Opening try: Israel Dagg
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New Zealand took one step closer to claiming the Rugby Championship title after seeing off South Africa 21-11 at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday.
The All Blacks, unbeaten in 14 Tests, outscored the Springboks two tries to one for a win that sees them take a commanding lead in the competition.
It certainly wasn't the best performance by the home side and they can count themselves lucky to come away with four points after South Africa blew several scoring opportunities - particularly in goal-kicking - that could have seen the match end in their favour.
Morne Steyn, Frans Steyn and Johan Goosen managed only two of nine attempts between them, whilst the visitors also let three chances slip with the try-line begging.
Indeed, this was a Test the Boks could have and should have won. Instead, South Africa's woeful kicking display and questionable tactics eventually proved costly and now leave New Zealand empty-handed after Aaron Cruden denied the visitors a losing bonus-point thanks to his successful penalty kick on full-time.
South Africa drew first blood when Morne Steyn raised the flags for the first and only time on 18 minutes after his namesake Francois had missed earlier from long range and Bryan Habana failed to hold an awkward pass with the line open.
The All Blacks struck back immediately though. Hooker Andrew Hore put in some hard yards before a beautiful offload from number eight Kieran Read set speedster Israel Dagg - who also handled four times in the movement - away for the opening try. Cruden missed the conversion, but the All Blacks were in front (5-3).
The two Steyns then missed three penalties between them, including a regulation shot from the Bok number ten on the stroke of half-time that could've put his team in front at the break.
But it was New Zealand who held the slender lead, even though the Springboks had 58 per cent territory and forced six turnovers from the All Blacks while conceding two.
South Africa came out firing in the second forty, but once again squandered points after Habana lost the ball on the run with the try-line in sight while Zane Kirchner's drop attempt missed the posts.
They finally broke through when Habana produced a moment of genius, chipping over the top and gathering for a super try - Morne Steyn missed the conversion, but the Boks were in front and deservedly so (5-8).
Cruden levelled the scores with a successful penalty (8-8) and then converted another sensational solo try - this time from replacement half-back Aaron Smith who dummied and sidestepped through the defence from 25 metres out.
Disaster then struck for the men in green and gold when replacement prop Dean Greyling was binned for taking out All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw. It was a night to forget for the Bulls prop, who also coughed the ball up with the try-line beckoning in the dying minutes and conceded a string of penalties.
Down to 14 players, South Africa's kicking woes spread to a third player when replacement Johan Goosen missed from halfway but he kept the game alive going into the final 10 minutes with a successful effort to make it 15-11.
But two penalty calls handed Cruden a pair of three-pointers that he made no mistake with to deny South Africa a bonus-point and make it four wins from four for New Zealand.
Man of the match: For South Africa, Duane Vermeulen was rock-solid while try-scorer Bryan Habana injected plenty of pace into the backline. However, it's hard to look beyond the inspirational performance from All Blacks captain Richie McCaw who gave as good as he received in the forward exchanges.
Moment of the match: Habana's touchdown was certainly one for the highlights reel, but replacement scrum-half Aaron Smith - dropped to the bench for a breach of team protocol last weekend - turned disgrace into triumph when he came off the bench to score New Zealand's decisive try.
Villain of the match: We seriously doubt we'll see Dean Greyling in a Bok jersey again after his error-prone and ill-disciplined 30 minutes on the field... oh, make that 20 minutes on the field - he spent 10 in the bin for his assault on McCaw.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Tries: Dagg, A Smith
Cons: Cruden
Pens: Cruden 2
For South Africa:
Try: Habana
Pens: M Steyn, Goosen
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Aaron Smith, 21 Beauden Barrett, 22 Tamati Ellison.
South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Johan Goosen, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.
Referee: George Clancy (IRE)
By Dave Morris
Comments
new_j4a says...
@APV1, That's an interesting thought about HM's reliance on the cyclical nature of fashion....what worries me is that he comes from a community that was determined to claw it's way back to the intellectual frontiers of 150 years ago. So if we don't replace him, expect him to go further backwards in terms of rugby strategy....any moment now, expect to see a campaign from Pretoria to return to the 4 point drop goal and 20 players a side so that when the boys have a bit of "fun" the impact on the team is less significant.
Posted 08:59 20th September 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
Waaa waaaa Trinats, they have all been injured for 10 years haven't they?
If it weren't for the Kiwi, PNG, Zim, Tongan, Saffa and so on ring-ins, the toll would be far worse .. that's 22 excuses and 0 replies. Sorry bud.
Posted 12:16 19th September 2012
Trader2 says...
Trinats2
Quite a list (although at least half of them will never don the cacky yellow again I suspect) as previously stated, soft, very soft.
