Blacklash buries Boks
6 Oct 2012
JON CARDINELLI, reporting from Soccer City, watched the All Blacks punish the Springboks in the latter stages of Saturday’s Test to win 32-16.
Usually you have to wait until the end of a game for the climax, but for the South African fans at Soccer City, the best time to be around was in that period before kickoff, and the 20 minutes thereafter.
The Calabash wasn’t filled to capacity, but then 80 000 people can still make one helluva racket. Picture the majority of that 80 000 screaming the lyrics of Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika and then drowning out the Kapa o Pango, the All Blacks’ special haka reserved for big contests. If you didn’t feel the prickle of gooseflesh in that opening salvo, you must be made out of stone.
And then the Boks played. They clattered into the collisions. They pilfered lineout ball and assaulted the All Blacks’ scrum. They used that set-piece platform to good effect, scoring from a lineout near halfway.
Not many teams score against the All Blacks, and very few do it from first phase. And to go 50m for that five pointer – well it would have to be something special. It certainly was.
From the lineout, the ball flew to Duane Vermeulen who immediately turned his back to the opposition and offloaded to team-mate Francois Louw. Louw then did the same, and the move worked in that the other member of the Bok loose trio, Willem Alberts, was free to hit the gap.
The All Blacks managed to bring Alberts down but not before the big man tossed the ball up for a support player. The All Blacks attempted to intercept this pass, but only succeeded in knocking it further backward and out of reach. Jean de Villiers succeeded in coming through and winning the ball, and then finding the omnipresent Bryan Habana. When the winger rounded the poles, the crowd erupted. It was a thrilling standalone moment.
Johan Goosen had missed two difficult penalty attempts earlier in the half, but he made no mistake with this conversion or his subsequent penalty attempt. The result was a 10-0 advantage for the Boks. Against all expectations, the underdogs had raced to a commanding lead.
But soft moments – a phrase coined by Heyneke Meyer to describe his side’s tendency to lapse – have cost the Boks all season, and it was a series of soft moments that saw the Boks relinquishing this big lead.
The Boks lost concentration in the period before half-time. Bad decisions and unforced errors allowed the All Blacks back into the game, first through a try by Sam Whitelock and then another by Aaron Smith.
Elton Jantjies, on for the injured Goosen, kicked some important goals to keep the Boks in front, but as the two teams headed down the tunnel, you got the sense that the momentum had shifted in the visitors’ favour.
This was confirmed when the All Blacks scored in the first movement of the second half. The kickoff wasn’t claimed and the ball was shifted wide. Kieran Read found space down the right-hand flank and raced 40m before popping the ball to Ma’a Nonu for the try.
The Boks’ defence went from bad to worse. The All Blacks succeeded in stretching them out wide on a number of occasions, and worryingly, the Boks were starting to fall off tackles.
It was an embarrassing moment when the All Blacks cantered in for their fourth try, Conrad Smith scoring from a first-phase move. Having trailed by 10 points at one stage, the All Blacks were now 10 points ahead.
There was no way back for the Boks. Dan Carter, who looked all too mortal at times with some unforced errors of his own, began to find form as the game progressed. He booted a 60m monster of a penalty to extend the lead to 13, and then nailed a drop goal a few moments later to widen the gap to 16.
A 16-point win can’t be called ugly. The All Blacks came to play the Boks on the Highveld, and while they had already secured the Rugby Championship title, they needed to win to keep their dream of breaking the record for most consecutive Test victories alive.
The pressure was on, and when it mattered, they delivered.
The Boks played well in patches, but their effort and precision wasn’t on point in the second stanza.
They will lament the mistakes that led to try-scoring opportunities for the All Blacks, and what amounted to a hiding on the scoreboard will serve as a reminder that while they are rated No 2 in the world, they’re still a long way behind this mighty All Blacks side.
591 Comments
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6 Oct 2012, 19:52 pm
@phil72-48: Did you watch the game?
6 Oct 2012, 19:52 pm
@SodaJoe-45:
When we bring Weepu on it looks like we have more players on the field though
6 Oct 2012, 19:52 pm
@Dawn-46: do you think he gives a ****?
6 Oct 2012, 19:53 pm
@Tacitus-39: Heineken is way out of his depth – what is his win ratio now.
6 Oct 2012, 19:53 pm
@SodaJoe-49: this is why you keep losing,habs great?
