Jean de Villiers: ‘The All Blacks are playing like the Springboks, the Springboks are playing like the All Blacks’
All Blacks performing haka ahead of Springboks clash and ex-South Africa captain Jean de Villiers.
The All Blacks and Springboks have been renowned for their very distinctive styles but that has potentially swapped around, according to former South Africa internationals.
Last weekend, Rassie Erasmus’ men put an expansive game plan on the field and for 20 minutes produced some spellbinding rugby to go 22-0 up against the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship.
Some would say it was New Zealand-esque, but very much the All Blacks of old as Scott Robertson has placed a real focus on set-piece and kick-chase since taking charge.
All Blacks’ struggles in attack
They dominated in the scrum and maul against Argentina, while their backline failed to really fire, something which has been a common theme over the past 12 months.
By contrast, the Boks have been looking to improve their attack, with New Zealander Tony Brown being brought in to help them do just that.
Ultimately, it did not work in Johannesburg as the Wallabies came back to stun the Springboks, while the All Blacks’ approach paid off in Cordoba, winning 41-24.
And South Africa great Schalk Burger was impressed by the forward dominance Robertson’s charges managed to attain in the opening period.
“The first half, they were utterly dominant,” Burger said on The Verdict podcast, before he went on to criticise an error-strewn Los Pumas outfit.
“With 10 minutes to go, it was 31-24, and the All Blacks scored two unanswered tries. The problem Argentina have got is they can’t have a foothold in the game – the set-piece is getting dominated.
“The lineout is not great, they make a lot of errors, their discipline was poor and then you get 22 entries and they can’t stop a maul.
“There were three maul tries by the All Blacks last weekend.”
All Blacks’ change of approach
Fellow ex-Springbok forward Hanyani Shimange agreed with Burger about the South Americans and also observed how the All Blacks have altered their style under Robertson.
New Zealand’s head coach did promise an increase in speed and tempo this year after attempting to get the fundamentals in place in 2024, but it has so far failed to yield a more potent backline.
“The Pumas are nowhere at the moment, although they started coming back in the second half,” Shimange said.
“I tell you what, the All Blacks in the forwards, they’ve got a [big] scrum, score maul tries, it’s almost a change as they’re picking a heavier pack now.
Former Boks captain Jean de Villiers then quipped: “The All Blacks are playing like the Springboks and the Springboks are playing like the All Blacks,” before Shimange chimed in, saying: “Exactly, so it’s interesting what the All Blacks are doing. There is a definite change in strategy there.”