The view of the Springbok and All Black performances on the same weekend may have differed according to who you spoke or listened to, but one thing is clear - the protagonists in the forthcoming Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series were both helped by being forced to dig deep.
In both the game in Cape Town between the All Blacks and the DHL Stormers and the clash across the southern Atlantic between Argentina and South Africa the Greatest Rivals faced combinations that were understrength. And for that matter they both fielded teams themselves that were understrength. In both they were pushed by passionate, committed opponents and were fighting for the result relatively late in the game.
Dave Rennie praised his team for the character they showed against a Stormers team that was without 9 Boks and a few other players who didn’t play because of injury and were also playing out of season. You wouldn’t have anticipated that beforehand.
You’d have expected it to be the Stormers coach John Dobson praising his team for their character regardless of the result just because of the magnitude of the challenge of playing the New Zealand national team after not playing for two months.
As Dobson said afterwards, it was the first proper hit out in a game situation since the Cape team lost to Leinster in the Vodacom URC semifinal on 6 June. Given that reality, it took a lot of guts and tenacity for the Stormers to be level with the All Blacks until there were 12 minutes to go.
The Argentina coach Felipe Contemptoni should have felt the same way about his team’s effort against the world champions. The Boks did well to be level at 10-all at halftime and while the Pumas were fielding four debutants and were without several overseas-based stalwarts, they punched above their weight and they had the visitors sweating at the end as they defended a 16 phase last gasp Argentina attack.
MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS FOR TOURING KIWIS
In both cases the winning coaches might have anticipated the lack of cohesion that tripped them up on occasion. The Boks featured players coming back from injury and were much changed from the side that last played against Wales. The All Black team was pretty much a scratch combination in the sense that it was a long way from the unit that played in the home leg of the Nations Championship.
However, it was a chance for the All Blacks to see how their more radicalised ball in hand game would work against South African opposition. Against the Stormers’ press defence, if the All Blacks did manage a pass mark it was far from being a first class or A level pass. Their dealing with the Stormers’ aerial game was a long way from positive, and ditto their scrumming and their defence of the South African maul.
More questions than answers appeared to be a general consensus afterwards and many Kiwis would have been disappointed with the overall performance. And yet, because the Stormers fronted and didn’t, as Dobson described the general local effort in the British and Irish Lions tour games five years ago, lie down and agree to be tickled, they gave Rennie what he would have been looking for - a proper South African welcome, a wake-up call on what is going to be required to be competitive in the series that kicks off with the first test at Ellis Park on 22 August.
It is too late for the All Blacks to change their plan or their focus, but they will be more aware now of what they are up against and what is needed. They’ve been introduced to the physical element that is such a big part of why teams that play against South Africa are taken out of their comfort zone.
SIYA’S INJURY ASIDE IT WAS A USEFUL HIT OUT
What Rassie Erasmus was looking for from the Buenos Aires experience was more complex. Firstly he wanted to see some experienced players get through their first hit out subsequent to them returning from injury layoffs. That turned out to be a mixed bag.
The headline issue afterwards was undeniably the hamstring injury that might well prevent double World Cup winning Bok skipper Siya Kolisi from starting the RGR series. Andre Esterhuizen, important to the Boks for his hybrid status as well as his standing as the perfect alternative to Damian de Allende when one is needed, was also concussed.
There was though quite a bit that appeared on the positive side of the balance sheet. Eben Etzebeth saw out the entire 80 minutes, Lood de Jager went the 46 minutes he was expected to go, and other players coming back from injury such as Ethan Hooker and Canan Moodie were busy and will be better for playing the full game. Aphelele Fassi was much better at fullback than he has been too. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was a little off with his field kicking but he also got through a full game and will be in the selection mix for the Johannesburg game.
And then there was Cameron Hanekom. The man of the match performance turned in in his first full start for the Boks in his regular position of No 8 underlined his capabilities and perfectly offset the disappointment at the probable loss of Kolisi. Paul de Villiers has easily done enough to deserve the No 6 jersey if Kolisi is ruled out, but this is a four match series being prepared for and Erasmus might well need to dig into his depth over those four weeks.
The Boks were a bit error-ridden and laboured at times, but the injection of the replacements did the expected job of lifting the power and intensity and while it took until the 63rd minute for the Boks to finally take the lead in the game, there wasn’t too much doubt given the Boks’ physical and territorial dominance that they’d get through without being beaten.
FINAL PUMAS ASSAULT GAVE BOKS USEFUL CLUTCH MOMENT EXPERIENCE
There was a chance though they could end up drawing when the Pumas launched their final sustained assault, and while it might have had Bok supporters and even the coaches on the edge of their seats, Erasmus should have welcomed it.
The Bok defensive set was good and formed excellent preparation for the possibility of a similar scenario playing out in the series. It is true that the attack fell down because the Pumas knocked the ball on out wide when in a possible scoring position, but in truth it did look like the Boks had cover defenders back.
Getting through that examination without conceding a penalty, and indeed not offering the Pumas much ground in their quest to reach the try-line, should have been a massive confidence boost for the Boks. Just as the All Blacks will feel emboldened by how they managed to find space and force the Stormers into error with a kicking strategy introduced late in the game that was previously kept dormant.
Weekend international matches
DHL Stormers 21 All Blacks 38
Argentina 10 South Africa 17
Japan 32 Australia 35
Next RGR Tour match:
Hollywoodbets Sharks v All Blacks (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban, Tuesday 7:10pm)