All Blacks off to a flyer
by Tony Johnson | 13 July 2010 (06:24)
It’s only game one of a long series, but it’s hard to imagine a better start for the All Blacks in the Tri Nations.
To take a four try bonus off the defending champions reflected an intensely committed performance and the execution of an excellent coaching strategy.
In contrast I wonder if the Springboks didn’t make a serious blunder in their preparation.
They didn’t arrive in the country until late Monday night....not in their hotel beds until early Tuesday. New Zealand teams traditionally struggle on their return from South Africa, when it can take a good week to get over the West-East time lag, and I was surprised the Boks didn’t get here earlier.
So when the blow torch was applied, the Boks battled to stay on the pace. Their giant forward pack lacked mobility and their kick chase game was nowhere near its usual standard. Fourie du Preez was not there and that makes a huge difference. Januarie, Steyn and Kirchner kicked way too deep, and the chase was ragged.
The All Blacks opening try came from a counter attack off an ineffectual Januarie kick, that only Schalk Burger and John Smit bothered to chase, inviting Mils Muliaina to shoot through the mile wide gap between them to open things up for Conrad Smith to score.
The All Blacks have worked hard on their counter attack as a foil to the aerial blitz, and the Boks will need to be more accurate in Wellington to avoid getting burnt again.
Talking of being burned, it was one of the great ironies of the winter that Jimmy Cowan managed to light someone else’s short fuse, and the consequence is dire for Bakkies Botha and the Springboks.
Cowan was guilty of an obvious jersey tug on Botha, and should have been penalised, but Botha’s response was inexcusable and he has paid a severe penalty. I have my doubts he was fully fit anyway but his Tri Nations is over and he will have to mend his ways because the bans will just get longer as his charge sheet lengthens.
To his credit he admitted the offence and apologised to Cowan. That is the enigma that is Botha. Off the field a nice, God fearing guy, but on the field an awesome force that has too often now been a loose cannon.
It has been suggested that referee Alan Lewis saw the incident on the big screen when it was replayed, and that this might have influenced his decision to card Botha soon after for killing the ball close to the Springbok line.
I agree that a “catch-up card” would be very wrong, but consider two things. Had Lewis or his mates seen the head butt the Boks would have played the game out with 14. Secondly, as to the gripe that Bakkies was carded without a prior warning, well certainly referees will administer a warning for persistent infringing before dishing out a yellow, but when a professional foul is given away a metre from a goal line to prevent a try scoring opportunity, they are told to give a card regardless. Alan Lewis is known to be a stickler for it, having carded three All Blacks in a test at Twickenham a few years back.
Even if Bakkies was not 100%, the Boks will miss him because he is such a strong presence, such a hard worker, and such a great foil to Victor Matfield, who spent the bulk of the game making tackles, and looked exhausted before the final whistle.
The disruption caused by Botha’s carding, and his early exit from the game helped the All Black forwards establish a telling dominance. They actually shaded the lineouts courtesy of three steals and won all of their own throws. That is scarcely believable!
They also had the edge at scrum time where the in-form Gurthro Steenkamp found his match in the nuggety Owen Franks, while Tony Woodcock had the better of Jannie du Plessis.
But it was in the tackle, or “collision” zone that the All Blacks established a key advantage.
They were quick in coming up, and met the Bok ball carriers behind the advantage line in force, either stopping them, or driving them back. The Boks never got the front foot, and their dangerous runners like Spies and Fourie never had much of a platform.
Going into the test there was much criticism of the All Black backline selection. Too old, they said on the talkback radio, time for new blood. Mils Muliaina and Joe Rokocoko were the chief targets as the fans clamoured for Israel Dagg and Hosea Gear.
Muliaina responded with one of the great performances of his career. Apart from one early handling lapse he was flawless, and his rapier like thrusts from the back caused no end of grief for the Boks. He showed just how much he still wants that jersey as he is challenged by a rising star.
Rokocoko was less brilliant, but very solid and his big frame was handy in keeping the Bok defence on the back foot. However he has suffered a hamstring injury and is in doubt for Wellington, as are Cowan (abdominal strain) and Kahui (shoulder, possibly serious).
So both teams will have to make changes for the second test.
For the Boks Botha will need to be replaced, and I don’t think it was doing Jean de Villiers any good to be plonked on the wing. Too often he went looking for intercepts that weren’t there and he seemed flummoxed by the wide distance between the All Black backs on attack, and often got stuck in no-man’s land. He is a top player, but surely he is picked as a centre or not at all.
No-one here is writing the Springboks off. There is too much history, too much respect for the old foe. With a full week to adjust to the time zone behind them they should be in better shape for Wellington, but they have suffered a fair jolt and have much ground to make up against an All Black team that can still get better.
As Peter de Villiers chirped at the post match press conference “this is not a train wreck”. A win in Wellington and they are right back in the box seat, but another defeat and there is the danger of at least a temporary derailment.
