Sir Steve Hansen calls on All Blacks to ‘belt the sh-t out of’ the Springboks after ‘poor decision’ in Test two
Springboks centre Jesse Kriel celebrates scoring a try and an inset of ex-All Blacks boss Sir Steve Hansen.
Sir Steve Hansen says that the All Blacks made a crucial error in the opening minutes of the second Test match of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry in Cape Town.
Rassie Erasmus’ men took an early lead in the Mother City with Jesse Kriel crossing the whitewash in the opening minutes of the game. The Springboks centre barged over the line after Jordie Barrett scoffed his clearance into touch, giving the hosts their first attacking opportunity.
The Boks formed a powerful maul that gained over 15 metres, with Kriel opening the scoring soon after a few quick and powerful carries.
Ewen McKenzie: All Blacks need to start better
That fast start gave the hosts a psychological advantage for the remainder of the Test, according to Hansen, while it led former Wallabies head coach Ewen McKenzie to predict that winning the coin toss will be crucial for the meeting in Soweto this weekend.
“The key to this game is who wins the toss because if South Africa win the toss, they’re going to kick off deep to you like they did last time. What New Zealand can’t do is kick it into touch, right? They’ve got to kick it up the field, and let’s start running games,” McKenzie said on the Rugby Unity podcast.
“Let’s get the big guys running around for a while and see how we go. If you kick it into touch and you give them a stop-start game, they’re going to maul and drive and pick and drive and do all that sort of stuff, and they’ll score as quickly as they did last week.
“So New Zealand needs to approach that side of it differently because New Zealand kicks off differently; they were experimenting with their kick-offs, and I think that’s all been good but if South Africa wins the toss and they kick off, you’ve got to give them something different than just kicking it in the touch and giving him a lineout, maul, pick-and-drive, and a try. You can’t give them that so easily.
“That set the tone for South Africa last week, and it meant that New Zealand were chasing the game. The most important part is to get the start of the game right.”
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Sir Steve Hansen rues All Blacks’ poor start
Hansen agreed with McKenzie and said that the All Blacks not only made a mistake in kicking out from that restart but compounded the error by opting to compete at that lineout. He believes that was a poor decision that they cannot repeat in Johannesburg.
Instead, he suggests that the forwards remain on the ground and hit the Springboks as they come to the deck in order to stall their maul.
“I agree with that. I think it was a poor decision to compete in that first line,” the 2015 World Cup-winning coach said in response to McKenzie’s remarks.
“The big thing that South Africa want is to feel like they can physically dominate you, and the hardest thing to stop is a maul when you’ve competed.
“So, we gave them a bit of an advantage, and psychologically they got away to a flyer, and they’re in there, but in the selections they pick players that are good on their feet to try and take away that physicality when you’re carrying, and we’ve just got to be smarter on our own physical efforts when we’re defending.
“For me, I’d stay down in the first five, six, seven lineouts and just belt the sh-t out of them.”
