All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson is halfway through his first year in charge, and, with his side losing three of seven Tests, including two in South Africa, the biggest lesson for him is how the smallest things can have major consequences in the international game.
“How the little marginal things can make a big difference,” was Robertson’s reply when asked to reflect on a difficult start to his Test coaching career.
The All Blacks play another seven Tests this year, including three difficult-looking challenges against England, Ireland and France on their November tour.
Having watched New Zealand again throw away a second-half lead in yesterday morning’s 18-12 defeat to the Springboks in Cape Town, all three of those nations will sense a genuine opportunity to give the All Blacks another bloody nose.
That metaphorical description applies on several levels to what the All Blacks received in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
And that's due to the losses in two brutally intense Tests, plus the fact the visitors were adamant Jordie Barrett’s bleeding face in the final minutes of the latter match was a result of a high tackle by Boks’ loose forward Kwagga Smith.
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Barrett lay on the pitch for several moments after carrying the ball into Smith, who appeared to go high on the midfielder.
Soon after that sequence, however, Boks’ wing Cheslin Kolbe ran into Tyrel Lomax’s shoulder in an off-the-ball incident - Kolbe making the most of the contact and earning a penalty and a yellow card for the All Blacks tighthead prop.
All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett and trainer Nic Gill can be heard on the broadcast asking referee Matt Carley to check on the Barrett incident to no avail. The Boks kick their penalty to the corner and score the match-sealing try via Malcolm Marx.
“It’s another one of the examples I used before to describe the small margins that can change the game,” Robertson replied when asked about the incident.
“You would have heard Scooter [Barrett]... talk to them [officials] numerous times to please look at that incident. They found it was okay on the field. They played on, kicked to the corner and they got a try.
“It shows … you’re in the hands of the ref and how they interpret all those situations”.
Robertson added: “We asked the question, we asked the question.”
It would have been a sliding doors moment – had the officials penalised Smith, the All Blacks would have had a penalty on halfway with about seven minutes remaining and only a 13-12 deficit. Lomax would have stayed on the field.
However, the small margins go both ways.
In the Ellis Park Test, All Blacks loose forward Sam Cane was probably fortunate to get away without even conceding a penalty for a high shot on a slightly dipping Siya Kolisi which apparently fractured the Boks’ captain’s cheekbone. Somehow Kolisi was available to play in Cape Town and scored the first of the Boks’ two tries.
Robertson, meanwhile, said Lomax would "own” his transgression which left the All Blacks short at precisely the wrong time – similar to what happened a week earlier with Ofa Tu’ungafasi’s yellow card at Ellis Park.
The small margins will also apply to the All Blacks’ decision making and Damian McKenzie’s three missed penalties in the second half at the weekend.
All of it has been magnified because of New Zealand’s failure to score a point in the final quarter of four Rugby Championship games this year, a remarkable statistic.
“It’s a simple law of averages because you’re not going to get many,” was Robertson’s reply with regards to converting chances.
“How do you give them opportunities? They got access to our 22 a couple of times and are the best in the world at converting.
“We showed some courageous defence, we were defending for long periods of time, and they just found a way to get over.
“We’re aware of it. It’s something we’re addressing constantly,” Robertson said of the final quarter woes. “It’s in front of mind… putting into practice, we now need to see it out on the field.”
He added: “Look, we’re playing some good footy. I want to try to be a bit more optimistic here because, man, we’re one pass away many times from breaking them. Our attack shape, our care on defence. The breakdowns, the [most] turnovers against them, I don’t think a team has scored four tries against them in years but we still didn’t quite get past that final line [at Ellis Park].
“I have an awesome group of people. You only learn on the job – that’s one thing I’ve learned now. You can do all the coaching you want but once you get into the position that’s when you really learn.”
Watch TVNZ's Scotty Stevenson and Pat McKendry analyse the game on TVNZ+
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