John Drake: At last we have a team who win under fire

COMMENT


The good, the bad and the ugly. That's my view on the All Black victory over the Springboks.

In recent years we, the public and media, have lamented the All Blacks' habit of having victory in hand, then blowing it. How many times have we talked about not having the nous, or ability, to handle pressure at the death?

This team have shown in the last two weeks that they are the ones who can keep cool, while it was the Boks who messed up the lineout close to their line and conceded a vital scrum in the dying moments.

So we can say this All Black team have the confidence and belief in each other to guts out a tight win. They can come from behind and not crack - although I'm sure they wouldn't want to leave it that late again. In fact, it was probably more a case of the Boks cracking and giving us the game.

Before the game, the talk was how the South African forwards might dominate. Well, the statistics show New Zealand had more possession and territory than South Africa by a long way. Statistics can deceive, of course. How do you quantify the quality of the ball and what's done with it through statistics?

If statistics weren't kept of this match, what would have been our impression? My impression was that our forwards read the press talk and decided to take on the South African forwards man for man - falling into the hands of their physical opponents. Instead of one-off runs and one-on-one confrontations, maybe we would have been better off driving as a combined unit through the middle of the ruck rather than around the fringes.

Maybe this would have sucked in the organised South African defence and delivered better quality ball. Sure, we had lots of ball, but was it good ball? Also, thanks to the officials' offside interpretations, we were cannon fodder for the brutal South African defenders.

The flat backline again comes under scrutiny. With torpedoes like De Wet Barry in the midfield, it was always going to be tough for Dan Carter and co. Maybe this attack is more suited to the direct approach of Sam Tuitupou.

I feel Carter is a sliding runner and being so flat doesn't give him the opportunity to get out of second gear before being confronted by the defence. Ditto, Carlos Spencer and Tana Umaga.

It was hard to tell how far offside the South African defence was, but it would be a very generous referee who gives them that latitude again in midfield and around the ruck and maul.

What about the scrum, which received praise from some, particularly for the vital scrum just before the end? I'm sorry, but I thought apart from that one scrum, the Boks had it over us in technique and smarts.

They scored a try when the All Blacks attempted a wheel and became completely detached from the South African scrum - thus taking out the All Black defence.

Another couple of times we attempted the wheel and the Boks treated it with the good humour it was due. So Os du Randt, John Smit and unseen hero Eddie Andrews had big games. Did Jake White err maybe when he subbed Andrews for the vital last 10 minutes?

The Springboks did a lot right but blew a big lead and couldn't score in the second half. One try, or even a penalty, would probably have put it out of reach for the All Blacks.

They will reflect on being hard done by with a couple of decisions - the suspect Joe Rokocoko knock-on comes to mind. They had the opportunity but didn't seal it.

Their defence was cunning and high risk. I'm sure Wayne Smith and co despaired several times when they saw the space out wide only to see the All Blacks smashed in close by Barry and co blindsiding the ball carrier.

This is a young Bok team in terms of playing together under White, and the test is whether they have learned their lessons for Perth.

For the All Blacks, take the win - which came from courage and mental strength, things we have been wanting to see. Have a break and get ready for Sydney and Johannesburg.

They have given Wallaby coach Eddie Jones and White some hope.

I still don't think we have seen the best from this All Black team, which isn't a bad way to be considering they have beaten Australia and South Africa in trying conditions.

They will welcome back Jono Gibbes and Keith Robinson and have fingers crossed for Richard McCaw. They need all three for their athletic ability, leadership and inspiration.