Injured All Blacks Ardie Savea, Quinn Tupaea and Luke Jacobson will travel home to New Zealand rather than to the fourth Test against the Boks in the United States as head coach Dave Rennie counts the cost of a brutal defeat in Soweto this morning.
No.8 and skipper Savea has a dislocated shoulder and midfielder Tupaea an MCL (knee) injury – issues that may keep them from the field for the rest of the year.
Flanker Jacobson, who took over as captain after Savea left the field during the 29-24 loss at FNB Stadium, has an elbow tendon injury.
The All Blacks will reinforce their squad for the Test in Baltimore next Sunday – the additions are yet to be confirmed – and while a victory Stateside will ostensibly draw the series 2-2 there is no doubt the Boks and their supporters will claim the moral high ground after a performance this morning that was worthy of their No.1 ranking.
Going 2-1 up on South African soil tells its own story – never mind the money-making exercise in the USA - but a successful All Blacks' response would be a hugely worthwhile achievement.
While they overpowered the All Blacks in the second half through their pack, the Boks put in their best attacking performance of the series in matching the visitors four tries apiece.
They were also far better defensively than Rennie’s men, with wing Leroy Carter missing two one-on-one tackles in the lead-up to two tries, and they were far more clinical in front of goal.
Ruben Love’s three missed kicks off the tee – two in the second half that should have been converted – turned out to be extremely costly.
There will now be calls to select Richie Mo’unga to start at the M&T Bank Stadium after Love’s six starts in the last six Tests under Rennie.
Love’s best Test in the Republic was the first one at Ellis Park. Since then he has appeared a little overwhelmed but that is perhaps not surprising given his pack’s struggles and the intense line speed the Boks have defended with.
Rennie may elect to keep changes to a minimum given the injuries to three of his key men but it would not surprise to see Mo'unga in the No.10 jersey, with left wing Carter likely to be given a rest, too. Anton Lienert-Brown will come into the frame for the No.13 jersey, with Ethan Blackadder a possibility to start at openside flanker.
Rennie said afterwards that he did not feel the All Blacks were far away from the Boks in terms of ability over this series but it will take a thorough healing process to get his men in the right frame of mind to win the fourth Test.
The Boks’ scrum was again a dominant force and the lineout drive which led to hooker Malcolm Marx’s try may leave short-term mental scars for Rennie’s men, if not forwards coach Neil Barnes.
There is no doubting that Savea’s absence after he was cleaned out in a ruck by hooker Marx nine minutes before halftime was a huge blow.
He had just scored his second try of the match – his 35th in Tests – and was having one of those days where he is rarely out of the spotlight. But more than that, his leadership was missed.
The All Blacks had to take risks in the final quarter as they chased the game but they appeared frantic and disorganised under the scoreboard pressure and this match underlined how important Savea is as his side’s spiritual leader – much like Siya Kolisi, absent in the first Test, is for the Boks.
He will miss the two Bledisloe Cup Tests next month and probably November’s Nations Championship Tests in the United Kingdom.
The stop-start nature of the second half suited the Boks but Will Jordan’s try 15 minutes after halftime, which broke the 12-12 deadlock, appeared hugely promising for the visitors.
However, they promptly lost the re-start and Jesse Kriel took full advantage of Carter’s missed tackle for the try that gave the Boks back a lead they never relinquished.
“The Springboks got a fair bit of momentum mid second half,” Rennie said afterwards. “We were able to play with high tempo in the first half and we saw a lot of their big men struggling. We were keen to make that pay in the second half but we made a few errors which slows the game down to a scrum and often a penalty and then field possession for them.
“I don’t reckon there’s much in it. I don’t think there was much in the first Test which we won quite convincingly in the end according to the scoreboard. It’s key moments. A big moment today was Will Jordan kicking it dead. That’s just unlucky – it was a good option. But you come back to a scrum which is a penalty to a maul which they drive how many metres to score.
“They made hay when they had momentum tonight. We probably didn’t do that enough.
“Discipline hurt us at times. They’re world champions for a reason. They’re very good up front and they played a bit of footy tonight. We probably made a few errors that allowed them to play and I thought they were a lot stronger in that area than they have been in the first two Tests.”
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