Shocking discipline and surprisingly passive play in the line-outs contributed to the Springboks’ demise when they slumped to an error-ridden 35-20 defeat to the All Blacks, former SA great Schalk Burger said.
Thanks to their win in front of a capacity 32,000 crowd at the Mount Smart Stadium, the All Blacks have one hand on the Rugby Championship trophy ahead of their final match against the Wallabies.
Burger, a former IRB World Rugby Player of the Year, did not hold back when he assessed the Boks’ showing in Auckland.
The Boks certainly have work to do on the training field before they face Argentina at Ellis Park on July 29.
The Pumas will be bristling with confidence after they edged the Wallabies 34-31 in a tight showdown in Sydney on Saturday.
“I thought we were quite passive in the line-outs,” Burger said. “You normally expect us to hoist Eben Etzebeth or shift around or play around a bit.
“In the beginning, it was quite difficult to get a rhythm because they played the bailout a couple of times.
“After that, we were sitting quite deep but it is unusual for us to be so passive and not move bodies around and get them [the jumpers] in the air early.
“Unfortunately for SA, they coughed up error after error.
“There was one kickoff where we conceded two penalties in a row and the next moment SA were defending a line-out in their 22. And it carried on for 20 minutes.
“It’s fine if it carries on for five or eight minutes, but when you are under the pump and the brain’s a little bit fried and you don’t know what is coming next, you want your big players to settle the team down.
“The Boks were not that effective in stopping the maul, so it was a hard night for us.
“SA only lost two line-outs. The one was a good steal and the other was just a sloppy delivery.
“It is small margins in the Test match arena.
“This was almost a carbon copy of what happened at Ellis Park last year.
“In Auckland, we lost the kicking game and our discipline was shocking.
“During the first 20 minutes, I think they only had one positive outcome. It was also interesting that we could not set our defensive ruck against the All Blacks quickly enough.
“Shannon Frizell had as good a first 20 minutes as you will ever see in your life. They were asking him to turn into holes and he did that and more.
“It was like we were slow on our second defender.
“As the game went on the Boks got a foothold and we had a phenomenal side on at the end.
“The Boks lost the big moments in the second half and that was probably discipline.
“Every time SA had some momentum, we got robbed of it. It was a comprehensive victory for the All Backs.
“Auckland is a hard place to go and get a result.”
Former All Blacks star Justin Marshall said New Zealand won key battles in the Test showdown, with Brodie Retallick and Scott Barrett producing outstanding displays.
“When you win the war you have to look back at certain battles within the year and see how the battles were won.
“And one of those battles was the line-out. The Bok line-out is massively experienced and they can challenge and hurt you if they put you under pressure.
“The New Zealanders functioned magnificently well and they put the Springbok line-out under pressure, particularly in certain zones.
“They virtually won almost all the ball bar one.
“If you can win those little battles it enables you to get the rest of your game flowing.
“I thought the line-out calling, the throwing, lifting and jumping were all pinpoint.”
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