This evenings match being the third of the four match series between these great rugby playing nations was won by the South African team. 29-24 does not reflect the dominance with the All Blacks scoring a consolation try in injury time with the game already won. I think everyone thought the series would end 3-1 in South Africa's favor and was never going to be a 4 nil white wash so this score line is still very much in play. In hindsight had South Africa prepared properly which is an obvious problem then they could have done a clean sweep. On the other hand the All Blacks have improved since last year, but definitely not enough and the gap between the top two teams is still present and could even be larger.
We knew it was only a matter of time before the Springboks would over power the All Blacks and it has taken 3 games to get to this point. The New Zealanders nearly got away with their media tricks influencing the referees looking into things that do not exist as the Springbok scrum pushes forwards in order to dominate and does not move sideways as suggested.
Todays match referee was Georgian Nika Amashukeli who is known to not be influenced from outsiders. The Springbok scrum last week was refereed out of the game which was a huge boost for New Zealand. This week the scrum was a thing of beauty and you cannot win a test match on the back foot as the dam wall will eventually break and it did just that mid way through the second half.
There was not much to call between the two sides in the first half besides a worrying All Black scrum that was pushed back 5m over their goal line which resulted in a penalty try. Worrying signs for the second half even though the All Blacks would have the wind at their backs.
The second half started off similar to the first with mistakes being punished severely. The Springboks scored two tries to take the lead for the first time and never looked back leading 29-17 with 10 minutes to play. This was all about game management running down the clock playing in your opponents half of the field.
The game was all about the possession and control the Springboks had with their forward dominance. There was 15 minutes of controlled pressure that saw the All Blacks wilt having no answers and this is not something you can fix. If your players do not have the strength and power to dominate then you are second best which has been the case again today. No referee can save you when playing to the rules of the game.
The series standing at 2-1 in favor of the Springboks is a fair reflection of the 3 games played thus far with the SA team being so rusty in the opening fixture. One would expect the SA team to take the series 3-1 next weekend when they play the last match in Baltimore, USA.
The expected injuries we were told would happen has not materialised with he only serious one coming today to captain Ardie Savea who looks as though he has damaged his shoulder and will no longer travel with the team to the USA. This does weaken the team significantly and depth was always going to be a problem for the All Blacks. The AB's are on the back foot needing a win to salvage the series which will be difficult having lost two on the trot.
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