It is not often the Springboks are kept scoreless at Newlands, so it was understandable that many South African fans voted with their feet and started streaming for the exits long before the end of this 19-0 defeat to the All Blacks.The New Zealanders led 5-0 at half-time, but it could easily have been much more than that had Dan Carter not had an uncharacteristically poor day with his goal-kicking. Carter picked himself up later in the match to close the game out with some excellent field kicking, but he is unlikely to forget in a hurry his nightmare first half, where he missed four kicks at goal.

In all the All Blacks scored three tries to nil, with the Springboks frequently putting together movements of promise, particularly in the first half, but only really flattering to deceive as they never really came close to scoring a try. Their best chances came through two Percy Montgomery penalty attempts in the second half, but although they were relatively easy, he missed both.

In the end the only area of any encouragement for the Boks was the scrums, where the forward unit continued the resurgence started against the Pumas last week. Sadly for the hosts, however, they were unable to make anything meaningful of their advantage in this aspect of the game.

The lineouts were also solid, but not as technically perfect as in some previous games, and although he did not do poorly in general play, and may even have overshadowed his captain, Andries Bekker’s addition did not give the Boks the advantage in the lineouts that many had hoped for.

The bottom line is that the Springboks simply made too many basic errors, while many who were in the 52 000 crowd would probably agree that the South Africans were too loose in their approach. It had been anticipated beforehand that the Boks would revert to their strengths and play it tight, but this was not the case.

Once again they looked like a team caught between styles, and coach Peter de Villiers is going to have to take an earnest look at his approach before the team loses too many further test matches. Already it could be argued that the Boks, who started the season as World Cup champions, have now lost three Tri-Nations matches they could conceivably have won with the right approach.

The All Blacks were not that flush either, something the Boks should be thankful for. The Kiwis perhaps ran too much ball in the first half, when they were playing into a tricky wind. The Springboks did have quite a bit of field position in this period, but perhaps they should have had more. That they didn’t was down to really dicey decision-making, and the afore-mentioned game-plan, which was really confusing and difficult to figure out for those watching.

Sometimes the Boks would kick for position, but then at others they would try and run from their own line. On a day when the All Blacks were the masters at the breakdown, this was a massive problem, and on a couple of occasions the South Africans were lucky to escape from tricky positions when they were caught in possession in their own half.

Richie McCaw, the All Black captain who missed the two matches on New Zealand soil in July, was outstanding, leading by example from the outset. The Boks, after waiting through a great build-up in which the atmosphere in the stadium was electric, set the tone for the match when flyhalf Butch James kicked directly into touch from the kick-off. Fourie du Preez then followed up by kicking long.

Perhaps this is why the Boks then seemed to lose faith in the anticipated kicking game, and started doing silly things like trying quick lineouts near their own line, an occurrence in the sixth minute which led to Conrad Smith’s try for the All Blacks in the seventh. McCaw took the lineout ball, and it was also he who kicked ahead for the centre to beat James to the touch down.

For a couple of minutes it looked scary for the Boks as the All Blacks swarmed all over them, but they got too elaborate and allowed the South Africans back into the game in the second part of the first half, with the best chance for the home team coming when Bryan Habana swivelled his way over but was adjudged to have put his foot in touch en route.

The All Blacks, despite not playing well, always looked to have more control, however, and they should have been further ahead at half-time. The score remained at 5-0 to the All Blacks until the final 20 minutes, which was when the territorial kicking game of Carter really came into its own, and the Boks really never had a chance after that.

Carter scored the second All Black try in the 65th minute, and then the Boks’ helter-skelter attempt to play catch-up perished when a stray Jean de Villiers pass near his own line succeeded in finding All Black reserve hooker Keven Mealamu, who gratefully accepted the gift.

The result leaves the Boks with just one win in four starts in the Tri-Nations, and at this stage they look more likely to grab the wooden spoon than win the competition. Among the questions that should be asked of the Bok management is the decision to replace Schalk Burger with Luke Watson with 20 minutes to go.

Burger had a bad day at the breakdowns, but he was one of the few Boks who had the necessary physical presence on a day when Bakkies Botha was sorely missed. Bryan Habana was injured in the second half and the management will be holding thumbs that it is not serious.

Scores

New Zealand 19 – Tries: Conrad Smith, Dan Carter and Keven Mealamu; Conversions: Dan Carter 2. South Africa 0.

Source: sarugby.com