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Morne Steyn pulled by Piri Weepu - Source: Photosport -
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Beating the Springboks on their own turf is the international rugby equivalent of scaling Everest. So why is this All Blacks team trying to climb it with their bare hands?
Graham Henry has frequently had to palm off accusations that he's often too smart for his own good, but there was nothing clever about his selection of Brendon Leonard at halfback instead of the in-form Jimmy Cowan.
It's unwise to change a winning team; downright foolhardy to alter a vital component in that win. Cowan played one his best games in a black jersey against the Wallabies last weekend, yet Henry could not even find a place for him on the bench against the Boks.
Picked on the strength of a couple of good performances in the republic for the Chiefs, a rusty Leonard found the step up to international rugby too much; but it's a step he shouldn't have had to make at this point.
One also wonders how much longer Henry can ignore calls to reinstate Keven Mealamu in the number two jersey, or to give John Afoa or the hugely-promising Owen Franks a starting berth at tighthead instead of the ineffectual Neemia Tialata.
But selectorial blunders are only a small part of the problem. Poor decision-making and execution - in plain english, dumb rugby - is the essence of the All Blacks' malaise in 2009.
At the risk of raising the ire of the rugby league public, they are playing Warrior-esque rugby - moments of brilliance and clarity of thought perpetually scuppered by brain explosions.
Other than forcing Tialata to write "I will not attempt 22 drop outs to myself" a thousand times on the chalkboard and printing off a copy of the offside laws for Messrs. So'oialo and Kaino, it's hard to know what the headmaster can do to eliminate the errors.
The players themselves have to take responsibility for their own stupidity, starting from the back.
Ever the safety-first custodian, Mils Muliaina has turned in a string of surprisingly confused and cavalier performances. His latest blunder was a poor defensive read that allowed Ruan Pienaar to cross untouched for the Springboks opening try on Sunday morning.
Perhaps only now is the full extent of Leon MacDonald's departure being felt - with no immediate threat to his jersey, Muliaina has allowed his normally-impeccable standards to waver.
With the exception of the rock-solid Stephen Donald and Conrad Smith, the same sloppiness is being repeated all over the park.
The All Blacks gave away eight penalties in the first half in Bloemfontein; unforgivable against a Springboks team capable of turning them into three points from almost anywhere on the park.
And their steadfast refusal to contest the opposition lineouts remains the greatest head-scratcher in New Zealand rugby. Surely the benefits to be gained by disrupting opposition ball far outweigh the negatives of a decreased capability to deal with rolling mauls.
Whatever Henry said to his feckless troops at halftime in Bloemfontein, it worked. The stupidity was gone and the elements of a simple but effective game plan were suddenly to the fore. It looked like the second half comeback that carried them across the line at Eden Park last year would bail them out again.
The Springboks were there for the taking at 17-13 and again at 20-16. They'd simply stopped playing and reverted to drop-goal mode. The brutality in their defence was gone, allowing the visitors to dictate terms both with and without ball in hand.
But they didn't so much pick themselves off the canvas as receive a generous helping hand, courtesy of two horrid blunders in the same movement by replacement halfback Piri Weepu. It was this bewilderingly-stupid passage of play leading to Jacque Fourie's match-sealing try that ultimately told the story of the game.
That may well be the scariest aspect of the Sunday morning's defeat - that there is plenty of room for improvement in the Springboks camp.
Not even the deranged Pieter de Villiers will make the mistake of picking a first five who can't kick goals again, and their backs will have had an extra week to gel.
The issue of jetlag and difficulty adjusting to conditions on the high veldt was a red herring. The Boks will be just as hard to beat in Durban next weekend as they were in Bloemfontein.
It hardly bodes for an All Black team seemingly intent on
defeating itself.
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Post new commentpaulie09 said on 2009-08-05 @ 11:39 NZDT: Report abusive post
Watching the AB's humiliation, I had to reflect on a radio ad campaign for the matches. The ad's premise that various religions have their form of worship, but as NZers - "our religion is rugby..." The ad then prays TO the All Blacks... "O mighty All Blacks..." AB's in the place of God... Funny? No. Blasphemous? Possibly. Stupid? Absolutely. Reminds me of the TV campaign a few years back where "How great Thou art" was played to slomo AB footage. From memory, humiliating defeat also followed.
Toronto_Kiwi said on 2009-08-03 @ 07:41 NZDT: Report abusive post
So sad to watch, a team fall apart due to such poor direction. When will the NZRFU realize, admit their mistake and sack Henry? I fear the lose of all the AB trophies will need to occur before we see a coach of real class appointed. Lets hope there is enough time before 2011 for the new coach to lift the team to a winnable level
Darthshan said on 2009-08-03 @ 01:06 NZDT: Report abusive post
The all blacks are trying to play too much rugby. They are not settled and will make mistakes until they get some confidence. I am a bok supporter who on the one side is happy of our achievements against NZ, but would much rather have a beat a NZ team at full force. This hard period will serve you guys for the WC, you'll grow stronger from it. Good luck to you guys and Go Bokke!
rurunz said on 2009-08-02 @ 17:22 NZDT: Report abusive post
why dont you all get over yourselves soo the allblacks are having a bad time it happens in all teams why are they any different .All the teams are beatable to think our beloved allblacks arent is just kidding ourselves.South Africa was always going to be hard in SOUTH AFRICA!!! They stillhave to come down under yet!!! Carters presence is sorely missed but he will be back soon and i think that will make a huge difference so stop with the allblack bashing we kiwis are our teams worst critics!!!!
ManuJ said on 2009-08-02 @ 11:34 NZDT: Report abusive post
The All Blacks looked like boys playing against men!! Where are the new big men of NZ rugby. We had plenty before?? Donald is rubbish.....Reminds me of Grant Fox in open space!!