Amidst the positivity from the All Blacks that they pushed the Springboks all the way in South Africa and that the margin between the world’s top two teams is small, there is an acceptance of failure.
Assistant coach Neil Barnes, reflecting on yesterday’s 29-24 defeat by the Boks in Soweto which gave the home side a 2-1 lead in the series, said his men had “a chance to be amongst history and we failed and that hurts”.
That is an indication of the importance placed by the All Blacks both on the recent clash in front of 86,000 spectators at FNB Stadium and the fourth and final Test in Baltimore, USA, on Sunday morning NZT.
The upcoming match at the home of the Ravens NFL team is a chance to tie the series but the prize that mattered most was a victory on South African soil that would have emulated the achievements of the All Blacks “Incomparables” of 30 years ago.
“The room’s pretty gutted,” head coach Dave Rennie said in the aftermath. “I just walked in there before and there’s a lot of heads down.”
New Zealand’s chance of earning something beyond revenue in Baltimore has dipped in the wake of the injuries to skipper Ardie Savea (dislocated shoulder) and midfielder Quinn Tupaea (knee injury), along with that to flanker Luke Jacobson (elbow).
An All Blacks' attack to savour
Savea’s leadership was missed in the second half yesterday as the Boks finished by far the stronger side and made the most of their scrum dominance, both real and perceived.
However, in scoring two tries in the opening 25 minutes (both by Savea), the All Blacks’ attack looked as good as it has in a long time and overall Rennie's men outscored the Boks 13 tries to eight over the three Tests.
An analysis in The Times suggested the All Blacks' "Rennie-ssance" attack under their new coach would devastate virtually every other Test nation and it is difficult to disagree, along with the writer's opinion that it was "bizarre" the two teams were likely to meet in next year's World Cup quarter-final stage due to the vagaries of World Rugby's draw.
Unfortunately for him and the All Blacks, Leroy Carter’s defensive struggles contributed to his team’s downfall, as did the pack’s set piece problems and some wayward goalkicking. But it should be remembered the All Blacks fought back to win the first Test with a scrum going backwards – and that virtually every attacking statistic favoured New Zealand over the three matches.
“It is close if you look at all the stats but, at the end of the day, we’re on the wrong side of the scoreboard so we’re going to have to eat humble pie,” Barnes said.
A 'solutions-based' approach
The forwards coach said the Boks earned a “gravy train” of penalties from their set piece over the series, adding: “I’m not saying they were all legit but we have to change the perception of the officials as well so we get a fair rub of the green. We have to be solution-based.”
Without re-litigating the All Blacks’ scrum complaints during their time in the Republic, it is worth noting they did not seem to have a lot of luck in terms of calls from the match officials yesterday.
The decision by referee Nika Amashukeli to not award a penalty try to the All Blacks after Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s intentional knock-down of Savea’s offload to Peter Lakai was odd – Savea scored soon afterwards anyway – and the Georgian official’s yellow card for Ruben Love appeared harsh at best.
Television replays of Love’s “offside” – and there were very few – appear to show Love onside and Amashukeli with his back to the All Blacks’ No.10.
It is possible that Amashukeli acted on the advice of French TMO Eric Gauzins but the limited pictures suggest Love was in a legal position and such a big decision deserved a bit more time if not explanation.
Rennie, speaking to Sky Sports in the immediate aftermath, described the decision as “hard to take”.
It was a reminder of the traditions of touring in South Africa; one being that the vast majority of the replays shown on the big screens at Ellis Park, DHL Stadium and FNB Stadium were of All Blacks’ potential foul play offences or mistakes (and quickly reacted to by the crowd), with far fewer coming the other way.
Influence of the big screen
Possibly related: After years of issues, especially in France, a neutral television director is a requirement in the Six Nations competition and one was installed for the Champions Cup final in Spain in May after several controversies related to the TV images available to the TMO in a semfinal the previous weekend.
But, back to the positives. Lock Sam Darry and fullback Damian McKenzie spoke well yesterday in spite of their disappointment and both also believed the All Blacks were extremely close to the world champions’ level.
As the All Blacks head to Baltimore for their next test against the Springboks, 1News' Andrew Saville explains why the 2-1 series defeat isn't the disaster it might look like. (Source: Breakfast)
The All Blacks have access to all sorts of statistics that will probably lend weight to that, and certainly on the surface there wasn't much in it.
They won the first Test 33-16 (probably a flattering scoreline) and lost the second 33-27 and the third 29-24 – the latter a scoreline which probably did not reflect the Boks’ dominance.
McKenzie, whose attacking talents are ideally suited to the All Blacks’ optimistic game plan, said: “Not far off at all… if we can stack those moments for longer periods in the game that will go a long way.
“We’re making enough opportunities and there’s still one more Test to go in Baltimore.
“There’s still a lot to play for.”
Barnes finished by saying the depth and competition in the All Blacks’ pack would be one of the biggest advances of the tour.
They will need it this week after the departures of Savea and Jacobson, with Wallace Sititi or Peter Lakai a good chance to start at No.8 in the absence of the former and Ethan Blackadder at openside flanker in the absence of the latter.
Josh Jacomb, Sione Lauaki, Saula Ma’u, Cortez Ratima, Bradley Slater and Ofa Tu’ungafasi are also travelling home to New Zealand, rather than to the US.
All Blacks squad for fourth Test
Forwards: Asafo Aumua, Codie Taylor, Samisoni Taukei'aho, Ethan De Groot, Tyrel Lomax, Fletcher Newell, Pasilio Tosi, George Bower, Xavier Numia, Jamie Hannah, Sam Darry, Josh Lord, Patrick Tuipulotu, Fabian Holland, Tupou Vaa'i, Simon Parker, Wallace Sititi, Peter Lakai, Ethan Blackadder, Semisi Ta'eiloa.
Backs: Cam Roigard, Kyle Preston, Noah Hotham, Beauden Barrett, Ruben Love, Richie Mo'unga, Jordie Barrett, Anton Lienert-Brown, Timoci Tavatavanawai, Fehi Fineanganofo, Leroy Carter, Emoni Narawa, Rieko Ioane, Josh Moorby, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie.
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