South Africa v New Zealand: Five takeaways as ‘thundering’ Springboks lift Freedom Cup while ‘coach killing two minutes’ cost All Blacks again
Following the Springboks’ 18-12 win over the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday, here are our five takeaways from the Rugby Championship clash.
Top line
South Africa came from behind to win their fourth successive Test against the All Blacks to take the Freedom Cup and remain unbeaten in the 2024 Rugby Championship, leaving them in an almost unassailable position with 18 points and just two more rounds to go.
The so-called Cape Town curse pushed them all the way though; New Zealand pushed the Boks as hard as they could, but yet again as the match progressed, so the Springboks grew into the game, lowered their error count and benefited once again from the incredible depth they have off the bench as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Kwagga Smith and try scorer Malcolm Marx all made a thundering impact in the second half.
It was the brilliant Siya Kolisi, a man who looks absolutely liberated since the shenanigans around his Racing92 contract, and Marx who made the difference – both players crashing over from short range to see off a spirited performance from the All Blacks.
It was the first time since 1949 that the Springboks have beaten their most celebrated of rivals four times on the bounce and the first time since 2009 that they’ve managed to get their hands on the Freedom Cup; rather apt, given that it’s now 30 years since the dissolution of the old South African constitution.
Turning Point
At 70 minutes with the scores at 13-12 to South Africa, we saw a turning point of enormous proportions in the game. Damian McKenzie had a relatively easy shot on goal to get his team on the right side of the scoreboard with ten to play. Yet inexplicably, he hooked his kick, leaving the Springboks to exit long from Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
From there, a brilliant piece of work in midfield saw the outstanding Cheslin Kolbe chase a kick through with no All Black back in the boot to defend. As he tried to go through, so Tyrel Lomax shuffled a step to his right and Kolbe bounced off the obstructing prop to gain both a penalty and a numerical advantage as the New Zealand tighthead was given his yellow card marching orders from referee Matthew Carley, a man who had a simply outstanding match as he delivered a refereeing display of real precision and communication.
From the ensuing line out, the All Blacks compounded their litany of daft errors; as the Bok maul started to creak forward, so TJ Perenara took it upon himself to join in from the blindside defence, leaving an eager Marx a huge hole down the short side to the line.
This was a game-swinging moment of huge proportions but the All Blacks have only themselves to blame. They fluffed a kick, they failed to defend the backfield, they conceded a penalty and yellow and then, just to ice the cake, abdicated their defensive system to let the Bok hooker go in unopposed.
If ever there was a definition of a coach killing two minutes in rugby, this was it.
Bok Adaptation
For South Africa to turn down five clear shots at goal when they have the metronomic Handre Pollard in their armoury shows the new-found ambition and evolution of their thinking as this team prepares for its third World Cup cycle.
The frenetic and somewhat scrappy first half saw the aerial contest keeping South Africa in the game as they had far the better of the exchanges, with both Grant Williams and Pollard’s kicking really testing the All Black catchers and drop contestants. But, for all the quality of the kicking, the All Blacks were also aided by the slowness of service from Williams, who, rather inexplicably, spent the first half stepping and passing from the base or ruck, removing the offside line and allowing the Kiwi defence time to resource and tackle with numbers and accuracy.
But the second half saw the Boks look to clear lower and faster – that, combined with Williams moving the ball one pass at speed from the base without stepping saw much better moments of continuity and threat from the Boks with the ball in hand. Damian de Allende put in a wonderful carrying performance and with Marx and the Bomb Squad adding impetus, the second half saw Kolisi rewarded for his industry with a classic short-range try to grab the lead for South Africa.
It was a game of two halves from the hosts, one that saw them stutter and futter in the first, but come back and demonstrate quality and depth in the second.
NZ Defensive Improvement
Despite another loss, there was a real step up in All Blacks’ intensity in the breakdown and line-out defence. Led by Codie Taylor and Sam Cane, and with two locks more suited to a jackalling contest than a straight power exchange, New Zealand used a very deliberate tactic of double teaming and a man to steal to remove the Springbok secondary power in carry and to ensure that clearing players had no forward momentum to work with in supporting their tackling player.
With some eleven clear turnovers, with some of them aided by the Williams stepping at base removing the offside line, the All Blacks had a field day at the breakdown and their dominance in that area of the game was one of the causes of the scrappy nature of the game, as they removed all continuity from the Springbok attacking structure.
One of the best stats in the lead-up to this Test match was the snippet that Bongi Mbonambi hadn’t missed a line out in this year’s Rugby Championship; well, in the true tradition of the pundit’s curse, Bongi’s first five throws saw four All Black steals, as the visitors really made hay in their defence of the Springbok lineout.
But the simple truth is that this is an All Blacks side lacking the intelligence and confidence to close matches out under pressure. It’s happened three times to them in this season’s Rugby Championship and the errors that come into their play, combined with some really muddled tactical thinking shows there’s a lot of work to do in terms of leadership and onfield strategic and tactical decision-making, even from their most experienced players.
Stars that Shone
Outside of the excellence of Kolbe, Kolisi and Marx, the Boks will be delighted with the ongoing project of Ruan Nortije in Test rugby. The big Blue Bull was immense on both sides of the ball, putting in some towering work in defence, punctuated with some huge carries. He is becoming a wonderful Test lock, a real workhorse in the mould of France Mostert Lood or de Jager, although he won’t be happy with his early line out calling.
De Allende was the man that kept the Bok backline moving forward when they lacked continuity and quality of possession in the first half. Doogz (De Allende) put in some massive carries, taking the ball into contact to allow support to arrive when it appeared the Boks were isolated and with Jasper Wiese copying every aspect of the centre in his work with ball in hand, it was these two players who ensured that a poor first half didn’t turn into a disastrous one.
For New Zealand, two men shone like beacons- Taylor was absolutely outstanding all afternoon, making 11 carries for 71m in a really impressive individual display. And alongside him, young Wallace Sititi, in only his fourth Test match, showed a real spike in carry, as he matched Taylor with 17 thundering runs with the ball in hand.
READ MORE: Springboks claim epic double over All Blacks ending 15-year wait for Freedom Cup glory