Springboks in search of fourth successive win over All Blacks

South Africa claimed two bonus point wins in Australia in the first two rounds before returning home to beat the All Blacks last Saturday. New Zealand are not out of it quite yet, however, they will have to beat the Springboks this weekend and then hope the double World Cup champions drop a game to Argentina.

The build-up to the round three fixture last week was immense. Of course, it is the biggest fixture in rugby union and this weekend we get to go through all those same emotions once again.

Before we look forward to this coming Saturday, we should look back at what was an epic contest at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg.

South Africa went into the game as favourites but given the occasion and the aura of the All Blacks, this was never just a given for the hosts. Especially when you consider that the last time they beat New Zealand at Emirates Airline Park was back in 2014.

The Springboks squad is littered with World Cup winners, many of whom are two-time world champions. But there are also many young players coming through the ranks and are being given a chance to shine by Rassie Erasmus.

As many would have expected, New Zealand came flying out of the blocks, dominating the opening exchanges which eventually led to a yellow card for the hosts and a try to the men in black.

South Africa responded pretty quickly through a penalty and a very dubious try by hooker, Bongi Mbonambi. In fact, it wasn’t dubious, it should not have been awarded, but as on a few other occasions during the match where it seemed like the TMO should come into play, he didn’t.

At the break the visitors were up by a point, 12-11, the exact same final score of the World Cup final last year, just in reverse. Was this a bad omen for the Springboks?

It certainly seemed that way as the hosts couldn’t assert their dominance, the scrum wasn’t gaining any traction and the lineout started to go awry. Shortly after the break, the All Blacks were in under the poles with an intercept try.

The Springboks stayed in touch but with less than 20 minutes to go, the hosts were 10 points down and that is not a position the All Blacks often lose from.

However, South Africa’s superior bench paid off in the final 20 minutes as they scored two converted tries to win the game 31-27.

A popular view was that New Zealand were very good in the opening 60 minutes, and they were, there is no doubting that. They bossed the game and played on their terms, forcing the Springboks into errors. At the same time, most will admit that the Springboks were nowhere near their best in the first hour. That is also true, but New Zealand forced that on the hosts with their varied kicking game and gainline success.

These two clash in Cape Town this weekend where the All Blacks notably will have a bit more support. They are also at sea level which means the altitude factor is out of the window, but can they replicate those opening 60 minutes for 80 on Saturday?

While Rassie Erasmus, the coaching staff and most supporters will agree that the Springboks were at best a 6/10 on Saturday, this weekend will prove a different challenge.

However, there should be concern around some aspects of how the Springboks went about their business on Saturday in Johannesburg.

It is well known that they are attempting to vary their play, bring a more attacking threat with ball in hand to the fore, thus the addition of New Zealander, Tony Brown to the coaching staff.

As with any change, it is taking the players some time to adapt, and their decision-making is not quite where it should be just yet. Positive moves often end with an ill-advised offload – one such occasion on Saturday led to the visitors scoring a try.

Perhaps a bigger cause for concern for Erasmus’ side is their defence. Since Erasmus came into the setup in 2018, defence has been the pillar on which the Boks have built their two World Cup victories. 

It was former head coach, Jacques Nienaber, who brought the rush defence into the side. And it has worked wonders for South Africa.

On Saturday, however, the All Blacks got around that defence far too easily, with players making poor reads which left them as spectators rather than defenders.

Much of that is also down to the All Blacks brilliant reading of the game and their varied kicking strategy which put the defence under pressure to make good reads.

Perhaps it isn’t cause for concern just yet, but if the trend continues, one must wonder if that defensive pattern can be followed in the absence of Nienaber. The more expansive strategy of the Springboks will also have an effect on how they set up on defence, so it could come down to simply needing time to adapt to the different questions being asked of them.

Regardless of that, Cape Town is set for another humdinger on Saturday. In a fixture fraught with history, who will come out on top in the latest chapter of the Springboks vs All Blacks rivalry?