A late flurry of scoring against a tiring DHL Stormers team saved the touring All Blacks from the potential embarrassment of an opening-game defeat as they got their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour off to a winning 38-21 start at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Friday night.
The final score slightly flattered a New Zealand team that was made to sweat by a passionate Stormers team that was playing out of season, hence the almost inevitable fade right at the end, and also without 10 Springboks.
It wasn’t the famous victory to match that of the historic 12-11 win scored against the All Blacks at Newlands in 1976 that was hoped for from the hosts, but the Stormers were more than competitive and in the first 68 minutes, they exposed some serious flaws in the basics of the All Black game.
How good are the All Black attackers when faced with a defence that boasts line speed and is not passive? How do they deal with the contestable kicking game? How good is their scrumming? Has it improved? And how well do they defend an opposition maul? None of those questions were answered with complete assurance on a night where the All Blacks were held to 14-all up until there were 12 minutes to go.
QUESTIONABLE SCRUM PENALTY COST THE STORMERS
Actually, it’s wrong to say they were held to level scores - they were pressing for the try to take the lead before the All Blacks got a questionable scrum penalty at a set piece where they completely disintegrated, and from there, the Kiwis launched an attack that eventually just saw the Stormers run out of defenders. Rieko Ioane, one of the better All Black players on the night who played both wing and centre, was able to force the ball down in the right corner to get his team into the lead.
And just minutes later, the rangy Stormers flanker was caught in possession and the ball turned over as he tried to launch a spirited attack after dropping back to take the ball in the back field, and the All Blacks capitalised to score their fourth try and put themselves out of range. Then the same player had a clearance kick charged down and the All Blacks ran in a fifth against a flagging Stormers team that are only just three weeks into their pre-season.
The Stormers then launched an attack that led to a penalty try, and with less than two minutes going, it looked like that would have been that. But as an indication of how much the home team had tired came when a scrum that had been strong most of the way was destroyed, and from the resultant penalty, New Zealand set up a maul that led to another try.
Those two things, scrum and maul, were not positive aspects of the All Black game on the night, so they might have felt that putting in those two big last efforts was the perfect way to finish the first match of this tour.
It was a game and occasion so different to the initial games of the last big international tour to this country, that by the British and Irish Lions in 2021. That tour took place in the time of Covid and the club games were played in front of empty stadiums, while the local teams were overrun in the matches.
A GREAT OCCASION
This was nothing like that, with 47 000 spectators there to feast on a boisterous occasion in which the home team played a full and massive part. Right in the beginning it looked as if the Stormers might get overrun, with the All Blacks starting with the clear intent of taking the Cape players out of their comfort zone with the tempo of their attacking game.
You could sense the relief of both the home crowd and the Stormers players when the long opening sequence of All Black attacks eventually ended with the ball going into touch, but it wasn’t long before the All Blacks were on the board through a mauling try in the right corner. Beauden Barrett’s conversion made it 7-0 to the All Blacks after just six minutes.
The Stormers desperately needed to get their hands on the ball, because they hadn’t up to then. When they did, they quickly settled, and also set the tone for much of the game by driving the All Blacks back. For the Kiwis, the way the Stormers' big men broke and wriggled their way through tackles should have been a concern.
The Stormers effectively crossed the line twice through mauls in quick succession, the first when hooker Andre-Hugo Venter touched down. But then, almost inexplicably, the TMO called on the referee to take another look. The All Blacks lost a man to the bin and a penalty was awarded to the Stormers, but the try was chalked off. No matter for the Stormers, they just kicked the ball to touch and off the next lineout, they drove over again, this time Deon Fourie dotting down.
‘BRANNAS’ WAS HUGE
The 39-year-old ‘Brannas’ Fourie was one of the stars of the night for the Stormers, turning in a tireless performance and proving a real thorn to the All Blacks at the breakdowns, and another old timer, 37-year-old Dewaldt Duvenage, called on early in the game to replace the injured Imad Khan, was good with his tactical game before he was injured 13 minutes from the end, leaving the Stormers without a specialist scrumhalf for those final minutes.
Young Yaqeen Ahmed, who only turned 20 a couple of days ago, turned in a calm and composed performance in his debut for the Stormers and the Junior Bok is, on this evidence, definitely ready to play in the Vodacom URC this season.
There were several other heroes in the Stormers ranks, not the least of them the rampaging lock Adre Smith, Evan Roos produced a busy and impressive performance from No 8, Dayimani was all over the field; and Vernon Matongo was at the heart of an impressive first-half scrumming performance that was continued when Ntuthuko Mchunu came on early in the second half.
It looked like the two teams would go to halftime at 7-7, but it was a game won by the All Blacks by them winning the big moments, and their try on the stroke of halftime shifted the momentum the All Blacks' way.
The Stormers had ball to play with in the third quarter and were rewarded with an excellent try from Seabelo Senatla, who used his pace to go over untouched after taking a ball in an inside channel off an attacking lineout. That was in the 55th minute, and for the next while it looked like the Stormers might just make history.
But once the All Blacks got ahead again, the puff went out of the home effort, and the All Blacks, who had three players carded during the game and also conceded 16 penalties, so their discipline should be a concern to them as they move on from Cape Town to face the Sharks in Durban on Tuesday, were able to close off the win they needed. It was, though, one of those nights when the old cliché was apt - rugby was the real winner. It was the perfect way for this tour to start.
Scores
New Zealand 38 - Tries: Samisoni Taukei-aho, Simon Parker, Rieko Ioane, LeRoy Carter, Josh Moorby and Asofo Aumau; Conversions: Beauden Barrett 2 and Josh Jacomb 2. DHL Stormers 21 - Tries: Deon Fourie and Seabelo Senatla; Conversions: Yaqeen Ahmed 2; Penalty try.