'That's a tough one to swallow' for New Zealand
REACTION: The All Blacks will be eager to go back to the drawing board in the coming days after their record defeat at the hands of the Springboks in Wellington on Saturday.
Rassie Erasmus’ side powered to a 43-10 win in a complete performance to reclaim the number one world ranking.
The Springboks avenged last week’s 17-24 loss to the All Blacks in Auckland in momentous style, leaving the home side badly humbled and the Rugby Championship finely balanced with two rounds remaining.
All four teams now have identical 2-2 win-loss records in the Rugby Championship, with Australia, who earlier lost 26-28 to Argentina in Sydney, one bonus point ahead of the Springboks and All Blacks.
The result eclipsed New Zealand’s previous biggest defeat – 7-35 to South Africa at Twickenham in 2023 – and will raise questions about the progress made under coach Scott Robertson.
“That’s a tough one to swallow,” said New Zealand captain Scott Barrett.
“The Springboks certainly showed up and took a real improvement from last week, and we just didn’t adjust. Well done to Siya and his team.
“There are a lot of areas where we can get better. So, we’ll make an adjustment heading forward.”
Meanwhile, Robertson was quick to acknowledge the scale of the performance from the visitors.
“Firstly, I thought South Africa clearly played incredibly well and we’ll take the loss on the chin,” he said.
“They were clearly better in the second half. It was a game of two halves.
“It could have been [if] Cheslin Kolbe gambles on a pass and 14-nil could be seven all. It felt at half-time when we came in, we had done enough.
“We’d left a few opportunities out, and then in the second half, they won the aerial battle, they won the scraps, [we gave away] too many penalties around the set-piece.
“There were a couple of really big moments there, and the game got away.”
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The coach was pressed on whether the collapse reflected a deeper preparation issue, but dismissed the suggestion.
“If it was preparation stuff, we would have seen the signs early when they got rolling. I’ve just got to say, South Africa have been criticised for their aerial game and their kicking over the years, but they put so much value and so much time into that, and the way they play, they get return on it. They’re just so good at it.
“We’ve done a lot of prep on it, but they just owned that area and ended up putting so much pressure on us. Well done to them, they know their DNA.”
As for why the All Blacks unravelled so badly after the break, Robertson admitted he was still searching for answers.
“It’s something we’ll have a look at. We’ve got to find out pretty quickly as we have a big Bledisloe coming.”
Robertson admitted that everyone in the All Black camp will have a hard look at themselves after that defeat.
“Firstly [we need to], own it – what areas we need to own – and then go and get some responsibility and find out what we need to fix.
“We’re not going to be chasing too many things. We’re going to be clear about what matters most to us, on and off the field. Be really clear, and then get a plan and look forward to this next game.”
Additional reporting by Ian Cameron (@RugbyPass) & AFP
