Disappointed

I was tempted to call this post "Chokers" - but chose the headline to rather describe my feeling. Is the term "Chokers" too harsh? Perhaps.

I will not go with the "glowing" posts of many other commentators though - the South Africans were poor against the All Blacks. I completely agree that the Boks showed good character to come back from an early deficit to lead the match with 4 minutes to go. Players never gave up and the opportunist tries of Bryan Habana and Enrico Januarie exemplified this.

But frankly, it did not look like the Springboks arrived at the match kick-off. It was not for nothing that the All Blacks sped to an early lead. To allow this and then rely on opportunist play to make up the deficit is too much to ask. The Boks looked flat. The commentators were at one point moved to note that it looked like Montgomery was labouring to get around the park at the back. But to blame one player (as some have done) is crazy. Everyone must stand up and accept their accountability - starting with the coaching staff.



In my post from earlier this week, I outlined some points on "How to beat the All Blacks". If I, as a merely knowledgeable supporter, could pick up some of the potential All Black tactics for the day, then surely so could our coaches. The All Blacks have been lauded for the execution of their close in attacks by Weepu and Collins. Both played well, and for my money Collins was the difference between the two sides' loosies. He is physical and sucks in defenders. But given the success of the Boks' rush defence, it was obvious that the Blacks would look to this tactic. Ditto with regard to McAllister's chips over the line - also predictable. Breyton Paulse's support at the back was missed and if anything this contributed to Monty's "overwork." Jean de Villier's hashed attempt to clean up when racing back close to the end directly led to the All Blacks' final try.

Montgomery nominated the All Black tactic of bombing him during this match beforehand. Yet his fielding of these kicks was pathetic. And his feeble attempt at a tackle after grassing one, directly led to an All Black try. I have seen Monty take up-and-unders, come down and spin out of tackles since school days. He can do it. All that said, Monty did a lot right yesterday - his kicking for position was pin-point, and his few misses at post were within allowable percentages.

But it is seldom that tests are won by backs alone. They rely on good primary phase possession. And our tight five were dreadful. They looked dog-tired and our set-pieces were shocking. Our scrums were wheeled at will, our lineouts were terrible and our cleaning out at ruck time was pathetic. The latter is not a first time occurrence during this year's Tri-Nations. I hope the backs give the forwards a bollocking when they sit in the video session and watch as three backs try and clear quick ball from a ruck after three phases of Bok possession. I count three to four Bok try scoring opportunities wasted during this year's Tri Nations due to exactly this.

I wonder, particularly, how Os, Smit, Matfield and Botha were trained this week. It has been a long series of matches since the beginning of the French tour. Either they trained too hard this last week, or better use should have been made of the Bok's reserve strength in this match. You have to feel for Os playing eighty minutes looking as tired as he did. Smit was continually popped at scrum time - a sure sign his props were under pressure.

I appear to be the only one who thinks that Jaco van der Westhuizen made the Boks look better than Andre Pretorius. I think his rotation for this match might have improved the look of the Boks tactics. That said, Jaco's tackling also needs some work.

Of the Bok loose trio, I thought Burger and Van Niekerk worked like trojans. Juan Smith tried hard, but fell off some tackles he should have made - notably that on Rokocoko that led to the flying islander's try. But then so had four other Boks. Burger was critical to the Springboks effort. He was courageous, hard working and disciplined, and to my mind, again shaded McCaw.

Well done to the All Blacks. They looked hungrier and played smarter. They made mistakes but less than the Boks.

This Saturday was the best chance yet for the Springboks to break the Dunedin duck - they had momentum, they were the defending champions and winning would have brought the Tri Nations and the IRB rankings top spot. They were also given a helping hand by another poor refereeing performance that seemed to favour them more than the All Blacks.

So yes, I am disappointed, but yet also excited. The Boks should get better from here. Jake White adopted a game plan that focused on winning first and then developing confidence, flair and style. He is still in position to do that as his players must take heart from the fact that they have only lost two matches out of eight on the trot against the All Blacks, Australia and the French.