Analysis: What the hell was that?
Just as the All Blacks felt they could calmly stride back into Wellington, after the last two tests there ended up as comfortable victories, the curse of the capital returned with a vengeance, as Scott Robertson's side suffered a record 43-10 defeat on Saturday at Sky Stadium.
If the successful French series, followed by the loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires, felt like one step forward and two steps back, then this was more one step forward only to fall off a cliff.
The most perplexing thing was that, for a while there, things were very much going according to plan for the All Blacks. In fact, it was the Springboks who were looking like they were about to be in real trouble as injuries mounted, causing their much-vaunted bench was emptied long before it should have been.
The general feeling was that it was just a matter of time before the All Black tries started flowing, because Rassie Erasmus and his side already had a very understandable excuse as to why.
The All Blacks attack was finding holes where it wanted to, and they were getting punched through by Wallace Sititi and Simon Parker. Leroy Carter had scored a try on debut to give them a halftime lead.
While the finish was relatively straightforward, the build-up was a thing of beauty, involving a 60-metre movement, a flick pass from Parker to Ardie Savea, and interplay between the backs and forwards alike.
Fabian Holland competes at the lineout with Pieter-Steph du Toit. Photo: Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz
Meanwhile, the Springboks spent the first half dealing with Lood de Jager, Sacha Feinburg-Mngomezulu, Aphelele Fassi and Cobus Reinach leaving the field. While Reinach did return after passing his HIA, the already freshly constructed backline was having to make urgent repairs in real time.
By the time Cheslin Kolbe left injured in the 46th minute, it felt like the Springboks were there for the taking.
Instead, to the complete shock of the capacity crowd - including the very large number of South Africans - the complete opposite happened.
The key moments were firstly an intercept by Kolbe that should've been a second try to Carter in the 24th minute. Instead of being up 14-0, the All Blacks were watching the Springbok winger repeat his heroics from their 2018 win at the same venue.
Then, there were the three lost lineouts on either side of and directly leading to Damian Willemse's try. Brodie McAlister's throw on the All Blacks five-metre line was so miscued, Ruan Nortje could've snatched it without a lift and, while the workhorse Willemse showed a lot of strength to smash over the line, it was through some pretty pitiful defence.
Damian Williamse of South Africa celebrates. Photo: Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz
That made it 24-10 after an hour, rather similar to how the Eden Park test was playing out, except with the scores reversed. It was set up for a famous Springbok win, albeit with another potentially tense finish.
However, in a scene that was more reminiscent of a Super Rugby Pacific game, the All Blacks simply lay down and let the Springboks cut loose. Ethan Hooker turned what should've been a pressure kick in his 22 into a 60-metre gain back the other way.
Pieter-Steph du Toit probably couldn't believe the space he was in out wide, when he collected a Manie Libbok crosskick or how fast Kwagga Smith managed to get to him to collect an offload to score.
RG Snyman scores. Photo: Marty Melville/Photosport
By the time RG Snyman galloped over untouched, the defence had folded back in on itself like a black hole. The players probably didn't know it, but by then, it was the worst All Black defeat on home soil, then when Andre Esterhuizen dived over, it was the worst ever.
This will take some living down by the All Black coaching staff. The Springboks unintentionally exposed a glaring bit of hubris in selection and preperation, as- for all of the talk of the Erasmus's 'Bomb Squad' strategy - the Springbok replacements effectively did what benches traditionally have over history, as injury replacements. By contrast, their All Black opposites that were subbed on tactically didn't really do anything other than stand behind their own posts.
This was a failure of depth and direction, plain and simple. There were no problem-solvers, only liabilities at set-piece, as the Springboks simply helped themselves to a misfiring lineout.
Robertson and his staff have two now very short-feeling weeks, before the Wallabies show up at Eden Park with the Bledisloe Cup on their minds.
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