No need for Boks to panic
Nick Mallett says the Springboks have a “very good chance” of beating the All Blacks in Wellington if they start with more composure.
The Boks’ hopes of breaching New Zealand’s Eden Park fortress ended in disappointment last Saturday, when two early defensive lapses left them trailing 14-0. While they ‘won’ the last hour 17-10, the All Blacks held on for a 24-17 victory that stretched their unbeaten run at the venue to 51 matches.
“Overall there’s just a sense of disappointment at a missed opportunity,” said Mallett on the Talking Boks podcast. “This is a good team with a really good coaching group that put everything into this game.
“To start a match with two individual errors from your most experienced players was really disappointing. The first try was incomprehensible — Willie [le Roux] seems to slip as the cross-kick is taken, falls over the runner, and from there it’s deadly. The second was a very clever lineout move: they dummy at the back, we contest, our last lifter is occupied, and the timing on the inside ball is spot on.
“You’re 14 points down at Eden Park – the toughest place to beat the All Blacks – and it’s a hell of a fightback from there.”
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The former Bok coach praised South Africa’s response but said “stupid mistakes” cost them.
“The obstruction straight from a kick-off, the yellow card to Kwagga [Smith] that handed them field position, turnovers in their 22. Those are clutch moments.
“Set-piece accuracy hurt us at key times. We lost a couple of lineouts when we were already thinking about the next attacking play. When you’re struggling, Victor Matfield always says: go to a full lineout – you’ve got three options against two pods, and a good caller can find space.
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“At scrum time Ox [Nche] was on top of his man, but we weren’t getting dominance on the tighthead side and the scrum was turning. As soon as Wilco Louw came on there was a dead-set dominant scrum — Kwagga could pick up and run before anyone touched him. In hindsight we could’ve got Wilco on earlier.
“I thought Cobus Reinach brought a lot of clarity when he came on, and Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] added snap and crackle. Some of the younger forwards who came off the bench also made a real impact.
“Grant Williams looked a bit flustered at times – they were having a go at him around the rucks, the ref [Karl Dickson] allowed a mess at the breakdown, and that knock from the lineout throw shakes your confidence. It shows how important the quality of ball is for a nine’s decision-making.”
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According to Mallett, opponents are targeting the Boks at the breakdown.
“They’d rather slow our ball right down, even if they don’t win it. When we get front-foot ball, as in the first 20 minutes against Australia [at Ellis Park], we’re very hard to stop.
“Opponents have also worked out ways to stress our rush defence – that cross-kick sequence comes off second receiver and pulls our wing up, leaving the back-field exposed. We must evolve with that.
“That’s why [attack coach] Tony Brown’s influence is important. We need variety – out-the-back plays, flat cross-kicks, chips over the top – to create doubt in defenders’ minds. It’s about getting the calls and the decision-making right: when to chip, when to cross-kick, when to play out the back.”
The Boks pushed hard for a late match-levelling try but were denied by some questionable breakdown officiating and a crucial turnover from All Blacks centurion Ardie Savea.
“We were hammering away on their line at the end. You can talk about a few refereeing decisions that didn’t go our way – that often happens away from home – but we’re not miles off,” said Mallett, who believes the Boks can bounce back on Saturday.
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“I don’t think there should be panic. We need to start more confidently and cut the individual errors. Do that in Wellington and we’ve got a very good chance.”
Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images