Ex-All Blacks boss casts doubt over ‘gold standard’ Springboks after try ‘they never scored’
All Blacks doing the haka during Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks in 2024.
Former All Blacks boss Laurie Mains has questioned whether the Springboks really are the team to beat.
The Springboks claimed the Rugby Championship title following a dominant 48-7 triumph over Argentina in Mbombela on Saturday.
They added that silverware to the Webb Ellis Cup they secured in 2023, where they defeated New Zealand 12-11 in the final.
Rassie Erasmus’ men won five of their six matches in the recent southern hemisphere tournament, with their only reversal being a 29-28 defeat to Los Pumas.
Four in a row for the Boks
South Africa overcame the All Blacks in both of their clashes in 2024, stretching their run to four successive triumphs against their arch-rivals.
However, despite the Boks’ recent success, they have dropped below Ireland in the Word Rugby rankings and Mains believes that Scott Robertson’s side could soon overtake Erasmus’ charges as well.
The ex-All Blacks coach was appearing on The Platform and, after presenter Sean Plunket stated that the Springboks are the “gold standard”, he responded: “Well, are they?
“I look at the two Tests the All Blacks played against them and, but for a lack of a TMO call when South Africa were given a try that they never scored, we would have won that Test match,” Mains added.
“We would then be saying to ourselves, ‘well are South Africa the best?’ We played them two times over there and could have won both of the Test matches, and should have won one of them.
“I don’t think we’re that far off it and I like where we’re sitting at the moment. There’s a few young players being tried and they’re starting to stand up and say, ‘yes, I’m good enough for this level.’
“Give them a year or two to develop a little bit more and I think we are going to be looking very good.”
Good spirit
The All Blacks went into the final weekend of the Rugby Championship out of title contention, but they did manage to finish in second place after ending the competition on a high.
Robertson’s side were far too strong for the Wallabies on Saturday as they ended their Wellington hoodoo with a dominant 33-13 victory over the Joe Schmidt-coached outfit.
“I was really impressed with Australia over that first 20 minutes, they really put the All Blacks under some heat and the response from the All Blacks was pretty good also,” Mains said.
“Their (All Blacks) defence was really tight and they really put their heart and soul into it.
“There’s good spirit in this All Black team. They may not have performed to their best but there’s a real spirit there and they’re sorting a few things out.”
