The post-mortems on the Springboks’ surprise 33-16 defeat to the All Blacks at Ellis Park have dominated social media this past week, from Rassie Erasmus to every Tom, Dick and Harry with a cellphone and an opinion.
Funnily enough, the Boks themselves quickly “parked” the defeat, according to Thomas du Toit, because they have another Test to play.
But what areas can the Springboks fix going into Saturday’s must-win second Test in Cape Town?
Protect the ball at all costs
Bok supporters can thank the rugby gods that Siya Kolisi is back because his muscular presence at the breakdown could go a long way towards fixing an area in which the Boks got a hiding last week.
The turnover count — 14 conceded against just five won — tells a huge part of the story.
Seldom have we seen Springbok scrumhalves under such pressure at the breakdown. Grant Williams, in particular, received precious little protection as the All Blacks repeatedly disrupted South Africa’s possession.
The Boks simply have to be better at securing their own ball.
Kick predictability into touch
We understand Rassie had a strategy that included stifling the All Blacks’ creativity and fleet-footed backline, but the box-kicking became too predictable, and the Kiwis had clearly done their homework and dealt comfortably with the aerial contest.
When the Boks weren’t box-kicking, they were relentlessly carrying through the likes of Jasper Wiese, who did so effectively. But there was a danger that South Africa’s physicality itself became predictable: carry, carry, slow ball, turnover.
Let’s have some variation, please, as the Boks did when they won 43-10 in Wellington last year.
Pick up the pace
This follows directly from the breakdown problem.
The All Blacks’ defence was magnificent. Tana Umaga was a thorn in the flesh of the Boks when he was a player, and that appears to continue now that he is the New Zealand defence coach.
The New Zealanders made an impressive 132 tackles to South Africa’s 86, but the key was that they were repeatedly given enough time to reset their defensive line before the next attack.
The Boks need quicker ball and greater variation to prevent the All Blacks from establishing that defensive wall.
Stop giving away cheap penalties
Much of the good work of the first half was undone in the second by a mounting error count, including a kick-off that went dead.
The discipline disintegrated under pressure in the final quarter, and the Boks finished with two yellow cards, allowing New Zealand to accelerate away to 33 points and out of sight.
Against the All Blacks, you simply cannot compound one mistake with another.
A missed tackle can happen. A turnover can happen. But an ensuing penalty gives the opposition another opportunity to punish you.
The Boks need to keep their composure when things go wrong.
Counter the All Blacks’ counter-attack
New Zealand scored five tries, with their outside backs again proving a potent weapon, and the entire rugby world knows that counter-attacking is bread and butter for the All Blacks.
Quite simply, whenever there was a hole in the Boks’ defensive structure, New Zealand found it, with line breaks often following.
If a Springbok attack breaks down, the priority has to be getting the defensive line organised before the Kiwis can sweep the turnover ball out wide to players such as Will Jordan.
It might help this week to have Jesse Kriel back at outside centre, where his experience and ability to organise the defensive line could prove invaluable.
@MikeGreenaway
IOL Sport