6 Oct 2012, 19:54 pm
@chch-52: Love that guy. Not sure why he doesn’t start. Although he and Rickie Januarie could do a great Kentucky Fried Chicken TV commercial together.
6 Oct 2012, 19:56 pm
@dermie-55: I thought he played excellently. Great workrate. Great in the air. Good defense. He had to make a decision in a 3 man overlap, and the basics say this – “play the ball”.
AB backline overall is way better than Boks. By quite a distance. In every position.
6 Oct 2012, 19:57 pm
@SodaJoe-56: because smith is a young gun,do you have any idea of who’s a good player and who isn’t.
6 Oct 2012, 19:58 pm
@SodaJoe-51:
Suggest you watch the game again and watch the ab loose trio cut off our backline… and their backs having freedom to run. We have 3 loose forwards playing to the ball and tight game but not one covering
6 Oct 2012, 20:00 pm
@SodaJoe-57: he’s always been a glory intercept player and i hate intercept tries,still think is defence is suss.
6 Oct 2012, 20:01 pm
@Tacitus-50: lineouts were average not matfield great – since when is it great to have kiwis contest our ball. Pffft. Bekker is pissing me off what the hell was he doing standing next to Taute to let that cheat through for a try. Why was Estebeth taken off and not that construction crane!
It is a case of one step forward two steps back.
6 Oct 2012, 20:04 pm
@dermie-58:
Soda Joe knows rugby stuff…!!
What is your pedigree?
6 Oct 2012, 20:04 pm
@chch-52:
What are you saying? Teasing him because of his weight.
@Dawn-46: hahahahahaha look who is talking.
Pot (Dawny) meet Kettle (Brodie
6 Oct 2012, 20:06 pm
@SodaJoe-57:
Hi Soda, it has been too long..
You OK ?
6 Oct 2012, 20:09 pm
@carol-62: 20 years playing and kiwi,need anymore?
6 Oct 2012, 20:10 pm
CRUSHED
Quarterfinal roadkill
6 Oct 2012, 20:12 pm
Real world champions don’t lose.
6 Oct 2012, 20:12 pm
Boks great forwards at times but shocking back line. Does the boks practice backline moves? Or is it pass and bash pass and bash?
Also don’t understand why the boks set up mauls just to stand there and give the 9 the ball to kick away.
6 Oct 2012, 20:15 pm
Louw, Hougaard, de Villiers and Vermeulen were good.
Pienaar was too slow and that affected Jantjes
Goosen was a big loss
6 Oct 2012, 20:16 pm
the boks didn’t play kak because goosen left, they allowed the all black more ball & with more ball the all blacks punched HOLES in our outside backs…i’m interested to see the missed tackles stats between taute & jdv – the are NOT combining yet.
When everytime the all blacks attack they get glaring overlaps, we’re getting fooled!
6 Oct 2012, 20:17 pm
@dermie-65:
Ok, you pass…..
I played once,mixed rugby at college!!
6 Oct 2012, 20:19 pm
Good will come of this. Pacienza, amigos. New coach a must.
6 Oct 2012, 20:24 pm
@carol-71: cheers.
6 Oct 2012, 20:27 pm
My personal solution: Mallet head coach, Jacque Nienaber defensive coach, Percy kicking coach. Pieter de Villiers or Os scrum coach. Cheryl Calder for better handling and hand/eye co-ordination. A decent tighthead, Hougaard back at scrummie but playing his natural game, not what the Bulls forced him to. Jantjies starting at 10 with Goosen off the bench. De Villiers/F.Steyn at 12, De Jongh at 13, Habana & J.P the wings. Lambie at 15. Trouble is SARFU don’t have the balls to admit to Mallet he was right and ask him back.
6 Oct 2012, 20:27 pm
@Transformation-70: your playing the best side in the world,a pissy little country of 4 million people,give us credit.
6 Oct 2012, 20:28 pm
Well guys they are just better than us Full stop.
When they spread the ball wide they always seem to have the numbers and make good decisions
There timing of the passes is excellent and their reading of the game is wonderful
Well done ABs and well tried Boks
Some good positive aspects of our game but we have a bit to go to beat ABs
And it will happen
6 Oct 2012, 20:29 pm
South Africa
Undisputed World Champions
of talking themselves up
6 Oct 2012, 20:29 pm
@StreeptruiWP-74: why do does everyone rate habana?i don’t see it.
