Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Taking advantage: Mils Muliaina crosses over with a Bok in the bin
Related links
Teams
- New Zealand
- South Africa
Also see
- Min-by-min: How the All Blacks downed the Boks in Wellington
New Zealand repeated their heroics of last week's Tri-Nations opener with another polished performance to beat South Africa 31-17 at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.
It was a bad case of deja vu for the Boks as once again the All Blacks took advantage of a yellow card shown early on - this time to banned Bakkies Botha's replacement Danie Rossouw - that resulted in ten points in ten minutes.
From then on in it was always going to be a mountain to climb for the visitors. And while they showed a lot of character to claw their way back and narrow the lead to 13-7 at half-time, the home side were just far too clinical after the break to claim successive bonus point wins over the world champions and ensure their two home fixtures yielded the maximum ten points.
Truth be told, the hosts should have buried South Africa considering the defending champions' inconsistent defensive efforts, their inability to adapt to Alain Rolland's relaxed and sometimes negligent style of officiating, and their failure to impose themselves on attack.
Indeed, Irish eyes weren't smiling on the Springboks on a wintry night in the New Zealand capital and at times, it certainly looked like John Smit's men were up against sixteen men.
The yellow card for foul play aside, there were key instances in the game that either went unnoticed or unpunished that will leave fans of the oval ball fuming back in the Republic.
South Africa now limp across the Tasman to Australia pointless and seemingly bereft of ideas after another mauling by a highly-motivated All Blacks side whose superior inventiveness, precision and individual class was a joy to watch.
The Springbok attack was unimaginative, and were often smashed back by the hungrier All Blacks who read the South Africans' unimaginative play like a book. Needless to say, a lot of work needs to be done before next weekend's clash with the Wallabies - their discipline and attitude no doubt topping the list.
And the Boks can certainly count themselves lucky that Dan Carter had a bad day with the boot, after the All Blacks pivot missed five shots at goal to lend the scoreline an unreflective look.
Rossouw, making his 50th Test appearance in place of the suspended Botha, was earlier the villain of the peace after a skirmish with Richie McCaw saw him sent to the sin bin just four minutes in. Looking back on the replay, a fired up Rossouw dished out a tap kick to the thigh of McCaw that, in all seriousness, wouldn't have hurt his grandmother.
And the hosts capitalised clinically, racing into a 10-0 lead with their opponents a man down.
Ma'a Nonu opened the scoring, powering over a ruck of bodies on seven minutes and just managing to ground the ball. Carter, who had missed an earlier penalty, was again off target with the conversion.
Smit gave his troops a stern talking to before the restart, however his words had little effect as just five minutes later the home side struck again.
A fine break from Piri Weepu sliced open the Springboks' static defence and full-back Mills Muliaina - who showed impressive pace - raced away down the right wing to score clinically in the corner. Carter continued his 100 per cent failure record, however his latest effort was the toughest yet under a swirling wind at the Westpac Stadium.
Rossouw returned to the field minutes later, however the wave of attacks from the men in black refused to relent and Carter landed his first effort in four attempts on the half hour.
Despite spending the majority of the first half on the back foot, South Africa grabbed a lifeline three minutes before the break when Rossouw crashed over and Morne Steyn added the extras.
Any hopes of a comeback were soon put to bed though as Rene Ranger marked his first Test start with a try six minutes after the break. The try followed an incident where Ranger was let off for a shoulder charge on Zane Kirchner in plain sight of the referee and his assistant Alan Lewis. If he's cited, it will affirm the fact that the Wellington officials made a costly gaffe in failing to show him yellow.
Carter, who missed the subsequent conversion, was then taken off kicking duties as Weepu tried his luck. The move paid dividends on 51 minutes when the robust scrum-half expertly slotted over a 40-metre effort to put the All Blacks 21-10 to the good.
A bonus-point win was sealed 14 minutes later, replacement Israel Dagg producing two sizzling sidesteps past Pierre Spies, Schalk Burger and Kirchner before touching down.
Burger barged his way over for a late consolation, however the All Blacks were full value for their second successive bonus-point win and are now in pole position to regain the title.
Man of the match: Once again, all the All Blacks played well. Kieran Read led another impressive forward effort, while Dan Carter was able to probe with his boot or let the ball out to the outside backs who were a constant threat. Acting as the link, and an ideal choice under the circumstances, was scrum-half Piri Weepu. He thrived in the conditions, feeding the ball consistently while making breaks efficiently to ensure the advantage line was continually broken.
Moment of the match: There were a few, but Israel Dagg's superb individual try to seal the deal was the icing at the Cake Tin.
