Sir John Kirwan feeling ‘physically sick’ after Springboks ‘smashed’ the All Blacks
Springboks celebrate RG Snyman's try against All Blacks, and New Zealand legend Sir John Kirwan.
All Blacks legend Sir John Kirwan was desolate after he watched Scott Robertson’s side get pummelled by the Springboks in Wellington.
New Zealand went into the break 10-7 ahead but were absolutely outplayed by a rampant South African team in the second period as Rassie Erasmus’ men scored 36 unanswered points.
Few saw that Boks display coming, particularly after Robertson’s men had claimed a 24-17 triumph at Eden Park last weekend.
Wide open Rugby Championship
The results on Saturday – Argentina also hit back after defeat last weekend – threw the Rugby Championship wide open with just two points separating Australia at the top and Los Pumas at the bottom.
Kirwan gave his immediate reaction to the game after being called by Springboks legend Victor Matfield after the match.
Those two greats are part of the Rivals podcast, and a delighted Matfield asked for the former wing’s take on the encounter.
“I feel physically sick… I want to vomit. South Africa smashed us,” was his response on Sportscafe Media, before he quipped: “We didn’t come out at half-time, we just sent someone else out at half-time!”
Kirwan certainly did not see the second half performance coming – from either team – as Cheslin Kolbe’s brace, allied by tries from Damian Willemse, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman and Andre Esterhuizen, sealed a record loss for the All Blacks.
“The scrum dominated us, the lineout dominated us and we couldn’t catch the high ball. They played an expansive game,” the New Zealand great said.
“I thought we had them in the first half because I thought they weren’t going to be able to keep up the pace, because I thought we were really good for 40 minutes.
“They hung in, in the critical times. Kolbe was unbelievable.”
Biggest-ever All Blacks defeat
It was the biggest-ever loss in New Zealand’s history, eclipsing the 35-7 reversal to South Africa in a 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up, and Kirwan had few complaints.
That didn’t stop him from having the odd moan, alleging that the Boks used go-slow tactics and that one aspect of Nika Amashukeli’s refereeing frustrated him, but he was otherwise gracious in defeat.
“I thought they cheated a wee bit, slowing it down at times, and another thing is that he (Amashukeli) can’t call two captains together and say, ‘stop doing stuff’, he’s just got to penalise,” he said.
“Besides that, they totally dominated us and should be incredibly proud. I thought that the selection was panicked, but that was a great combination of power and flair, so I don’t have anything to be fair – just congratulations.”
