The Springboks levelled the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks after winning the second Test in Cape Town 33-26 — but what have the game’s pundits been saying as the third matchup at FNB Stadium fast approaches?
Kiwi YouTuber “Two Cents Rugby” summed up the general consensus of the game superbly post-match.
‘This one was never really in doubt, was it? The All Blacks never looked like winning this one. We had a chance to maybe squeak a draw at the death, but the Boks led literally from the first minute until the end of this game.
‘I think we expected both sides to be better from last week, and I think that’s what we got. But the amount that both sides went up just saw the Springboks’ improvement greater than that of the ABs.’
After missing first Test, Bok skipper Siya Kolisi returned for his team and produced an inspired, try-scoring display from the side of the scrum that had Jeff Wilson and Justin Marshall raving on New Zealand’s “The Breakdown”.
‘I don’t think you can argue with the impact he has on that group, and the leadership, and how they rise to the occasion when he is leading them as a player,’ said Wilson.
‘For him to score that try, the fact that he clearly hasn’t played a lot of rugby but it all of a sudden just engaged the crowd and they got that lead. He’s the type of player that everyone embraces and I think when you’ve got that type of leader, it impacts everybody and it did help the crowd get into the game. Was he a game-changer? Maybe.’
‘At the end of the day, he’s charismatic, he’s inspirational,’ concurred Marshall. ‘South African rugby is about Siya Kolisi, and he’s singing when he’s coming out of the changing room. The players believe when he’s part of the side.’
The All Blacks’ attack has been in incredible touch in the first two games and has seen them outscore their opponents nine tries to four despite coming up against the Boks’ famed rush defence. Worrying signs for Rassie Erasmus?
‘Tactically I think they’ve [the All Blacks] done a great job at circumventing the press, the kamikaze linespeed, the up-and-in defence the Boks roll with,’ said Zelim Nel on the ‘Keo & Zels’ podcast.
‘I’m getting bored of saying it, but I really do feel like Jacques [Nienaber] has to come back for the Boks to be able to evolve with the tactical shifts that are happening there.
‘Personally I feel like you can absolutely be kamikaze and hot linespeed from the wide breakdown on defence. But from set phase time, especially scrums, these guys are finding a way to unlock teams and you’ve really got to have your wits about you there to stop that linebreak that is occurring now. That horizontal attack, that east-west attack, is absolutely exposing the linespeed of the Boks.’
Brenden Nel shared some key stats on his “Talking Boks” podcast with Nick Mallett and Gavin Rich relating to the New Zealand offensive game and believes the Boks still did well to nullify the tourists’ impact in this regard.
‘The All Blacks made 248 passes — that’s massive — to 93. 494 post-contact metres to 267. They had a lot of ball, and they did a lot of attacking, and I know they still scored four tries, and that is a concern and they still find space out wide, but for the most part down the middle, the Boks’ physicality stopped them in their tracks.’
Referee Angus Gardner came under fire for his performance on the west coast, but Zelim Nel had a more nuanced view regarding the Australian’s officiating.
‘I think refs get a lot wrong in every game. I’ve said that before, I don’t think it’s possible to ref the game accurately unless you want to turn it into basically chess: the game will stop-start every 30 seconds.
‘In every facet of the game, you watch a phase of play, you could probably find one, two, three transgressions there that don’t get seen, or get seen and aren’t blown, or are blown. I think that’s just the nature of the game.’
Much of the discourse this week has centred around the All Blacks’ accusations of illegal scrumming by the Boks, with Mallett taking a stand on SuperSport.
‘I’s very simple. If your loosehead’s shoulders and hips are parallel to the touchline as you start the scrum, and he shoves, and their scrum starts crumbling, he has to follow the tighthead. So it’s where he starts scrummaging. He starts always straight.
‘I’m 100% with Rassie on this. We dominate every team at scrumtime because we’ve got a better front row. And our second front row is better than most teams’ first front row, so it’s hard to legislate against us.’
From the scrum wars to the Bok defence against All Black attack, there will be plenty of subplots to look out for in this weekend’s Soweto blockbuster.