Villain of the match: Last week it was bad boy Baakie's Botha who crippled his team in the first half with a needless sin binning and this week his replacement Danie Rossouw followed suit.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Tries: Nonu, Muliana, Ranger, Dagg
Con: Carter
Pens: Carter 2, Weepu
For South Africa:
Tries: Rossouw, Burger
Cons: Steyn 2
Pen: Steyn
Yellow card: Rossouw, 3 min (South Africa, foul play)
New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.
South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 MornÚ Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthr÷ Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon.
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Comments
7ton says...
@foxrock
Talk about twisting the facts like politicians
I did not use the words "keeps one eye on the ref" but clearly stated that McCaw was good at figuring out the refs particular interpretations of the laws and if you do understand anything about rugby you would surely realise that players simply have to do that.
Yes you did suggest emailing paddy obrien but it was about (McCaws) cheating and not whatI suggested so here you are moving the goal posts.
In regards to cheating, after thuggery I think the worst form is where players try to con the ref into giving them a penalty which is what you are trying to do with your email campaign
Posted 20:53 30th July 2010
foxrock says...
@7ton
In asserting that McCaw doesn't eye gouge / head butt you appear to hope that the debating trick (most commonly used by politicians who've been caught out) of denying something that wasn't asserting might, thereby, change the debate goalposts.
But I don't think, and didn't suggest, that McCaw's a dirty player. However the fact that he isn't a thug doesn't alter the fact that McCaw's a cheat.
Indeed your own 'defence' of McCaw admits that he plays with one eye on the referee - a trait he shares with soccer cheats such as Ronaldo etc - which, of course, would be unneccessary if (like most top-flight rugby players and most All Blacks) McCaw played by the rules. But McCaw doesn't play by the rules, indeed he seeks constantly to subvert the rules, and can therefore only be described as a cheat. That he is a cheat is easily verified from looking at match footage.
Sharing your belief that the performance of the IRB (and referees) needs to be greatly improved I previously suggested emailing [email protected]
Posted 10:16 23rd July 2010
7ton says...
@foxrock
Yes I seriously dispute what you say about Ritchie McCaw being the biggest cheat in top flight rugby and a disgrace to himself and the All Blacks.
Kiwwin sums it up correctly.
Most importantly he does not head but or eye gouge
While I wouldn't say he is an absolute angel but with referees all having different interpretations of the game McCaw is very good at figuring out the refs particular interpretations and playing right to the limit of them especially at the breakdown. That is exactly his job and what any decent flanker should do.
Indeed it is a shame that players have to spend a great deal of time playing to the ref but that has to be put down to the fact that the rules have so many grey areas and with the ref having a difficult job he makes many borderline decisions which are not always right.
Of course this is very frustrating for the fans but instead of emailing Paddy whining about some individual being a cheat I believe it would be more productive to email or write to the IRB asking for (and perhaps even coming up with some ideas) more clarity of the rules and to make it easier for the referees to be more consistent with their interpretations
Posted 12:44 21st July 2010
Storm says...
@petchamon
You should have your own blog........very astute and very funny!
Posted 05:23 20th July 2010
reado15 says...
@Bloemboy, couldnt agree with you more! Thanks for the impartial comment they are quite rare in here! I think this next weeks game will be a cracker it could go 2 ways. Australia could win as the boks will be pretty tired after 2 frenetic games, 2 weeks on the trot. However i think the smart money is on the boks to win as the wallabies wont be match fit and after the 2 epic games that the boks have played against the AB's will be better prepared. Lets face it any professional sports team will be looking for blood after 2 pretty comprehensive losses. I am an AB's fan but even i cant wait for the game!
Posted 04:54 20th July 2010
kiwwin says...
When you put yourself in a position to be successful at anything in life, you will have your detractors. In my humble opinion, Richie McCaw honestly believes he has the skill sets to influence every play he can get to on a rugby field. Who can argue with his effectiveness?
The ABs have been on the positive side of the ledger 75 out of the 85 occasions that McCaw has started a test match. My guess is that his stats for the Crusaders are very similar.
McCaw is the Lance Armstrong of rugby. A once in a generation superstar who is consistently so far superior to anyone else in the sport that he is branded a cheat.
Richie McCaw is another in a long line of "aw shucks" no nonsense NZ farm boys who achieve great things on the world rugby stage but never lose the common touch.
Posted 23:51 19th July 2010
SBWAllBlack says...
well said bloemboy. Du preez, Smith, Brussouw will add another dimension. I still think the boks need to play with ball in hand a bit more, the kick chase game has become a bit to predictable, and SA have some brilliant runners. There is no point picking Spies if you are just kicking possession away???. These games always bring the best out of the fans!
