All Black loss leaves many more questions than answers for Springboks

The Springboks were left with plenty of questions and few answers after a disappointing loss to the All Black at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday, many of which place extra pressure on the side heading to Australia later this week.

For all the talk of the All Blacks struggling without the Springboks in Super Rugby, one thing became clear over the past two weeks - the Boks struggle as well without the pace of the New Zealand game, and nowhere was it clearer than on the highveld at altitude.

The All Blacks were poor in Mbombela, but they were smothered by a Bok defence that scrambled well, by a breakdown that was excellent and a kicking game that fired on all cylinders.

Unfortunately the opposite was true in Johannesburg on Saturday where the New Zealanders learnt quickly from their mistakes, protected their breakdown and gave themselves quick and clean ball, and with width on the outside and outsmarted a Bok defence that was rattled by another early backline injury to Jesse Kriel.

For all the talk about Ellis Park being a special place to play for the Springboks, the All Blacks have won there more often than not in the last two decades and the hard, dry field has become a bit of a fortress for them.

Their high-risk game plan, combined with skills and energy and fuelled by a desperation of losing five out of their last six games made them hungrier, and more focused than the Boks, who were the victims of their own selections as well.

To lose Kriel so early in the game, brings the risk factor of the bomb squad into question - after Faf de Klerk’s injury in Mbombela and the loss of Kriel early on, it left the side hamstrung and with a makeshift backline with Lukhanyo Am having to move to the wing to compensate for the loss.

Add to that the anonymous factor of Joseph Dweba - who the All Blacks merrily admitted they targeted in the lineouts afterwards - and being replaced after a half hour and the ineffectiveness of Duane Vermeulen, who looked match rusty, and it wasn’t surprising the All Blacks raced to an early 15-0 lead.

In games like this, coaches talk about being a per cent off your game and that condemning you to lose. The Boks on Saturday were more than that off their game, and the All Blacks upped theirs, with the result inevitable.

The risks of playing Dweba ahead of Marx and Vermeulen off the back of no rugby for two to three months were something the Boks thought they could take. But while the minutes on the field for both may be rewarded later on in the season, on the night it underlined the difference between the two sides.

It was a selection gamble that backfired, although to be fair, the All Blacks were much more organised and protected their breakdown ball well, so even though Marx came onto the field for the last 50 minutes, it didn’t matter. They had closed down the loophole that hit them so hard in the Lowveld.

With the test now lost, and Argentina’s win over Australia, the pressure is on the Boks to win in Australia - something they last did in 2013 - and while a week ago Springbok rugby looked in healthy shape, coach Jacques Nienaber will know if the Boks don’t break that duck in Australia, the Rugby Championship could be lost and suddenly he finds himself under the spotlight. A week is a long time in rugby, as Ian Foster showed.

There are also bigger questions - such as the Boks inability to cope with a pace attack at times, and the ease that the All Blacks unlocked their defence? The uncomfortableness that the Boks have with being favourites and the inability over decades to put the hammer down against teams that are struggling? Why do the Boks struggle to front up two weeks in a row with the same intensity? These are all age-old questions that still stay unanswered after the loss.

Still, all is not lost for the Boks and they have one more home game and three on the road that will test their will and strength in the toughest of arenas.

The Boks have been steadily building and have been trying to increase their depth. The ease that Damian Willemse and Willie le Roux slot into the backline has been a feature of their play this season and while the All Blacks did well to target the Bok lineout and stop them from having an attacking rolling maul within the five metre area of the tryline, the maul is still an impressive part of their play.

The Boks also found space out wide around the outside of the All Blacks and with a little more composure could have put more points on the board.

They also have created a lot more chances to score in recent tests than over the past year and their game plan is evolving.

The problem has been that they haven’t found the same reward from their setpieces, and given the early appearance of their bomb squad, and struggling with pace, they finished the game slowly and were caught off guard by the All Blacks’ quick-tap tactics.

The loss won’t be seen as the end of the world, but more as a disappointment.

But it was a reminder that the Boks have a whole lot of work to do before they head to France next year.

And that sometimes the gambles will backfire spectacularly on them.

They will say that questions have been answered and lessons learnt. Yet only moving forward will it be apparent if those answers will be heeded, and if the gambles taken pay off in the long term.