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'All of a sudden a big part of their game is gone': Ex-All Black first five on Boks' vulnerability

Stephen Donald playing against the Springboks. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Former first five-eighth Stephen Donald says that things look bleak for the All Blacks but that shouldn’t deter them from believing in their game which ‘will always trouble the Springboks’.

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The ex-All Black was there in 2009 as the side lost two tests in a row in South Africa, stepping in for the injured Dan Carter to start at No 10 in a head-to-head match up with a young Morne Steyn.

The Springboks won the first test in Bloemfontein 28-19 before Steyn scored all of South Africa’s points in a 31-19 victory in the second test in Durban. The return of Dan Carter in the third test in Hamilton couldn’t prevent the Springboks completing a 3-0 whitewash.

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Much like 2009, the Springboks are the World Cup holders but Donald said the experience of players that have done it before in South Africa will be valuable.

“Things are down in the dumps at the moment, but you’ve still got guys there who have beaten South Africa in South Africa,” Donald told Stuff.co.nz.

“I don’t think they’ll be daunted by it, but will know it’s going to be as tough as it gets.

“It should be exciting for them. As a backs-to-the-wall scenario, you don’t get any bigger, but it’s bloody do-able.”

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After being outplayed by Ireland at home in the 2-1 series defeat, the All Blacks should be buoyed by playing a different opponent with different style.

Donald was confident that Foster’s side could trouble South Africa with their counter-attacking game if the home side’s kicking game was off.

“There are parts of the New Zealand game that will always trouble the Springboks, and if they don’t get their kicking game perfect, and it doesn’t flow on to their defence being able to set, all of a sudden a big part of their game is gone,” he said.

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On the 2009 tour the Springboks’ kicking game did expose an All Black weakness under the high ball which Donald said led to changes in how they prepared after returning home.

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“They were bombing the hell out of us with their centres Fourie and de Villiers smacking you on the perfectly timed 28-metre kicks… it almost exposed our lack of attention to high-ball catching,” he explained.

“Coming back from that trip, Mick Byrne became very central to the coaching as far as the catch, escorting and blocking chasers.”

The aerial game is expected to be a key part of the two-match series as the Springboks have shown a desire to kick over 40 times a game in some cases, with Faf de Klerk’s repetitive box kicking on show last year.

All Blacks fullback Jordie Barrett was exceptional last year in Townsville to combat the Springboks’ extreme levels of kicking in the 100th test between the sides, and he shapes as a key man for the visitors in their quest to turn around their lean run of results.

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4 Comments
G
Graeme 838 days ago

It will be an even contest up until someone gets red carded.

S
Silk 844 days ago

Boks vs All Black tests are always up there with the best. I've seen most of them here in the Republic over the last 20 years. I for one, do not believe for one minute that the All Blacks will not be as fierce an opponent as they have always been. Looking forward to 2 massively competitive test matches. Good to have the All Blacks here. Enjoy our country

A
Andrew 844 days ago

Nope Beaver. We are going to get done 2-0.

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JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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