where we need to be better,” Hansen said.
“There were a lot of positives if you look at our ability to find space, get around the South Africans and our defence was very strong in certain areas of the field. We influenced them around our lineout at times as well.
“Four tries in South Africa, essentially we had them on the ropes and we didn’t finish it.”
The Springboks usually announce their team on Tuesday but as Rassie Erasmus plots a fourth successive win over the All Blacks – and attempts to give Kolisi time to prove his fitness – he has delayed naming his squad by two days.
“Their core game around their kick game, set piece and defence is very strong,” Hansen said.
“They’re probably in a position now where they feel they can adjust into the second test because of the result of the first. They’ve got a lot of depth and talent. Does that mean Rassie sees this as an opportunity to give others a game?”
