We won't take the 35-17 loss thanks
Try! Try in the first 15 seconds to Fourie du Preez after magnificent pressure on Daniel carter. It was more than what Boks fans could have hoped for but expressed the intentions of the Bok team for the day. It seemed as though the real Boks had showed up and were going to attempt to atone for last week's match.
The excitement crackled like static across the ocean as New Zealanders and South Africans hoped that a famous battle between the old foes might erupt.
And it was hard uncompromising stuff. The Boks defence was fantastic and the rush began to work again and put massive pressure on Carter and the All Blacks line. With the in-your-face rush, offsides was a distinct possibility and that was exactly what allowed the All Blacks their first converted penalty of the game
It was clear that the Boks were going to play back to their strengths and rebuild their shattered confidence from there. So competitive lineouts, strong scrumming and aggressive mauling was always likely. But the quality of each was surprising. Matfield and Smit began to renew their old partnership and after one such take, retained possession through 4 phases to end 5m from the All Blacks tryline. The penalty they gave away for holding on robbed them of any opportunities and was unfortunately typical of what was to come.
Meanwhile the All Blacks attempted the tactics that allowed them to beat the Boks rush in the past with sniping breaks from Weepu. Like at Newlands last year the Boks seemed prepared and the impact on Weepu was enormous. As early as the 13th minute he left the field for the first time clutching his shoulder. It was testimony to the Boks committed tackling.
In a physical defensive game the errors are always going to mount against the defending side. But the speed at which the errors were mounting against the Boks was a little frightening. When they're happening like that, the marginal ones go against you. And Jaque Fourie was unlikely to concede a converted penalty for a knee touching the ground as he fought for the ball. Van der Linde was equally unlucky to concede the next converted penalty for losing his bind in a Springbok scrum. Offensive scrums are seldom penalised. The same offence costs us against us the Aussies last week and it cost us again this week. The All Blacks led 9-7.
In a close game you have to kick your penalties, and Monty's first miss on the 25th minute was to herald and off day for the full back's boot.
Meanwhile Carter was withstanding pressure like the great he is and kicked another penalty for Bok offsides.
The Boks seemed to realise they needed to mount an attack. They were stopped just short of the All Blacks line, but the attempt betrayed the prosaic nature of the Boks' offence. Continually trying to bash the ball around the edge of the ruck (including the last unsuccessful attempt by Habana) from a ruck position 5m out in front of the poles shows a complete lack of confidence in their backline's attack.
Another attacking run saw the ball shoveled down the line to see four defenders cut down Habana against the touchline. It showed lack of basics on attack, with inside backs not even able to draw their opposing man.
Montgomery's nightmare with the boot continued and he missed another before an absolutely shocking missed line kick by Fourie du Preez (after full time in the half) saw the All Blacks run the ball back to score and convert. At 19-7 the Boks had lost momentum and faced a big lead.
Second half fight back
Continued errors from the Boks allowed Carter to punish them twice in the next ten minutes, then having kicked seven from seven.
Os had gone off the field for a blood bin and the Kiwi forwards murdered the scrum in his absence. It was worrying to see the impact of his loss - given his increasingly tired look.
The return of Os seemed to spark the Bok attack and good sustained pressure put the Boks into a position in the Kiwi 22 for Fourie du Preez to put in a pin-point cross kick for Paulse to run over. Monty converted that and at 25-14, the game looked more of a contest again.
Monty missed another penalty to have left 9 points on the field at the 61st minute. Had they been goaled, the Boks would've only been two points adrift.
The Boks were pressed into ten minutes of attack but looked innocuous - at one stage going through seven phases of attack before losing possession. Monty eventually got another shot at goal and converted to put the Springboks in with a sniff at 25-17. But a miserable day for the Bok fullback was capped as he let the ball bounce from the kick-off and very luckily managed to harry the Kiwis into knocking on with the line at their mercy.
Another penalty from Carter, who had kicked eight from eight by the 73rd minute, preceded brilliance from the pivot as he shipped over the defence before regathering and putting McCaw away. It capped a fantastic day for the best number ten in world rugby today.
Brave defence from the Boks kept the score to 35-17 until the end, but they will feel disappointed in another below par performance.
Better, but not good enough
It is easy to feel a little more happy given the Bok performance against the Aussies last week. But we should judge this game against the Boks talent, past and potential. And they will feel they could have done better.
