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All Blacks win the battle over bumbling Boks but they want the war
By Ben Smith
Do the Boks know that New Zealand has been a nuclear-free zone since 1987? The ban has been in place since then across the country’s land, sea and airspace, and Mt Smart Stadium.
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The hyped up ‘Nuke’ squad were sent in to save the bumbling Boks from a first half disaster after being carved up by Will Jordan and co in the first 20 minutes.
Whilst the greatest bench of all-time did blunt the All Blacks attack and arrest the momentum, you can’t bring nukes into this country and leave them idle when the All Blacks are firing AI-powered missiles from the get go.
Enter Shannon Frizell, who was sent like a rocket into the Boks pack with possibly his best performance in the black jersey that teammate Brodie Retallick likened to being Kaino-like.
The long history of All Black blindsides being the baddest players on the pitch; Kaino, Jerry Collins, was upheld by Frizell as he reached a new level. He had a line break with his first touch and tossed aside Kwagga Smith with no regard with his second.
He stormed down the left sideline later in the first half, where he lined up Willie Le Roux and ploughed the helpless Bok fullback like a combine harvestor turning grapes.
Le Roux was turned into a fine drop, which was fitting since that’s all the Boks backfield could do in the opening stanza.
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They could not catch a cold at Mt Smart, which has happened to a few NRL wingers over time at the home of rugby league in New Zealand.
The All Blacks wanted to attack the visitors in the air, with Beauden Barrett and the kickers sending a barrage of bombs into the night sky like a fifth tackle option. Even Jordie Barrett nailed a goal line restart 60 metres upfield which was fumbled by Damian de Allende.
It was clear the All Blacks thought Will Jordan had the aerial advantage over anyone, with the returning Crusader winning multiple contests in the air. He nearly had a try assist for Rieko Ioane off a set-piece special, climbing up to tap back an Aaron Smith box kick after one phase.
Jordan was genius on his return to Test rugby, slipping a Le Roux tackle on his first touch in space and returning to his feet to slash the Boks up the middle before linking with Aaron Smith inside for the opening try.
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He burst through on the opposite side of the pitch later in the half before a difficult fling pass to the edge found Codie Taylor and set Frizell free to give the All Blacks a 17-0 lead.
The Springboks finally got some possession and spent the later stages of the first half plugging away at the All Blacks line but ferocious resolve prevented the visitors from getting over the line.
A knock-on by Cheslin Kolbe was the closest they came to registering a try, along with Eben Etzebeth being held up over the line.
Jordan almost came up with the killer blow minutes into the second half, hitting an inside ball from Jordie Barrett and exploding through the line with the posts in his sight. A miraculous try saver from Kolbe dislodged the ball from Jordan’s grasp.
That moment was the catalyst for a Springbok revival, as Nienaber hit the launch codes to send his bench into the game. A Jordan try would’ve stretched the lead to 27-3 and the game would have been gone.
It was the only move the Bok coach had left and it did work as the Boks defence immediately stepped up a notch and the maul finally got going after being disarmed in the first half comfortably.
This is the probably the only concern out of the game for the All Blacks with how quickly the tide turned once the Springboks starting-quality veterans were inserted.
They pounded the All Blacks behind the gain line constantly, with the home side losing upward of 30 metres in attack at times. Ill discipline started to creep in and the Springboks set-piece was given a chance to get going.
Richie Mo’unga was the saviour for the faltering All Blacks during this period, playing territory with his kicking game and nailing his shots at goal to keep an arm’s distance between the two sides.
But this is all Nienaber and Erasmus really wanted to see. The bench wasn’t a nuke squad meant to change the game’s fortunes but a trojan horse. A brief look into what the true Springboks can really look like against the All Blacks.
And whilst they came on at a time where the All Blacks starters were being substituted out, they dominated the game. The All Blacks back line suddenly didn’t look like breaking them open on every carry.
The Springboks did not compete on a single lineout, giving the All Blacks the free throw at the front or an uncontested jump without a care in the world. They didn’t flush through with gusto and harass the halfback often.
By doing so they invited the All Blacks to throw their best launch plays at them, getting a look at what they might play if they meet again.
The only patterns they ran from their own set-piece opportunities were typical of Bok play, forwards around the corner until they reach the sideline. Nothing out of character but also only surface level stuff from their playbook.