Posted 23:05 19th July 2010
foxrock says...
No one is disputing that NZ were deserving winners.
And no one is reallly disputing that Rolland had, to put it mildly, a bad refereeing day.
But is anyone seriously disputing that McCaw is the biggest cheat in top flight rugby and that his constant cheating is a disgrace to himself, to the All Blacks, and to game of rugby?
It's as well to remember that soccer wasn't always a game in which cheating is central. All it took was some bad apples bad example to be ignored by the authorities. Anyone who thinks the IRB needs to do something now about (McCaw's) cheating can email [email protected]
Posted 18:47 19th July 2010
bloemboy says...
Wow, talk about evoking passion. If this bunch of contributors got onto a pitch to do battle, it would be an epic one to watch!
Seriously guys, New Zealand were the better team on the day and deserved to win. Period.
Any further discussion about the ref moves into the field of "what if". If South Africa want to be considered as the best, the results have to speak for themselves. Saffas feel hard done by, but have probably been given the rub somewhere in the past or will be given in the future. Its sport and therefore mistakes happen. Just as every player on the field is fallable, so is the ref.
As for South Africans wingeing.... I take it that no self respecting fan likes to see his team lose, specially if there is a hint of controversy (or poisoned food, dodgy waitresses, ref conspiracies etc...yawn). I think it is great to see that we all think our team can do better and that we have high expectations. Wouldnt it be a sad day when we roll over and say that we deserve the carrot exactly where it was strategically placed? I think that I am really looking forward to the occasion where it is firmy delivered back to the sender in decisive manner!
To the Kiwis, well done, but beware the Return to Sender on the carrot, because I think we will be using a slightly larger version, to be delivered by express-Brussouw/Smith-mail.
Hang on to your hats fans, this is gonna get better and I am really excited that the SA Juggernaut is gonna wake soon and take some revenge for anyone daring to step onto the same paddock. When they get it right, it is really outtasight. (I just hope they dont do it too quickly, we should time it right, like next year, same venue and hopefully same opponent)
Posted 16:05 19th July 2010
danut says...
Hey Bokke!
The best ref in the world is of course Kaplan.As a touch judge he did not see a blatant forward pass and you are world champ.Maybe Jonker especially after Bulls Crusaders,Hm?No Lawrence or Joubert no,they try to be impartial so no no,not them.After this game you are whinging and surprise!! De Villiers banned,but of course the commissioner corrupt also!!
All the world are against you.
Or you are to biased to see the truth,the real thing.
The solution,from now only Jonker or Kaplan will be allowed to ref your games,maybe Lawrence but not to often.
And you will never lose a game again,what about that!?
PS.
I am neutral from a non speaking english country,a minnow .
But 30-40 years ago we were a power.
So I know something about rugby.
And TRINATS,you try to be impartial even if the Aussie play so Hat Off to you!!!!
Posted 14:43 19th July 2010
london27m says...
To tgardiner
How ignorant are you? You can't even spell the guy's name properly.
How is it that neutrals like myself and even your main man Sean Fitzpatrick (Kiwi - fyi... thought i'd tell you that) say that the ref was clearly in Black.
How can he send a man off when he has his back to the incident. (look at the footage)
You say "Allan Rolland can only act on what he saw that second"... Keep up. Were you watching the game? Or were you just watching the same game that ALAIN was???
Posted 13:27 19th July 2010
tkovacs says...
As a neutral observer a couple of comments:
Yes the yellow for Roussow was harsh
However the tackle from Ranger looked legit on the slo mo and JdVs spear tackle could have been yellow. Roland didn't have his best game and as an England fan we have got very used to poor reffing from Lewis. But I think both sides got some poor decisions, I don't believe this changed the result.
NZ were by far the better side, the boks appear to be hamstrung by the lack of de Preez, and also a horribly conservative game plan where they hoof the ball back to the opposition back 3 a la England. If they tried to play and use Habana, Fourie et al the results would be a lot closer. Yes the boring game plan worked to win the WC 4 years ago but the ABs have improved in the meantime whereas the Boks have stood still or gone backwards under a terrible coach. Looking at how the Bulls play the players you have are capable of much more. I think the bok fans need to look at their team and coaching staff not the ref.
Posted 13:07 19th July 2010
MarcoP says...
The Bokke missed Brussouw dearly this time... fast, tough and committed in the ruck.
Posted 09:24 19th July 2010
tgardiner says...
To Bok Supporters!
