New Zealand’s All Blacks turned on the style at Ellis Park on Saturday to give hosts South Africa a 35-23 pak slae in their second Rugby Championship match of the year.
After winning the first match 26-10 at the Mbombela Stadium, the Springboks failed to deliver the same sort of performance in Johannesburg and were met with an All Blacks side who wasn’t afraid to take the ball wide and outscored their hosts four tries to one.
It will be Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber that will have to do some soul-searching this week, after getting it wrong from start to finish for this second Test.
Nienaber’s team selections bombed - evident by that fact that he had to take of hooker Joseph Dweba (who came into the starting XV for last week’s Man of the Match Malcolm Marx after Bongi Mbonambi, who was originally named to start, got injured), as well as No.8 Duane Vermeulen (playing in his first match after knee surgery) eight minutes later.
By that time the damage was already done, as the All Blacks already enjoyed a 15-0 lead thanks to a Richie Mo’Unga penalty conversion, Sam Cane try in the corner after taking the ball through a number of phases in the 28th minute and Samisoni Taukei’aho’s touchdown from close quarters five minutes later.
While Nienaber’s team selection didn’t work out, he also made a questionable call to make a klompie positional changes after losing right wing Jesse Kriel to concussion in the ninth minute. Instead of just bringing on Willie le Roux on the right side of the pitch, he played chess by causing further disruption and moving three other players to different positions.
Despite the early disruptions, the Boks bounced back straight after the Bomb Squad was introduced, with Lukhanyo Am, who was moved to the wing, scoring in the corner after beating both Caleb Clarke and Will Jordan.
Flyhalf Handre Pollard added a penalty conversion to make it 15-10 at the break.
A penalty a piece made it 18-13, before the Springboks were disallowed a try that had a big outcome on the result of the match.
🏉 How it happened: New Zealand started and finished strong to deny the Springboks in Johannesburg – match report: https://t.co/Y3eUBgNsiH#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #RSAvNZL #CastleRugbyChampionship pic.twitter.com/AO37dp4Tbe
— Springboks (@Springboks) August 13, 2022
Collecting an All Blacks kick just outside their 22, Willie le Roux flung the ball wide to Am, who broke down the middle for a superb run and then passed the ball wide to Makazole Mapimpi who ran in the Boks’ second try. Or so they thought, with the referee calling them back and penalising scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse for blocking a would-be tackler in the build.
Instead of having seven points and taking the lead for the first time, the Boks then conceded three with the penalty kick (21-13).
Mapimpi got his touchdown from the restart, diving over after Malcolm Marx superbly won a breakdown turnover, before Willemse’s long pass found his left wing in the side of the field (21-20).
It's a rivalry that always delivers. #TRC2022
South Africa looked to have stolen the win at the death when All Blacks replacement Beauden Barrett was yellow carded in the 67th minute after pulling back Hendrikse without the ball.
Pollard’s conversion gave the Boks a 23-21 lead against 14 men and they just had to hold on.
But when Hendrikse launched yet another ineffective high kick, the All Blacks called the mark and took a quick tap from inside their 22.
The move caught the Boks off-guard and ended with David Havili scoring what would turn out to be the match-winning try six minutes from time.
They added another later on via Scott Barrett, but by that time was die Bokke en Ellis Park al stil gespeel (35-23).
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za