New Zealand 35 South Africa 20
Attitude and execution were the keys to New Zealand’s comprehensive 35-20 Rugby Championship bonus-point victory over South Africa in Auckland on Saturday, as coach Ian Foster praised his players for withstanding a second-half onslaught.
New Zealand were exhilarating as they raced into a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, the Springboks unable to handle their power and high-tempo game.
South Africa clawed their way back into the contest and trailed by eight points just past the hour-mark, until the All Blacks turned the screw again for a deserved victory that lays down a marker ahead of the World Cup in France.
The win followed an equally impressive 41-12 success in Argentina last weekend that left Foster with one hand on the Rugby Championship trophy in this truncated three-game competition.
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“It’s a great start for us this year, but it is just that [a start]. We got a bit fidgety in the third quarter and went into our shell and they got back into it,” he told Sky Sports.
“We have a lot of respect for South Africa and to put that scoreline on them ... they turned it into a real arm-wrestle but I love the way we started, hung in there and then finished strong in the last quarter.
“They have got a massively experience bench and they that showed in the second half. They put them on early, put us under a bit of pressure, but I felt with the changes we made, the whole team lifted.”
Several New Zealand players impressed, but loose forward Shannon Frizell was immense and scored a barnstorming try in the first half when he ran over Springbok fullback Willie le Roux.
“Shannon has answered a lot of critics and he should be really proud of that game tonight, he was outstanding,” Foster said.
The All Blacks travel to Australia for their final Rugby Championship fixture on July 29th, before they host the Wallabies in a second Bledisloe Cup contest a week later.
“We have a bit of a breather, and then the two Bleds and the Rugby Championship [still to win],” Foster said. “I love the attitude in the last three or four minutes when we went for that bonus-point try.
“It hurt us with a try against us too, but it shows how much it means to us. We said at the start we really want to nail this Championship and we stick to that.”
A poor first 20 minutes with too many unforced errors meant South Africa had to play catch-up according to frustrated South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber.
“The start was not idea for us, the first 20 minutes we struggled to get into the game because of poor discipline. I think we gave away four consecutive penalties,” Nienaber told reporters.
“We made a lot of mistakes and those errors put us under pressure. The quality side that New Zealand are, they were able to capitalise and we had to play catch-up rugby for the rest of the game.”
Nienaber said his side had expected New Zealand to come hard at them in the opening quarter.
“It is similar to what they did against Argentina, and on their end of year tour [last November], so we knew it was coming, we just couldn’t handle it,” he said.
Nienaber conceded there were lessons to be learned ahead of his team’s Rugby World Cup title defence in France starting in September.
“We can’t start like that, with that many penalties and errors. Some of them were unforced from our side, but others were from the pressure they exerted on us. You can’t play catch-up rugby when you get to the World Cup,” he said.
“I am proud of the guys with the way they came back, but we let it slip in the first 20 minutes.”
South Africa captain Eben Etzebeth led the side despite the death of his father on Tuesday.
“I am not walking in his shoes, so I don’t know where he is at mentally,” Nienaber said. “All we could do was support him as much as we can. He is a brilliant guy and it shows how much the Springboks mean to him.”
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023