You guys need to be alot more like your captain John Smit. Respectful in defeat & letting everyone know that there is no room for Big Ego's in International Rugby. Bakkies did it & then Russow did it. Not to the same extent but obviously Allan Rolland can only act on what he saw that second. He can't go to the Video ref to make that call!
As for Richie so called cheat Mccaw, Maybe if you guys had some one to Counter him, not like the average flanker lowe that you have now! You might have someone clever enough to slow down all black ball. its obvious that south african packs rely on muscle & not speed. If you had a speedster who can get to these breakdowns quick & make a mess of himself at ruck time then of course you're going to make it hard for the attack to get quick ball. Blame you're coaches for picking such slow loose fowards. Spies is fast but he dosen't want anything to do with defence or rucks! Pick some one who's keen to get his hands dirty Spies looks in the Mirror anytime an attacker runs tpward him or a ruck is formed!
Posted 07:03 19th July 2010
lostie says...
Hi everyone.
Check out this link: http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2039438.html#match+preview+new+zealand+south+africa
It's stats about NZ and SA in the Tri-Nations.
And includes some stats on ALAIN ROLLAND
Posted 03:21 19th July 2010
trianglechoke says...
There is nothing worse, than listening to a bunch of sore losers. Bok supporters take a breather & quit blaming the ref for your loses, the better team won on those 2 occasions. It's still early in the Tri's & anything can still happen. Go Allblacks!
Posted 03:19 19th July 2010
superunknown says...
To all the SA supporters. We all sincerely hope you keep believing what you are saying right through to the end of next year. You were cheated, the opposition were weaker and just lucky, you don't need more onfield discipline, you are the best, you don't need to change - we do. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
Posted 01:47 19th July 2010
SBWAllBlack says...
The boks were outclassed but looked good in patches. Ironically, it was when they held the ball and actually ran at the AB's they appeared the most dangerous. Du Preez will add a lot to the boks when he comes back and will be a different side. Rangers tackle was legitimate, he used his arms and tried to wrap (legal). The yellow card I felt was harsh, but the refs are really stamping out that niggly play and any contact with the eyes will always be severely punished. But worth a yellow? De Villiers tackle on Ranger too, I thought 2 weeks for that was a bit hard. But again, the IRB are really trying to stamp out lifting taclkes - I don't really agree with it tho.
I think it is a bit hypocritical when there is a few players/ex players/columnists/supporters who attack the character of Richie McCaw and New Zealand crowds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cugWIM6E39g
Check that out, the first player there is Richie McCaw.
Boks will bounce back, they are great side and a great rugby playing nation.Im looking forward to Oz Vs SA.
Posted 23:25 18th July 2010
7ton says...
@robo
In regards to absurd and one eyed comments go look to your own as they rank amongst the best examples
Yes we all like to complain and have the odd whinge and I remember the recent Super 14 series when some Kiwi Crusader fans including the coach Todd Blackadder complained about what they thought was one sided refereeing in a couple of games in South Africa. This was met by howls of "whingers", and accusations of Kiwis being the worst losers in the world from certain South African fans and authors on this site. Well hello Mr Pot and Kettle who are now the worst whingers and losers in the world.
In the past South Africa losing in the tri-nations was put down to some sort of conspiracy by Australian and NZ refs and now it seems Northern Hemisphere refs have joined the conspiracy as well.
I agree Rossouw should not have been yellow carded and the referees in the 2 tests did not have a good game but they made bad decisions against both teams and as much as McCaw is claimed to be a cheat and get away with it so are certain South African players who were going over the top and leaving the scrum early unseen by the ref.
The real problem is rugby is a very difficult game to referee and there are so many borderline situations which are down to the particular and individual interpretation of the referee. Many games have been won or lost by a narrow margin simply because of a decision in awarding a penalty which could have gone either way. The referee can certainly have too much influence on a game and hopefully the IRB are attempting to rectify this.
However the margin by which the All Blacks won and in particular the try count makes them fully deserved victors and hats of to Justice-for-all and other South Africans for saying so.
Posted 23:04 18th July 2010
KeaJHB says...
@ Petchamon - agree (almost) entirely.
Pierce and Skinstad are painful. I selected surround sound and for the first half just got the players, referees and crowd. It was great.
Went out to tend to my garden once I heard the imbecile Skinstad....
Yes, McCaw was treaten lightly, sort of like Burger (constant breaking off before the ball is out); Olivier (late hit); De Villiers (spear tackle); and Kirchner (high tackle).
Poor Bokke- they are so obviously better but targetted by the cheating officials (yawn).
Posted 22:21 18th July 2010