Publications
Partners
New Zealand delivered a timely reminder to the effect of news of their demise being grossly exaggerated by beating South Africa to break a four-game losing streak and put their name forward to contend for the Rugby Championship title.
Under incredible pressure, the visitors put in a brave performance to win by 12 points at Ellis Park in a game that was more hard-fought than the final score suggests.
Going into the game, the talk from the All Blacks camp was about how they still had belief while the rest of the free world wondered whether there would finally be a reaction from Ian Foster’s men after a record of one win and five defeats in their six matches before yesterday’s.
The short answer was that New Zealand fans finally got the desired reaction from their team, especially when they showed intent as early as the second scrum, which they chose as an option (something they would did twice in the first half) after winning a free kick. With the resultant scrums actually proving much more solid than in the corresponding fixture in Nelspruit last week, the line-out followed suit with the visitors taking two of the Boks’ throw-ins in the first half.
Yet for all those threats, the visitors found ways not to score by passing into touch twice, being driven back from over the line and scoring no points for fullback Damian Willemse’s fourth-minute sin-bin to the point where the first points in the game came from a 25th minute penalty by Mo’unga.
That score led to two more in captain Sam Cane and hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho’s tries in the 28th and 33rd minutes, respectively, to establish a deserved lead by the All Blacks. The embattled Cane’s try originated from a Caleb Clarke break from inside his 22m line, while Taukei’aho’s effort was the gloss on a coming of age performance all over the park.
For their part, the Boks were lethargic out the blocks, found their kicking game nullified by the All Blacks escorts for the would-be high ball catcher taking on the description of bouncers, with the famed swarm defence struggling somewhat.
The reason for those travails was the All Blacks cleverly varying their attempts at breaching it by going through it, around it and over it, with the second reason being the disruption to the hosts’ defensive line after winger Jesse Kriel was substituted after a head injury in the ninth minute.
The first try came from centre Lukhanyo Am, who was playing on the wing for Kriel and who rounded off a strong line out drive and ball through the hands effort by the Boks by slipping past Clarke and Will Jordan. Am, who was having one of his nonchalantly brilliant days, would see a break and pass to Makazole Mapimpi denied due to obstruction by scrum half Jaden Hendrikse in the second half, a decision that ended up with a Mo’unga penalty sailing over the Bok poles to extend their lead.
But that didn’t last long, as a Marx strip in the tackle was put through the hands with Willemse picking out Mapimpi with a skip pass to score in the 59th minute. Unfortunately, just as the hosts’ 61 500 fans were getting bullish about a slender lead, the visitors scored through centre David Havili for a brave win.