The Boks were better in all basics than in any previous game this season. Their defence was back to very good - but not quite brilliant. It is apparent that Paulse has a very important role in organising the rush and this even helped Wynand Olivier find his role in the pattern. Their rucking was oodles better than the pathetic efforts of earlier this season, and it was heartening seeing the forwards committed to cleaning out. Tybilika gutsed it out and his speed to the breakdown made a real difference. Their mauling was close to outstanding and they made real yards on most efforts. Scrumming was very good against the heaviest All Black front row ever picked, but the impact of Os going off was a huge worry. Matfield and Smith were very good in the lineouts and competed well on the opposition throw.
While the basics were better, the Springboks cannot expect to compete by giving away the amount of penalties they did - especially when playing against a team with Carter in it.
As good as the improvement of the Boks backline defence was, their attack is looking worse and worse, and the status is now that of an emergency. Lack of attack pushes the Boks into overuse of their forwards and kicking for position. It also means that an off-day for Monty's boot becomes a crisis.
The Boks will be desperate for De Villiers to make his comeback. They must look to involve someone like Campese to improve their attacking skills.
The Boks loose trio needs work. Tybilika was a big improvement, but Watson's claims surely cannot be ignored any longer. Jacques Cronje probably had his best game of the season, but is not as impressive-a-ball-carrier as Joe van Niekerk on form. Juan Smith is not the same player that played havoc before getting injured in the Super 14. I believe that moving Dlulane to the Bok closed side is worth a try.
Albert van der Berg tried hard but the Boks desperately missed the aggression of Bakkies Botha as a foil to Matfield's skill.
Monty has had too off days after being the only Bok to hold his reputation against the World XV, Scotland and France. He'll be back.
Butch at flyhalf definitely made a difference, but his tackling remains a concern - he made two attempts today that were aggressive but allowed the attacker to bounce out. Greater use of the arms is the cure...
For the All Blacks, I thought Carter was unbelievable. His best match since the Lions. McCaw played his usual fantastic game and Ali Williams worked very hard. Nobody else had a bad game, although Howlett's drop was not his usual standard.
My player ratings
Percival Montgomery 4
Made some good tackles, joined the line early but was clearly shaken by his off-day with the boot. His missed kicks would have kept the Boks in touch.
Breyton Paulse 6
Organised the rush defence well, scored a good try from a great cross kick. But looks very disinterested on cover defence. Should have made two crucial cover tackles.
Jaque Fourie 8
Fantastic on defence. Made good tackles and contributed to turnovers. No real space on attack - but should also be drawing defence when passing.
Wynand Olivier 5
Much better. Made a good break early on by seeing a gap and dummying the pass. Made some good tackles. Conceded a stupid penalty by pushing John Smit off his feet over the ruck. But does not create anything for those outside him.
Bryan Habana 6
No real chances on attack. Gets shocking ball with loads of defenders. Poor decision to go round the edge of the ruck when clearing early on - should have passed. Made one or two good tackles. Tried to come off his wing to look for work in the second half, but generally needs to look for more opportunities to be involved.
Butch James 6
Massive improvement to the Bok line through straight running, hard defence and some good line kicks. Possibly didn't have the time with the side to work on creating space on attack.
Fourie du Preez 4
Big heart, very involved and a great cross kick. But two ambitious shocking line kicks that did not go out directly resulted in 14 points against the Boks. However his charge down try got the Boks off to a great start.
Jacques Cronje 6
Hardworking game and his best of the season. Carried the ball much more effectively with better protection. Made lots of tackles and worked hard in the loose. However too slow to link with the backline.
Juan Smith 5
Some good takes in the line out and good work rate. Slipped a few tackles though and was not his usual threat on attack.
Solly Tybilika 6
Good workrate and got to the rucks early and contested. Showed the value of a fetcher.
Victor Matfield 7
Great performance. Looked like he was committed and involved in leading the side. Contributed to Du Preez' charge down try and was immense in the line out.
Albert van der Berg 5
Involved but not a stand out player. Not the ball carrier he once was.
CJ van der Linde 5
Scrummed strongly on occassion but has to work out opposition tactics to disrupt his bind. It was a crucial penalty for the second week in a row. He also gave away a shocking penalty for going down over the ball in a ruck in front of the Boks poles.
John Smit 6
Best game in a long time with great lineout throwing. Should have thought of trying Butch at poles after the first half.
Os du Randt 7
Massive in the scrums and made some great tackles as usual. Looks tired though and needs better assistance and back-up.
