All Blacks overcome resilient Springboks in Auckland

The All Blacks and Springboks each claimed statement wins in round one of The Rugby Championship 2023 but only one could make it out of round two undefeated. After a physical match, it was the All Blacks that backed up last week’s performance to place themselves in the driver’s seat of the competition.

New Zealand’s multiple playmakers were difference makers in the match, with Richie Mo’unga, Beauden Barrett and Jordie Barrett all displaying well rounded attacking threats.

The Springboks were the fresher side having had the majority of their run-on team in New Zealand for nearly two weeks and there were plenty of Springbok fans in attendance, making their presence felt.

Mt Smart was roaring as the Springboks kicked off into the Auckland night.

There was no chance for either team to acclimatise to the match as the All Blacks took the game by the scruff of the neck early, making run after run and finding gaps in the Springbok defence. Some shaky execution was present but Will Jordan wasted no time in welcoming himself back to international rugby.

The winger was instrumental in the All Blacks scoring in the fifth minute, finding space off a wide ball and finding Aaron Smith inside him for the try.

In the following minutes, the Springboks were guilty of collpasing the lineout drive and offside at the ruck, handing Richie Mo’unga an easy penalty to extend the lead.

The Springboks discipline around the breakdown let them down numerous times in the early stages. Adding to South Africa’s problems was set piece penalties which handed the All Blacks attacking opportunities from deep in the visitors’ half.

New Zealand was serving up great variety in their attack, each of their play makers were a triple threat from the outset. There was no shortage of creativity in the attack, nor was there any hesitation in throwing the ball around. Ian Foster had clearly given his men the license to play freely.

The barrage continued and New Zealand scored again, with Jordan again initiating a break. This time it was Shannon Frizzel who profited after bowling through the Springboks’ last line of defence.

The pressure was on the South African team and handling errors surrendered their chances at slowing the game down.

The breakdown was ferocious, New Zealand had the upper hand throughout the opening 20 minutes but the Springboks showed no quit and were soon rewarded for their perseverance. As the game pressed deeper into New Zealand’s half, both sides muscled up and a lineout drive 10 metres out from the Kiwis’ line refused to give in either direction.

Direct running from the Springboks tested the All Blacks’ organisation on defence, phase after phase. A contestable kick wasn’t collected by Beauden Barrett on the All Blacks try line but Cheslin Kolbe also struggled to control the ball and the Springboks’ first attacking chance of the game went begging.

The Springboks had found their feet in the match though, a dominant scrum followed and the visitors again found themselves down the right end of the field. Despite some initial reluctance to take penalties, Faf de Klerk landed South Africa’s first points of the game in the 35th minute to make the score 17-3.

As was a trend throughout, ill discipline soon reared it’s ugly head and Richie Mo’unga was gifted a chance at three points just minutes later. The Springboks had a chance at the last say of the half but a neck roll by Lood de Jager called the half to an end.

Halftime score: 20-3.

Courageous work in the air from Mark Telea promised to get the All Blacks’ game rolling to start the second half but the Springboks’ defence had tightened the screws and the match leveled out into a tussle up front.

Neither coach will be particularly happy with the skillset execution of their players, with the ball being lost in contact and the Springboks especially struggling with passes not going directly to hand when under pressure.

South Africa’s bomb squad was deployed early as usual and forced their way into the match. The set piece sured up and the breakdown slowed the All Blacks attack.

The pace of the match then suited the South Africans and they were rewarded with better field position and capitalised through a lineout drive and Malcolm Marx.

Consecutive infringements handed the All Blacks another three points but the Springboks came right back at them and worked their way into a try which Cheslin Kolbe finished with flair.

Throughout the opening 60 minutes, as soon as the Springboks found themselves in their own half, they became prone to penalties. It wasn’t until the final 20 minutes that they put that behind them.

New Zealand were up to the challenge of phase play and while they didn’t look convincing securing their own ball against South Africa’s second unit, there was plenty of playmakers on the field and all it took was a moment for Beauden Barrett to sniff an opportunity via cross kick to Will Jordan. The winger initially fumbled but dotted it down to extend the lead to 30-15.

All it took was an inch in the Springboks defensive line and the All Blacks took a mile, Richie Mo’unga was the next to join the festivities and extend the lead.

A last minute try to Kwagga Smith gave the Sproingboks the final say of the match but a scoreline of 35-20 seees the All Blacks retain the Freedom Cup and head into the World Cup warm up match in Twickenham with the bragging rights.