Opinion: South Africa should not start officiating ‘blame game’ when Rassie Erasmus’ side ‘couldn’t handle the occasion’
Quinn Tupaea scoring decisive All Blacks try against the Springboks and Karl Dickson, who refereed the Eden Park clash.
A night to savour for the All Blacks and a personal triumph for Ardie Savea, but South Africa will kick themselves all the way to Wellington.
This was their shot at history, their chance to end New Zealand’s 31-year unbeaten streak at Eden Park, to win in the spiritual home of Kiwi rugby for the first time since 1937. And they blew it.
A brutal, riveting contest ended with Savea, on his 100th cap, screaming ‘My House!’ as he claimed the last-minute turnover which decided the result and kept his nation on top on the Rugby Championship.
It was a victory well deserved for a home side which had lost four straight to the world champions and were on the rebound from their first ever loss in Argentina a fortnight ago.
‘Immense’ All Blacks character
They showed immense character to lead from start to finish: from Emoni Narawa’s try 97 seconds in, to Damian McKenzie kicking the ball dead to stop the clock.
They played with more control, more poise, more intelligence. Their discipline was better, so too their lineout. They scored more tries and coped with losing more players to HIAs.
And yet, they won only because of Savea’s moment of magic, the steal that extended New Zealand’s unbeaten record in their Garden of Eden to a 51st match.
Moments later the match finished and the blame game began. To the surprise of nobody in this era in which we live, social media came alive with criticism of the referee.
We saw it after the World Cup final between these two teams when Englishman Wayne Barnes was on the receiving end to the extent he chose to hang up his whistle soon after.
And we saw it again here with compatriot Karl Dickson getting it in the neck. According to the @RatetheRef account on X, “the ref couldn’t handle the occasion and could not penalize us enough. NZ could do nothing wrong. He shouldn’t ref for a while.”
A more valid assessment would be that for an hour the Springboks could do nothing right. For an hour it was they who couldn’t handle the occasion.
How else does one explain a misfiring display that saw them ship two tries during a first quarter in which they were unable even to execute their midfield ‘lineout’.
Releasing the pressure
Until the 62nd minute, when Malcolm Marx finally grabbed them a try, every time they created momentum they gave it right back.
There was Grant Williams’ knock on in the 37th minute, after South Africa had won four penalties in quick succession to advance up the field.
Then came a South Africa lineout so long in the taking they were timed out. That it followed a wondrous 50:22 by Handre Pollard only made it more galling.
Five times the Boks ventured into the home 22 without scoring a point. On 52 minutes they threatened, only to be penalised for crossing. Nine minutes later Damian de Allende got his timing wrong when Cobus Reinach tried to put him through. It was all so clunky.
Yet what makes South Africa such a formidable foe is they never give up. They never stop coming.
So it was that just after the hour their scrum packed down on a Kiwi put-in and blitzed them so completely Kwagga Smith was able to power to the line, for Marx to score.
The deficit was down to seven points, it was game on. What happens? Lood de Jager obstructs at the restart – to Erasmus’ fury in the coaching box – and New Zealand are gifted possession back.
The Boks then compound that by losing Smith to the sin bin for a ‘professional foul’ and the ABs exploit their extra man to put Quinn Tupaea over.
‘We should not be surprised’
Perhaps we should not be so surprised. This has been a distinctly ordinary championship for the holders. Embarrassed by Australia in Johannesburg, they needed Pollard to kick everything and James O’Connor to miss three late kicks to get past the same opponents in Cape Town.
Of course they did not go without a fight here. Finishing like a train, they scored a second try through Reinach and were hammering at the door again until Savea’s priceless intervention.
With Erasmus in charge there is no need for panic. This was more down to execution than major system failures. But seven days from now they need a reaction in Wellington. Anything less and they can kiss goodbye to their title hopes.