The excitement crackled like static across the ocean as New Zealanders and South Africans hoped that a famous battle between the old foes might erupt.
And it was hard uncompromising stuff. The Boks defence was fantastic and the rush began to work again and put massive pressure on Carter and the All Blacks line. With the in-your-face rush, offsides was a distinct possibility and that was exactly what allowed the All Blacks their first converted penalty of the game
It was clear that the Boks were going to play back to their strengths and rebuild their shattered confidence from there. So competitive lineouts, strong scrumming and aggressive mauling was always likely. But the quality of each was surprising. Matfield and Smit began to renew their old partnership and after one such take, retained possession through 4 phases to end 5m from the All Blacks tryline. The penalty they gave away for holding on robbed them of any opportunities and was unfortunately typical of what was to come.
Meanwhile the All Blacks attempted the tactics that allowed them to beat the Boks rush in the past with sniping breaks from Weepu. Like at Newlands last year the Boks seemed prepared and the impact on Weepu was enormous. As early as the 13th minute he left the field for the first time clutching his shoulder. It was testimony to the Boks committed tackling.
In a physical defensive game the errors are always going to mount against the defending side. But the speed at which the errors were mounting against the Boks was a little frightening. When they're happening like that, the marginal ones go against you. And Jaque Fourie was unlikely to concede a converted penalty for a knee touching the ground as he fought for the ball. Van der Linde was equally unlucky to concede the next converted penalty for losing his bind in a Springbok scrum. Offensive scrums are seldom penalised. The same offence costs us against us the Aussies last week and it cost us again this week. The All Blacks led 9-7.
In a close game you have to kick your penalties, and Monty's first miss on the 25th minute was to herald and off day for the full back's boot.
Meanwhile Carter was withstanding pressure like the great he is and kicked another penalty for Bok offsides.
The Boks seemed to realise they needed to mount an attack. They were stopped just short of the All Blacks line, but the attempt betrayed the prosaic nature of the Boks' offence. Continually trying to bash the ball around the edge of the ruck (including the last unsuccessful attempt by Habana) from a ruck position 5m out in front of the poles shows a complete lack of confidence in their backline's attack.
Another attacking run saw the ball shoveled down the line to see four defenders cut down Habana against the touchline. It showed lack of basics on attack, with inside backs not even able to draw their opposing man.
Montgomery's nightmare with the boot continued and he missed another before an absolutely shocking missed line kick by Fourie du Preez (after full time in the half) saw the All Blacks run the ball back to score and convert. At 19-7 the Boks had lost momentum and faced a big lead.
Second half fight back
Continued errors from the Boks allowed Carter to punish them twice in the next ten minutes, then having kicked seven from seven.
 |
| Daniel Carter keeps the Springboks on defence Photo: Getty Images |
Os had gone off the field for a blood bin and the Kiwi forwards murdered the scrum in his absence. It was worrying to see the impact of his loss - given his increasingly tired look.
The return of Os seemed to spark the Bok attack and good sustained pressure put the Boks into a position in the Kiwi 22 for Fourie du Preez to put in a pin-point cross kick for Paulse to run over. Monty converted that and at 25-14, the game looked more of a contest again.
Monty missed another penalty to have left 9 points on the field at the 61st minute. Had they been goaled, the Boks would've only been two points adrift.
The Boks were pressed into ten minutes of attack but looked innocuous - at one stage going through seven phases of attack before losing possession. Monty eventually got another shot at goal and converted to put the Springboks in with a sniff at 25-17. But a miserable day for the Bok fullback was capped as he let the ball bounce from the kick-off and very luckily managed to harry the Kiwis into knocking on with the line at their mercy.
Another penalty from Carter, who had kicked eight from eight by the 73rd minute, preceded brilliance from the pivot as he shipped over the defence before regathering and putting McCaw away. It capped a fantastic day for the best number ten in world rugby today.
Brave defence from the Boks kept the score to 35-17 until the end, but they will feel disappointed in another below par performance.
Better, but not good enough
It is easy to feel a little more happy given the Bok performance against the Aussies last week. But we should judge this game against the Boks talent, past and potential. And they will feel they could have done better.