Their were brief dalliances with width, a nice exit play through Lukhanyo Am’s boot after spinning the ball wide, Kolbe got a few runs out wide. The maul powered a Bok resurgence in the second half.
They got stuck in a hole down 17-0 through their own errrors but the cards are still very close to Erasmus’ chest.
Not that they deliberately tanked the game, the physicality and intensity was there, but they withheld plenty. Take the result with a grain of salt.
However, the All Blacks win secured the Freedom Cup and took the team closer to winning a fourth straight SANZAAR title under Ian Foster.
There is no reason why you can’t win the battle and the war, while South Africa have an eye on the inverse after delivering a questionable showing.
Typical BS cuckery, but way to be consistent. Feel sorry for SA fans who undoubtedly have the most inconsistent “good” team since roughly 2015.
This is always the same old, same old from the media and others who are not Kiwi and it goes like this "NZ this, NZ that, NZ cant this, NZ cant that".
What was it in 2011, NZ should have lost to France in the final and what was it in 2015, can NZ win a RWC away from home and so on and so on.
Like others have said, SA got hammered by NZ and NZ are improving and it seems that the likes of the South Africans, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, etc, etc just do not get it yet. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE ALL-BLACKS, is what this statement was and that you have to accept that NZ are improving, end of.
Come on, no b.s. The Boks got thumped
Unbelievable. So what you are saying is the Boks let the ABs win?? Lol
I think that’s giving the Boks far too much credibility that isn’t deserved. I guess we’ll find out in a few months
Ben Smith is right, Boks were holding back their cards in this one.
A big sucker punch will be how ineffective the A team forwards were. Yes the Big Green Machine generally takes time to move and thry probably need a few games to get going(ordinarily) but the split squad got sent there a week in advance! vs Abs went to Arg and back- Rassie was probably expecting parity or to be down by a few points by half time, not the tsunami they had to deal with.
Now everyone knows 100% the depth is not really there for 2 World beating squads.
Lineouts throws were a joke.
Backline rudderless without a proper 10 to dictate terms.
And they dont have a kicker...
Will see the real A team vs Argentia(in one of the 2 games) and Wales- they will need two warm up games to get the combination locked in- then we will see the A team vs Scotland and Ireland.
A year ago NZ were floundering, now with this performance they are def back.
Out of Ire/Fra/NZ & Boks, the fwds will probably nulify each other(need to see if that Frizell performance was not just a once off- if not then they have some real ammo with Ardie and Frizell in the loosies) , so it will come down to the backline spark, and NZ seem to have a real potent weapon with Will Jordan.
I still think the centre combo is vital to punching holes- the Barret/Ioane axis still working itself out- but if it fires come WC time, NZ will be a real threat to Ire/Fra.
Boks are suited to attritional WC rugby, but they are not a side that can put out consecutive big results vs say NZ or Ireland, that plus the extra fat weight they carry in the forwards(poor conditioning) makes me think, pretty much along the lines of what @Squidge Rugby was saying..they may be kingmakers at this WC rather than winning it.
Got it - sending 14 ahead is part of the secret plan!
The AB's were superb. I have watched almost every AB's vs Boks test match live in South Africa since 1995. This was one of the worst Boks performances ever. There was no passion, no grit.
The AB's, on the other hand, were excellent. Well done to NZ. Totally outplayed us.
The problem with the notion that the Springboks merely need to start with the bomb squad first is that, eventually, they’ll tire and need replacing too. The big tactic surrounding reserving a dominant run-on squad was that the opening team would still control the game first. The problem is, against the All Blacks, they couldn’t.
The bomb squad got Frizzle'd on of sure. SA were lucky to be awarded most of their tries. The slight forward pass gave the winger just enough of a lead and a full head of steam. The maul could just as easily have been penalized for sheparding. Whether intentional or not it really shouldn't be legal to split your maul (at all) into 3 groups when the ball carrier is not in front. Last but not least Kwagga again being allowed to play the ball in the ruck. He walked over or around 2 or 3 rucks and didn't use his foot once. Raynal has to have the lowest IQ of any ref this century.
Still a lot of answers needing to be found in these teams before the knockout stages, but superb play by the AB's at the start.