Woeful Springboks experience an All Black(s) day

On a black day for the outclassed and embarrassed Springboks’, their unbeaten run this year came to an abrupt end when they were hammered and whitewashed 57-0 by the All Blacks in their Rugby Championship clash in Albany on Saturday.

It’s their record defeat as the ruthless All Blacks scored eight unanswered tries.

The Springboks’ only point-scoring opportunity was a missed penalty by flyhalf Elton Jantjies in the seventh minute.

It was also the first time the Boks have been held scoreless since losing 19-0 to the All Blacks in Cape Town in 2008.

South Africa were immensely poor in this game as they lacked composure, struggled in the scrums, lost line-outs at will and saw their praised defensive system collapse.

Four first half tries by the All Blacks ensured a commanding 31-0 advantage at the break and the few scoring opportunities the Springboks enjoyed in the opening half were squandered because of poor decision-making and a litany of handling errors.

Who was the star in this match?

All Black left-wing Rieko Ioane was brilliant on attack and he collected superbly after scrumhalf Aaron Smith chipped for the hometeam’s first try. He also ripped the Bok defence to pieces to set up his team’s fourth try scored by lock Brodie Retallick three minutes before half-time.

Key moments and themes

• The All Blacks first try in the 18^th minute by Ioane came through quick thinking from scrumhalf Aaron Smith to take a quick tap and chipped the ball forward for a somewhat easy try and a vital 10-0 lead after an initial strong start by the Springboks. It’s the type of vision the South Africans can only dream of.
• The Springboks squandered several opportunities in the first 40 with No 8 Uzair Cassiem delaying a pass after initial strong runs from prop Beast Mtawarira and fullback Andries Coetzee. Poor composure cost them dearly on other occasions too, particularly when centre Jesse Kriel knocked on when he should have just kicked the ball forward in the 25^th minute to score a certain try.
• The Boks were initially impressive at scrum-time but poor line-out execution cost them throughout. There were communication errors but Malcolm Marx’s reputation as hooker has also taken a hit.
• Even the Springboks’ vaunted bench made no impact as the team as a whole seemed to give up in the last 15 minutes. It was just sad to see.

Scorers

New Zealand – Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Barrett.