Posted 08:52 19th September 2012
kiwilad says...
Trinats, You say Normaly I would take offence at someone calling yoy an Idiot.
Reading posts over the past couple of years, I thought you may be used to it by now! :)
Posted 04:00 19th September 2012
Trinats2 says...
Not sure if you have tonuge firm in cheek, but I'll take the bait.
"Wallabies have, in the course of eight internationals, been forced to select 36 different players. That includes 10 new caps, with the latest being Waratahs second-rower Kane Douglas. The other newcomers have been Luke Morahan, Joe Tomane, Mike Harris, Dan Palmer, Michael Hooper, Liam Gill, Cooper Vuna, Dave Dennis and Dom Shipperley. What is most disconcerting is the long list of unavailable players through injury. At the moment, 27 prospective Test players cannot be picked. You can even select a reasonable Wallabies unavailable line-up. From fullback: Lachie Turner, Drew Mitchell, Rob Horne, Christian Lealiifano, Tomane, James O'Connor, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Ben McCalman, James Horwill, Sitaleki Timani, Palmer or Salesi Ma'afu, Stephen Moore, Sekope Kepu".
This was last week, you can now add Cooper and Shipperley to the list.
As for Thorn (retired) you can have in there Elsom, Waugh or Vickerman, or the long list of Aussie players that have headed overseas this year just like Sonny Williams did.
So maybe NZ have been fortunate to have played an injury struck Wallaby and Saffa side far worst that NZ !!!
Not an excuse, that's Deans !!!.
Posted 15:04 18th September 2012
Ferdie says...
the missed kicks, and some stats on this stadium - for an enclosed environment it has a good reputation already for being tough on the kickers:
2011 RWC: 32 of 59 attempts (54 per cent)
2012 Super Rugby: 64 from 97 (65 per cent)
and then to ruin it all, Otago's Hayden Parker kicked 10 from 11 v Northland in an ITM Cup match.
Posted 23:53 17th September 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
The biggest problem for NZ right now is world cup hangover!
This year was the ideal opportunity for Australia and South Africa to get something going but they have choked, again. NZ have lost their two hardmen Thorn and Kaino, 2 senior locks Boric and Williams, 2 key backs SBW and Kahui, haven't had DC or Conrad Smith fully fit, Weepu is out of form, 6 of our 22 players are 2012 debutants, a new coaching regime, are playing poorly and are still 7 from 7. But let's not make any excuses.
Posted 21:49 17th September 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
Haha Aus looked like winning, err when? Oh against Scotland.. I see now.
Trinats, I saw Aussie posers posing with a little Puma trophy, did Kearns make that for the boys so they'd feel better about themselves? Maybe NZ can mail over a donut for you guys to erect at HQ if you're collecting meaningless souvineers.
Posted 21:36 17th September 2012
Trader2 says...
Trinats
No I passed the test, the question was "What do lawn bowls and cricket have in common in Australia" and I correctly answered Greg and Trevor Chappell.
Also what is a full Wannabie side, is it one that week in and week out has its best 15 always available, this is the real world old son, that just does not happen for anyone, there will always be injuries, you plonker, admittedly the Wannabies appear a bit softer than most other nations. Thats where depth, depth and more depth comes in, and you still ain't got it.
My points on the bonus points remains, (excuse the pun - yes that's P U N) the AB's don't and won't need them, two points from a draw with the Argies should do it, (will give the Saffa's a home win and remember we don't need a losing bonus point), the Wannabies would then need 2 bonus points wins and score heaps of points, you should get some great odds on that so put your house on it (oh hang on property not worth that much in Browns Plains). Of course the Ref's will help out the AB's as they have for the last 100 plus years, although I am not sure why they let us down over 5 consecutive World Cups.
Posted 15:11 17th September 2012
Trader2 says...
porridge_time
Yes I agree I was trying to just make the point that if the AB's don't score 4/5 try's every game then some people delight in saying that they must be under pressure, non AB supporters get a little excited when that happens, gives a glimmer of hope for them I guess.
Posted 14:21 17th September 2012
Trinats2 says...
Trader2:
Normally I'd take offence to someone calling me an idiot, but you are a Kiwi and I find that amusing !!! Obviously you got into Aus prior to the intelligence test !!!
"Who needs bonus points" Well if eveyone else beat the Wallabies (and it was possible with this coach) then bonus points would have come into factor !!!
Could still do for SA, they could finish 4th by one point because Argentina got a losing bonus point against Aus (the try that the winger went into touch !!! Ouch that would hurt), and I guess SA would need "bonus points" !!!
Or NZ could pick up heaps of injuries and lose all their last games with no losing bonus point and Aus win, with Bonus points !!! And for you idi......whoops, Kiwis, that means Australia would win !!!
