Dejected All Blacks players react after losing to the Springboks at Mbombela Stadium. Photo / Photosport
Dejected All Blacks players react after losing to the Springboks at Mbombela Stadium. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Phil Gifford analyses six issues from the All Blacks' 26-10 loss to South Africa.
Is winning the World Cup next year an impossible dream?
No. It now seems inevitable, unless the All Blacks smash South Africa next weekend, there will be a change of coach before the end ofthis year. History shows that doesn't mean the chance of victory in the World Cup vanishes.
South Africa dumped Ian McIntosh as coach in 1994, and won the Cup in '95. In 2018, they sacked Allister Coetzee, and won the Cup in 2019.
Their replacement coaches were controversial. Kitch Christie, the 1995 Cup winner, had rough edges on rough edges. Even Springboks fans cringed when he said of his Cup final hero Joel Stransky: "I knew I could rely on the Jewboy." But his captain Francois Pienaar would say he played his heart out for Christie because he was "like a father to me. I knew he cared." Rassie Erasmus, drafted in for the '19 Cup, is never far from uproar, castigated by World Rugby just last year for "attacking, disparaging, and/or denigrating the game and match officials."
How easily would sourpuss conservatives who don't like Scott Robertson's break dancing change their minds if he brought the Cup home from France?
Where did the All Blacks let themselves down?
The first area that really hurt came in the air. The Springboks love the kick and chase, and, with the exception of the terrifying moment when wing Kurt-Lee Arendse genuinely risked Beauden Barrett's life with a shoulder charge while Barrett was high off the ground, they chased with accuracy. Before next weekend's test, the All Blacks, who have plenty of men usually good under the high ball, need to be taking high bomb after high bomb at training.
The second major problem was in the lack of attacking moves, with the ball usually just being shovelled on to the man outside. The third issue was that when there were switches of direction, there was a lack of accuracy in execution. The coaching staff are responsible for dreaming up better attacking options, but the accuracy is down to the players. Without improvements from both groups, the test at Ellis Park will be as grim for New Zealand as the Mbombela hiding was.
The fourth concern was the breakdown, where veteran Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx provided a masterclass in scavenging.
Caleb Clarke, Lukhanyo Am and Kurt-Lee Arendse contest a high ball. Photo / Photosport
Were there any signs of improvement from the All Blacks?
Yes. The Springboks didn't score from a lineout drive, and made very little ground with attempts at rolling mauls. By and large the All Blacks lineout was very efficient. Anything else? Not really.
Any rays of sunshine at all?
There were two. Samisoni Taukei'aho took over the hooker's jersey like a man born to it. He's big, he's tough, he thrives on contact. What's not to like?
Caleb Clarke showed in his thrilling break - which led to the last gasp try for Shannon Frizzell - that's he's back and firing. It wasn't just the power and pace that impressed. When Clarke was dragged down late in his run he stayed cool enough to let the ball go, so there was no chance of a heartbreaking penalty.
Dejected All Blacks players react after losing to the Springboks at Mbombela Stadium. Photo / Photosport
A genuine three cheers for the referee?
Yes. Australian Angus Gardner didn't fiddle around with endless scrum resets, going straight to penalties or free kicks. He didn't ask for endless television replays, and his only card - the red for Arendse - should be endorsed with a massive suspension for the sort of horrific action that sees parents deciding rugby isn't the sport for their child.
Man of the match?
Malcolm Marx is, as great All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick once was to Springboks fans, the man a New Zealander hates to see running on the field with No 2 on his back. From the time of his first test in 2016, to his 50th in Mbombela, Marx has always brought to mind the brilliant description by Australian writer Roy Masters of Les Boyd, a massive, hard-edged league prop: "He's got a cement mixer physique; a man not so much built as poured."
