A record defeat for the All Blacks to the Boks in Wellington last night, which sent the home side from first to third on the world rankings and has dealt a huge blow to their Rugby Championship hopes, has been met by a surprisingly calm reflection.
Behind the scenes, however, head coach Scott Robertson and company may not be as philosophical following a 43-10 humiliation, which will inevitably strengthen South Africa’s psychological advantage over New Zealand after their fifth victory in six Tests over their old foe dating back to before the 2023 World Cup.
“It obviously hurts,” fullback Damian McKenzie said straight afterwards.
But, otherwise, the All Blacks put on a brave face after a record defeat – which eclipsed their previous worst (35-7 to the Boks in 2023) and which blew away their previous highest margin of defeat at home (5-20 to Australia in 1964).
The All Blacks, who saw their biggest rivals retain the Freedom Cup after putting one hand on it by beating the Boks at Eden Park last weekend, preferred to congratulate the victors rather than to get into a blame game.
But, clearly, conceding 36 unanswered points in the second half (another record), thanks to a sieve-like defence which was hamstrung by a substandard set piece and failure to win the ball in the air will be seen as unacceptable. At least, it should be.
After a promising start, which saw Leroy Carter score on his Test debut when finishing a superb team try that showcased New Zealand’s fundamentals, it all went south very quickly, the Boks running in six tries to Cheslin Kolbe (two, before he went off injured), Damian Willemse, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman and Andre Esterhuizen.
And all this despite a shocking run of first-half injuries to the visitors, which saw them forced to field halfback Grant Williams on the wing following the injury to Kolbe.
“They kept putting us under pressure,” McKenzie said. “They’ve got a great kicking game, obviously. At times, we combatted it, at times, they kept turning us around.
"It felt like our backs were against the wall quite a bit. We still felt like we had opportunities, but we didn’t ice them, and they did.
“It’s tough, the boys are hurting, that’s for sure. We have a week off now and then a couple of tough Tests against an Aussie side that are going really well.
"It’s never nice – when you take losses you want to get straight back into it… but we’ve just got to get back on the horse. We know what we’re capable of doing.”
Asked what was said on the pitch after the final whistle, McKenzie added: “It obviously hurts after any defeat, but a defeat by that many points… there wasn’t a lot said.”
For his part, head coach Scott Robertson said: “South Africa played very well and took their opportunities. Congratulations to them, we’ll take it on the chin.
“At halftime, it felt like we had done enough, although we had left a few opportunities out there.
“In the second half they won the aerial battle and the scraps. [We gave away] too many penalties around the set piece. We lost a couple of really big moments there and the game got away.”
Asked whether the poor performance was due to poor preparation after the highs of extending the nation’s unbeaten record at Eden Park last weekend, Robertson said: “If it was preparation, we probably would have seen the signs earlier, but when they got rolling…
“I just want to say, South Africa have been criticised for their kicking over the years, but they put so much value and time into that and the way they play they get return on it.
"They’re so good at it. We’ve done a lot of prep on it but they just owned that area and put so much pressure on us. Well done to them, they know their DNA.”
The concerning thing for the All Blacks is not necessarily that every team will attempt similar tactics against them from here because not every team is as adept to the high-ball game as the Boks.
But it will bring into question how Robertson’s men will fare against the Boks next year and, indeed, how good this team really is. The All Blacks will play three Tests on an extended “Greatest Rivals” tour in 2026, plus one more at a neutral venue, and at this point, they will be big underdogs to get anywhere near a series victory.
McKenzie said: “We have to keep believing in ourselves… we have a tight circle. We’ll have a good look at ourselves and at our performance – as we do after any game, win or lose. We’ll do that and keep tight.
“We knew we would get a response after last weekend, and they responded better than we did.”
Skipper Scott Barrett suggested the set piece was a big disappointment. He did not say it, but the spotlight will go on Brodie McAlister’s performance at hooker after he replaced Samisoni Taukei’aho for the final quarter.
Barrett added: “There will be some discomfort, clearly, but I’m sure this team will use that discomfort to bounce forward in the Bledisloe to finish this Championship strongly.”
Robertson said it was important to be focused on the things that mattered as they went about recovering from what was a devastating defeat.
“We’re not going to be chasing too many things,” he said. “We’re going to be clear about what matters most to us on and off the field.
“We’ll get a plan and look forward to the next game.”
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