‘Disappointing, but not cataclysmic’ was former Springbok coach Nick Mallett’s reaction to the All Blacks’ 33-16 win over South Africa in the first Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Speaking on the Talking Boks podcast, Mallett said the turning point of the game for him was lock Fabian Holland’s chargedown of Bok halfback Grant Williams’ attempted clearing kick, and the resulting try.
But earlier in the game, lock Eben Etzebeth had achieved a similar charge-down only to be penalised for not having his feet behind the line of the last feet in the ruck. He was going to check the incident again because he didn’t feel Holland’s feet were behind the line.
“One was allowed to score his try, the other one wasn’t. It’s not an issue against the referee [Matthew Carley]. It’s difficult; things happen in split seconds. But that was the type of game it was for the Springboks. We had opportunities; we didn’t take them.
“They [the All Blacks] had opportunities, and they took almost everyone.
“We have problems around our attack. We have problems around our calmness and our direction in our attack, and that is around nine [halfback] and 10 [first five-eighths]. Unfortunately, [halfback] Grant Williams wasn’t at his best – a little indecisive and slow at the breakdown.
“[First five-eighths] Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] also didn’t have a great game. I would give them four out of 10 each. That was where we lost it. We had all the opportunities.
“It wasn’t collective intelligence, so nine and 10 were critical in this game and they didn’t play well enough.”
Mallett said at halftime he was confident the Springboks were going to take the game away from the All Blacks.
Nick Mallett: ‘We’ve got our work cut out for us.’
The decision not to take three points in front of the All Blacks posts, and the concession of a scrum penalty in the resulting play was a body blow.
“The team had taken three consecutive scrums, obviously hoping to get a yellow card against one of their front row players. So, in 55 minutes, we created so many more opportunities than the All Blacks.
“Yet, the All Blacks had two opportunities and scored both times.”
Mallett said the All Blacks took their chances ‘unbelievably well,’ and that would be the question coach Rassie Erasmus and his selectors will have to address ahead of the second Test.
He acknowledged the All Blacks’ ability to defend well and turn pressure back on South Africa.
“We had more territory, more possession than them. So, they scored five tries against one – that is a big problem for us. They score tries easily. When they get half a chance, they score. We seem to have to take four opportunities before we can score a try.
“If you’re wanting to play a game where your backline comes into play, Mannie Lubbock is the better flyhalf than Sacha. Sacha is a better defender and individualistically but Mannie is someone who can get our backline away.”
Mallett also noted the way the All Blacks corralled the Springbok defence.
“They showed physicality with ball in hand, and they did take it up the middle first, and that is what caused us to tighten our defence.
“And then, immediately, they were able to play it wide where our defender was perhaps 15-10 metres in from touch, and they had a bit of space out wide. I’m not saying they’ll be able to do it in the rain [in Cape Town], but this is a concern for our defence. It’s not just our attack.
“We have to improve, but we have to make sure we can cover the whole field because their attacking strategy is very, very accurate.
“[Halfback Cam] Roigard was superb. Roigard, [Jordie] Barrett, [Ruben] Love, those guys were absolutely outstanding. That was the difference, the decision-making of those guys as opposed to ours.”
There was also much talk about how the Springboks responded to their first Test loss in New Zealand last year by thrashing the All Blacks in Wellington.
Mallett said, “The only difference from an All Black point of view is that Razor Robertson was coaching them last year and they perhaps didn’t have such clarity in performance that they do now under Dave Rennie.
“They’ve really bought into what Rennie’s trying to do. They believe in it, and that’s very powerful in the team.
“It seemed as though the All Blacks were relieved to have won the game at Eden Park, and it’s almost as though they took a big outward breath of air that they had kept their Eden Park record as a fortress and perhaps mentally relaxed, and the Boks climbed into them.
“But Dave Rennie seems to have got this team very focused and very committed to the way he wants them to play.
“It’s not just fast and loose. They do the hard yards, they do the aggressive defence. They’re a difficult team to beat at the moment.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us.”