You don’t really need to look past a 42 point drubbing to know that the Boks are a shambles at the moment, but we’ll dig a little deeper to drive home the point.
It does need to be mentioned that we are witnessing an All Black team that is superior to most (if not all) sides that have ever graced our shores, but even with that in mind Saturday was another dark day in a season full of stinkers.
First loss to Ireland on home soil, first away loss to Argentina, and now we can add heaviest defeat ever against our once-rivals from New Zealand.
Stats you will know – Bok tries zero, All Black tries nine. You may also have seen that compete dominance represented in territory (71%) and possession (68%), but time for a few shockers with the help of Sport24:
Metres made: NZ 754-148 SA
Carries: NZ 162-57 SA
Defenders beaten: NZ 40-3 SA
Clean breaks: NZ 24-3 SA
Passes completed: NZ 220-92 SA
Offloads: NZ 22-7 SA
Turnovers conceded: NZ 17-15 SA
Tackles made: NZ 73-175 SA
Tackles missed: NZ 3-40 SA
Kicks in play: NZ 21-25 SA
Rucks won: NZ 101-44 SA
Rucks lost: NZ 2-0 SA
Mauls won: NZ 7-2 SA
Lineouts won: NZ 16-8 SA
Lineouts lost: NZ 2-1 SA
Scrums won: NZ 3-6 SA
Scrums lost: NZ 0-0 SA
Penalties conceded: NZ 8-10 SA
Tackles missed – 40 for the Boks, three for the All Blacks. Then there’s clean breaks and offloads, and I’ll take a moment to look at kicks in play.
The fact that we led that stat by 25 to 21 doesn’t look bad, but when you remember that we only had 32% of possession a clearer picture starts coming together.
For those who like things in an infographic format…
If you missed the match then consider yourself lucky, but if you’re a sucker for punishment go ahead and watch the ‘highlights’ below:
Feel like a quick glance at what peeps in New Zealand had to say? Here’s a few damning excerpts from Stuff:
This 57-15 victory was truly remarkable. A proud rugby nation in South Africa was left decimated. So much for the Aaron Smith saga impacting this team…
The mentality of the two teams was poles apart. The All Blacks, as always, attempted to play at pace. They took quick throw-ins, and looked to spread the ball at almost every opportunity. The Boks, meanwhile, wanted to slow everything to a standstill. They collectively walked back to restarts, and had meetings at lineouts to buy themselves time to catch a breath.
Steyn did what Morne always does – stand deep in the pocket and kick, kick, kick. Pat Lambie did the same, seemingly determined to constantly throw away the ball. The Boks never really played any rugby.
Allister’s head won’t roll just yet, and given that he hasn’t yet reached double figures in charge I highly doubt his job is in jeopardy.
Perhaps some of his backroom staff are on borrowed time though, and a few changes ahead of what could be a torrid end of year northern hemisphere tour may inject some fresh ideas.
We’ve now gone two full matches without scoring a try, and although it’s easy to point fingers at Morne Steyn he alone cannot be blamed for the drought.
I think we can all be glad the Rugby Championship has come to an end and we have time to regroup. The scars of Saturday’s defeat won’t be easily forgotten, and if we don’t have answers come November full-blown panic will well and truly have set in.
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