The Boks were better in all basics than in any previous game this season. Their defence was back to very good - but not quite brilliant. It is apparent that Paulse has a very important role in organising the rush and this even helped Wynand Olivier find his role in the pattern. Their rucking was oodles better than the pathetic efforts of earlier this season, and it was heartening seeing the forwards committed to cleaning out. Tybilika gutsed it out and his speed to the breakdown made a real difference. Their mauling was close to outstanding and they made real yards on most efforts. Scrumming was very good against the heaviest All Black front row ever picked, but the impact of Os going off was a huge worry. Matfield and Smith were very good in the lineouts and competed well on the opposition throw.
While the basics were better, the Springboks cannot expect to compete by giving away the amount of penalties they did - especially when playing against a team with Carter in it.
As good as the improvement of the Boks backline defence was, their attack is looking worse and worse, and the status is now that of an emergency. Lack of attack pushes the Boks into overuse of their forwards and kicking for position. It also means that an off-day for Monty's boot becomes a crisis.
The Boks will be desperate for De Villiers to make his comeback. They must look to involve someone like Campese to improve their attacking skills.
The Boks loose trio needs work. Tybilika was a big improvement, but Watson's claims surely cannot be ignored any longer. Jacques Cronje probably had his best game of the season, but is not as impressive-a-ball-carrier as Joe van Niekerk on form. Juan Smith is not the same player that played havoc before getting injured in the Super 14. I believe that moving Dlulane to the Bok closed side is worth a try.
Albert van der Berg tried hard but the Boks desperately missed the aggression of Bakkies Botha as a foil to Matfield's skill.
Monty has had too off days after being the only Bok to hold his reputation against the World XV, Scotland and France. He'll be back.
Butch at flyhalf definitely made a difference, but his tackling remains a concern - he made two attempts today that were aggressive but allowed the attacker to bounce out. Greater use of the arms is the cure...
For the All Blacks, I thought Carter was unbelievable. His best match since the Lions. McCaw played his usual fantastic game and Ali Williams worked very hard. Nobody else had a bad game, although Howlett's drop was not his usual standard.
My player ratings
Percival Montgomery 4
Made some good tackles, joined the line early but was clearly shaken by his off-day with the boot. His missed kicks would have kept the Boks in touch.
Breyton Paulse 6
Organised the rush defence well, scored a good try from a great cross kick. But looks very disinterested on cover defence. Should have made two crucial cover tackles.
Jaque Fourie 8
Fantastic on defence. Made good tackles and contributed to turnovers. No real space on attack - but should also be drawing defence when passing.
Wynand Olivier 5
Much better. Made a good break early on by seeing a gap and dummying the pass. Made some good tackles. Conceded a stupid penalty by pushing John Smit off his feet over the ruck. But does not create anything for those outside him.
Bryan Habana 6
No real chances on attack. Gets shocking ball with loads of defenders. Poor decision to go round the edge of the ruck when clearing early on - should have passed. Made one or two good tackles. Tried to come off his wing to look for work in the second half, but generally needs to look for more opportunities to be involved.
Butch James 6
Massive improvement to the Bok line through straight running, hard defence and some good line kicks. Possibly didn't have the time with the side to work on creating space on attack.
Fourie du Preez 4
Big heart, very involved and a great cross kick. But two ambitious shocking line kicks that did not go out directly resulted in 14 points against the Boks. However his charge down try got the Boks off to a great start.
Jacques Cronje 6
Hardworking game and his best of the season. Carried the ball much more effectively with better protection. Made lots of tackles and worked hard in the loose. However too slow to link with the backline.
Juan Smith 5
Some good takes in the line out and good work rate. Slipped a few tackles though and was not his usual threat on attack.
Solly Tybilika 6
Good workrate and got to the rucks early and contested. Showed the value of a fetcher.
Victor Matfield 7
Great performance. Looked like he was committed and involved in leading the side. Contributed to Du Preez' charge down try and was immense in the line out.
Albert van der Berg 5
Involved but not a stand out player. Not the ball carrier he once was.
CJ van der Linde 5
Scrummed strongly on occassion but has to work out opposition tactics to disrupt his bind. It was a crucial penalty for the second week in a row. He also gave away a shocking penalty for going down over the ball in a ruck in front of the Boks poles.
John Smit 6
Best game in a long time with great lineout throwing. Should have thought of trying Butch at poles after the first half.
Os du Randt 7
Massive in the scrums and made some great tackles as usual. Looks tired though and needs better assistance and back-up.
posted at 12:35 PM
1 Comments:
Thanks for the rundown. I was away and missed the game.
What about the Sharks game?
Post a Comment
<< Home