6 Oct 2012, 20:32 pm
@75 give it a rest
6 Oct 2012, 20:33 pm
@dermie-74 Admit he’s not what he was but we need some experience in the backline and there are not too many others out there who can attack and defend. That said, he did make one big f-up today with that attempted intercept.
6 Oct 2012, 20:34 pm
@dermie-78:
Well he does work hard. For the amount of ball he gets given, he needs to come up with ways to get involved. He goes looking. His problem is intercept based and always finds himself out of the line, a staggered defense line is a bad thing, he likes to leave his opposition winger alone thinking he has the wheels to catch him if the ball gets past him.
He knows how to finish as a good winger should. I dont think he is great but you have to give the guy credit with the cr@p to non existent ball he gets.
6 Oct 2012, 20:34 pm
@Te Rangatira-79: what?
6 Oct 2012, 20:34 pm
is Coenie Oesthuizen REALLY any smarter than Dean Greyling ?
‘Brutal & brainless Boks’
6 Oct 2012, 20:35 pm
@Hurricane-81: concede.
6 Oct 2012, 20:36 pm
@Hurricane-81: he’s ordinary on D though?
6 Oct 2012, 20:38 pm
@The Donkeys Egg-83:
Ok thats enough
its classless to rub it in ok
try Act like your team does with class
6 Oct 2012, 20:38 pm
Kieran Reid
best player on the Planet 2012
6 Oct 2012, 20:38 pm
I do not support the Springboks any more.
What a hopless performance.
Our backline was a joke once Goosen went off.
FOK JOU HEYNEKE
6 Oct 2012, 20:40 pm
@dermie-75: not a bad effort for a pissy little 4 million people, just imagine what we could do with a population like SA
6 Oct 2012, 20:41 pm
@dermie-85:
Yeah he has his moments.
But if he played in the AB team, his style would change, wouldnt need to go wondering all over the park to get involved and sorry to say to the Bok fans but he would become a better player.
6 Oct 2012, 20:43 pm
@Boksarenumber1-88:
It was going down hill even with Goosen on.
What i saw was Goosen just passing the ball and misseing kicks.
6 Oct 2012, 20:44 pm
Goosen unfortunately should have been subbed when he was clearly injured and this lead to abs 1st try
I think guys like jantjies, goosen and taute will get better with test experiences
Forwards doing ok except we need to have loosies out covering on defense
No all doom and gloom
6 Oct 2012, 20:45 pm
@CoachPete-86:
Coach,its hard to hold back sometimes as you know we get a bit off stick in here.
But anyways hard luck on tonights game mate. We all see glimpses of the Boks and how dominant they could be is they played with more brains and a couple of better backs.
6 Oct 2012, 20:46 pm
@dermie-75: did you read my 1st comment on this thread?
if you’re looking for fawning praises go to silverfern, i’m sure you’ll get it there.
6 Oct 2012, 20:46 pm
@Hurricane-93:
Well maybe its not the backs but they need more variation in the backs…which comes down to attacking coach and defense coach.
6 Oct 2012, 20:47 pm
@Hurricane-93:
Congrats to your team
Yes the best in the world and very hard to beat right now.
6 Oct 2012, 20:48 pm
Basically when we had 77% possession and only 10 points up, it was certain that when the possession became 50/50 ABs would be scoring
DC always good for 12 -15 points
6 Oct 2012, 20:51 pm
Brutal & brainy Boks will triumph
5 Oct 2012
“2.willievz:
5 Oct 2012, 14:29 pm All Blacks putting unnecessary pressure on themselves by referring to this as a “massively important” game. And they have a history of struggling just a tad when the heat is really on.”
” 22.keo:
5 Oct 2012, 15:47 pm @willievz-2: agree totally bud.”
6th October – update
‘Brittle and brainless Journalism’
6 Oct 2012, 20:54 pm
The boks are too robotic in their game plan, as Daniel Adongo (ex bulls player playing in nz) the SA play to structure game plans where as the nz play what’s infront of them.
Going forward the boks have a lot of potential with the young team the have, the forwards are going in the right direction but the backs aren’t. They need to play guys like Lambie, JDJ and even Aplon who provide a lot of flair.
6 Oct 2012, 20:59 pm
someone will be enjoying their bowl of noodles.
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