More injuries epitomised a poor performance by the Springboks, who failed to take their opportunities against the All Blacks.
The Springboks lost the first Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test at Ellis Park, but have three more matches to respond. Picture: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
The All Blacks broke the Springboks’ 12-Test winning streak with a 33-16 win in their first Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Springboks led 13-12 at the break, but poor decisions and lack of accuracy, saw them fall further behind as the game went on.
Here are five talking points.
Springboks fail to take their chances
The Springboks controlled possession and territory, but whenever they were in the All Blacks’ 22, they knocked the ball on, caused an obstruction, or lost it at the breakdown.
The Boks had several penalties they could have kicked but opted for lineouts and scrums, only to lose the ball.
The All Blacks, meanwhile, took just about every opportunity they had to score their five tries.
The visitors’ accuracy saw them overturn a 13-12 deficit at the break for a much more favourable result.
Marco van Staden (dangerous cleanout) and Cobus Reinach (deliberate knock-on) receiving yellow cards 10 minutes from time epitomised the Springboks’ struggles.
Dominant Springbok scrum
While hooker Malcolm Marx said the Springboks couldn’t rely on past scrum success, including against the All Blacks last year, the South Africans were clearly the stronger side at set-piece.
Wilco Louw and Ox Nché each won scrum penalties, and when the All Blacks had the put-in, they consistently tried to get the ball out as fast as possible.
The Boks even won a scrum turnover against the All Blacks in the second half.
That, despite the visitors being dominant against the Sharks and Bulls.
Sadly, this set-piece dominance could not influence the result.
More injuries
South African prop Ox Nché came back from injury. New Zealand’s Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie and Cam Roigard likewise returned from niggles.
But during the game, Kurt-Lee Arendse left for an HIA early on and never returned, and Cheslin Kolbe hobbled off the field in obvious pain.
One or two All Blacks may have picked up further niggles after limping off the field.
Boks match tempo, breakdown fight
The Springboks had prepared themselves for New Zealand’s increased tempo under coach Davie Rennie, as well as more physical challenges at the breakdown.
The latter, identified by assistant coach Felix Jones, involved “tucked shoulders” when cleaning out.
The Boks had also been accused of deliberately slowing the game down at times.
On Saturday, however, the Springboks were a match for their opponents in both of these areas. Again, this could not affect the result.
The haka
During the week, Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus asked South African fans to respect the haka, as he and captain Pieter-Steph du Toit discussed what a privilege it was to face it.
Recently, South African fans had drowned out the pre-game ritual, singing ‘olé’ over it.
This time, the greater crowd was silent during the haka. Only a few jeered or whistled during, and they were hushed by those around them.
