Once again Kings Park proved to be an unhappy ground for the Boks as they succumbed to the All Blacks 26-21.
The Boks started off strongly, taking the game to the All Blacks and doiminating the forward exchanges. For the first 20 minutes we dominated territory and posession, but like the previous week all we had to show for it were a couple of penalties as we struggled to cross the try line. The All Blacks slowly started to work their way back into the match and had Daniel Carter been more accurate with his goal kicking we could have been trailing. It took a try from a lineout drive late in the first half for the Boks to regain the lead.
After some strong pressure and a resulting try at the beggining of the second half, the Boks started gifting ball to the Kiwis which resulted in easy yards as tackles started to fall. In the end pressure and missed tackles told as the All Blacks scored 2 late tries.
The difference between the reserve benches was painfully evident as Mealamu, McAlister, MacDonald and co made a massive difference for the AB’s whilst the loss of James and Skinstad was huge as Steyn and Wannenburg were awful, putting the Boks under extreme pressure with handling mistakes and a yellow card.
For the Boks, they showed once again their pack can dominate the All Blacks. However we must play to our strengths and kick the ball out. At Kings Park we simply never played to our strength in that department. The worries must be the ease at which the All Blacks cross the gain line and the lack of penetration and creativity in our back line. Just a month or 2 ago we were superb in the super 14, but these same players are looking very ordinary under Jake White. I suspect somehow that the conservatism of White is the major factor. After the World Cup this year, this needs to be addressed if we want to truly dominate world rugby.
South Africa 21: Tries by Schalk Burger and Butch James. Percy Montgomery kicked a conversion and two penalties and Ruan Pienaar a penalty.
New Zealand 26: Tries by Richie McCaw and Joe Rokocoko. Dan Carter kicked three penalties and two conversions and Aaron Mauger a dropped goal