Ferdie:
My point being NZ nearly (only Carter/Kaino out) with a full choice of selections, should have a bonus point win over depleted Aussie and Saffa sides.
"That's the difference between being #1 and being number two"
I see the difference being injuries !!! France won the RWc final lucky for NZ you had a ref on your side, Ireland ran NZ close again a ref to help out on home soil, Argentina, SA and Aus looking like winning (or even at least) until a sinbin changed the game !!!
I know for sure that if roles were reversed, a full Aussie side would have had a 4 try bonus point in the first half against a kiwi side with same injuries and coach that the Wallabies have had !!!
Kiwilad:
Though you could read between the lines and not take the bait !!!
Posted 11:54 17th September 2012
APV1 says...
I have a brilliant theory, so bear with me on this...
HM is a huge fan of modern fashion and spends a lot of time in the hotbeds of haute couture - Paris, London, Milan, etc. And what he's noticed over the last couple of seasons is that 80's and 90's fashion is coming back in again. And now he's trying to translate this concept onto the rugby field:
"If we play Bulls-style rugby for long enough, it's bound to start working eventually."
Well, unless anyone out there can come up with a better one, that's the theory I'm sticking with.
Posted 11:27 17th September 2012
porridge_time says...
Trader...
The point I was making was in response to the poster who said that the current AB team look susceptible under pressure. Going forward with lots to work on the AB's have still managed to win each RC game with enough to spare at full time.
Posted 10:02 17th September 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
Well that was a golden opportunity to put away NZ in thier own back yard, and hose opportunities are few and far between.
The All Blacks didn't play well but they got though on guts and bok mistakes. Almost reminisent of England beating Scotland in the 6n's this year. both South Africa and Scotland should have put their opponents away but ended up slipping on an errant banana skin just when they looked to have it in the bag.
As I said before the big question for the remaining NZ fixtures is whether they can do an inaugrial grand slam, which will in turn set them up nicely to smash the most consecutive wins world record in Europe later this year. Rugby Union History in the making... watch and enjoy.
Posted 09:51 17th September 2012
right14wing says...
Well done AB , Sitting there thinking that the Bokke forward pack are having a great game until all the subs , for what reason I don't know? If Meyer does not now realize that Steyne and Side Show Bob are crap then I worry , for a fullback to miss so many tackles and a flyhalf to miss 95% of goal kicks - shocking. Lambie and Aplon time!!!!
Posted 08:37 17th September 2012
dropkick says...
Lots of comments here about how close this was - not the game I saw. Boks bring precious little to the park these days other than cro magnon meatheads in the forwards (Mr Greyling take a bow) and their all too predictable kicking game which is painful to watch even when its working.
With the exception of the peerless Habana I don't think I saw one piece of invention or a Bok player trying to beat a man with ball in hand.
Standard issue SA rugby these days is (if the pass is actually caught which is a 50/50 proposition at best) to pick out a defender and run straight at him. Doesn;t the SA rugby brains trust think it has some obligation to the paying public to dish up somehting more than this drivel.
SA have perfected the art of dragging the opposition down to their dismal level. Surely there must be some better talent than this lot - Bok fans I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Posted 03:48 17th September 2012
Ferdie says...
something positive - Habana's try put him on ten tries scored in the tri-nations/rugby championship and fifth on the all-time list - behind four from nz: cullen (16), rokocoko (15), howlett (13), mccaw (11)
that bloody mccaw again!
of current players further down the list, there are ashley-cooper and nonu (8), woodcock (7) and carter, j de villiers, jane all on 6.
Posted 02:21 17th September 2012
Ferdie says...
Trinats2 and bonus points . . . speaking of tries, I see wallabies are now 'on a roll' having scored tries in TWO consecutive matches. Wow.
Meanwhile across the Tasman, the All Blacks run of 103 one hundred and three games where they have scored a try continues.
This season: Wallabies 10 tries 8 tests, and still a negative points difference of 11 ABs 22 tries, 7 tests, plus points of 151.
That's the difference between being #1 and being number two
Posted 02:07 17th September 2012
jontheref says...
fattysock
Commentator in the NZ game refered to Bryan H, as "Obama", talk about electioneering off your patch!
From a nuetral, never though NZ would lose, aleays had something in reserve.
A Smith at 9, one to keep, SA need to have a drastic rethink, lucky they playe Argentina first up!
Posted 22:42 16th September 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
Trinats, how many bonus points have Australia scored this season? Even losing bonus points seem to be an issue..and there have been plenty of losses... come to think of it, even scoring any points at all has proved a challenge if I remember correct. Enjoy that donut boy.
Posted 22:13 16th September 2012