A Test in Baltimore that the All Blacks believed they could win to square the series against the Springboks has instead exposed a gulf between the two sides that appears to have grown over the past four weeks.
“We were confident that if we got a few things right tonight we’d have a good chance of winning,” head coach Dave Rennie said after the 43-28 defeat at M&T Bank Stadium. “We fell short. It’s disappointing from that perspective.”
That 33-16 defeat of South Africa in the first Test at Ellis Park seems a long time ago now.
Since then the Boks have won three Tests in a row – the first time the All Blacks have lost that many on the bounce since 2022 – and this morning’s was by far the most comprehensive.
South Africa outscored the All Blacks six tries to four and, while they got more than their fair share of luck from the match officials, they deserved their win and 3-1 series victory for their greater attention to detail to the things that matter in Test matches.
They have been pragmatic and streetwise throughout and today they beat the All Blacks at their own game. Rassie Erasmus has been at his deceptive best in this series but he promised the Boks would show greater ambition on attack in Baltimore and they followed through.
Defensively they were also far better than the All Blacks, who conceded too easily to Damian de Allende and Morne van den Berg, and, once Malcolm Marx scored his from a predictable lineout drive two more through Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cameron Hanekom.
It must be said, though, that Arendse was fortunate his try was not ruled out for an early tackle by Hanekom on Josh Moorby.
Indeed, a case could easily be made that the All Blacks were short-changed by the officials in a match arranged to make money for the rival unions.
There is little doubt that Rennie will be disappointed with the performance of the officials – little doubt, too, that he was wise not to reveal it.
He did, however, raise a metaphorical eyebrow at the nine-minute delay in the first half caused by a technical issue with the officials’ communications – an issue that seems to happen a lot in Test matches in the USA.
“It’s just something that shouldn’t happen but did happen,” Rennie said. “If your comms goes down you pull out a spare set, surely. I’m not sure why it took so long but that’s not an excuse.”
That was as far as he would be drawn on the officials, although he was not pushed overly hard.
Ultimately, both he and skipper Codie Taylor were positive about the benefits this tour would provide.
There is no doubt the All Blacks have grown as a group over the past two months and that Rennie has learned a lot more about many of his players, including Richie Mo’unga, who today played his first Test in three years, and Ethan Blackadder, one of the standouts in his first Test since 2024. Blackadder scored his first Test try today and was busy and abrasive throughout.
Regular skipper Ardie Savea and centre Quinn Tupaea were missed, with the impressive Jordie Barrett again enhancing his reputation. The second-five was the All Blacks’ most consistently excellent player on tour, with wing Will Jordan, another try scorer today, and loose forward Peter Lakai also in the mix.
“We’ve had a captured audience of what turned out to be 49 players,” Rennie said. “The result hurts but I’m really proud of the effort and really excited about where our game’s heading.
“You look at the numbers – it was a very even game tonight apart from the score. We probably conceded a little bit chasing the game late but felt even with 15 to go we were right in it.”
Rennie felt the All Blacks were “tracking in the right direction”, but this was the heaviest loss of the tour and his players’ ability to catch a contested high ball was as bad as ever.
He described the set piece as “excellent” but referee Karl Dickson’s obsession of Taylor’s “brake foot” in the scrums hurt the All Blacks, who gave up several penalties in this area.
“We showed again when we can get our continuity going we’re going to score tries,” Rennie said. “Our line breaks were even tonight, but South Africa were very good – they were clinical when they got their opportunities.
Taylor said: “There’s so much to be excited about and proud of in the group that we have in the All Blacks. This is a good stepping stone for what is to come for us, especially next year.
“The culture has been amazing. We’re grown as a team off the field and I feel that the connections amazing. We’ve got a few things on the field we want to get right and I feel we’ve made some growth in those areas.
“It’s a special team to be a part of. Everyone is giving their all each day – the management, the players. I feel like we are heading in the right direction. It’s gutting this tour [result] but I’m still so proud of the men we have.”
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