Rugby: NZ beaten by the park, says Springbok try-scorer

JOHANNESBURG - The All Blacks underestimated the Ellis Park factor in yesterday's Tri-Nations rugby test against South Africa, says Springboks halfback Werner Swanepoel.

The All Blacks could have prepared to block out the hostile environment for touring teams at the park, but they appeared to forget its effect on the Springboks.

"I know it pretty well - that's my home ground and I know what it does for me," Swanepoel said after scoring two tries during a brilliant individual performance in South Africa's 46-40 win.

"If you notice the faces of the guys when the national anthem was sung, you should know just how much emotion that instils. You just don't want to lose.

"We [Cats] have played a few Super 12 matches here, and it gives you that edge to want to win."

The Springboks freely acknowledge the inspiration they get when playing at Ellis Park, which has always been an intimidating venue for touring teams.

Australia have never won there, and the All Blacks' record now stands at two wins from five matches there since 1992. They have now lost eight of 11 games at the park since 1928.

All Blacks coach Wayne Smith and captain Todd Blackadder said they had no excuses for conceding the most points and tries - six - by an All Black side.

Tackles were missed, but the Springboks built up their attacks nicely on most occasions before looking for breaks.

Three of the four New Zealand tries came from broken play or counter-attacks.

After fullback Christian Cullen left the field with a hamstring problem in the last quarter, and was replaced by Leon MacDonald, the All Blacks didn't look as dangerous.

The New Zealand pack, particularly the front row, was frequently on the back foot in the second half.

"I'm a real believer that when you lose the contest up front but the defensive line is right, and you make every tackle, you can pull a game back and we were just unable to do that," Smith said.

"But it's really frustrating. We put in a lot of work and the perception is that we've come a long way. It's disappointing to end the Tri-Nations like this."

Blackadder said he wasn't surprised at the ferocity of the South African game early in the game.



"The Springboks played very well with some good, hard, straight running and we made too many mistakes," he said. "They scored some wonderful tries.

"In that first 20 minutes we weren't even in the game. When we hung on to the ball we seemed to score tries.

"In the second half we couldn't hang on to the ball, and probably tried to do too much in our own half.

"The Springboks forced the mistakes on us, and we let them through for some easy points."

- NZPA