Last weeks Springbok All Black rugby match may have ended in a close loss for the Springboks, but I did say it was bitter sweet saying it was a positive disappointment. Positive meaning if they eradicate their mistakes then they will put the All Blacks to the sword.
This morning the Rugby Championship was turned on it's head and the results were as expected. Each team has played 4 matches winning two and losing two. Last week South Africa played badly with so many unforced errors yet only lost by 7 points to the All Blacks. They could never play poorly 2 weeks in a row and the coach replaced 7 players showing the squad depth. Australia won their match last week scoring 6 minutes into extra time so they escaped with a lucky win.
This week I expected a SA win especially with the youth and speed added to the back line. The All Black forwards do not have the power to match the Springboks and last week were saved by the referee on a number of occasions when they were allowed to play the ball after collapsed scrums. This at worst should have been a reset or penalties to the SA team. You tend to over look key areas and the error count lost the game last week and this was self inflicted.
Argentina this morning were well deserved and comfortable winners over Australia and in hind sight should have kicked the penalty goal instead of kicking the ball into touch. This would have removed 1 log point away from the Aussies leaving them on 10 points and not 11.
South Africa dismantled and destroyed the All Blacks inflicting their biggest home loss in history winning by 43-10 after New Zealand were leading 10-7 at half time. The second half was 36 nil to South Africa leaving the home fans shell shocked. The score line should have been far worse as I counted at least 3 scoring opportunities left on the field. New Zealand did not score again after the 28th minute which is or will be a concern to All Black supporters. With a result like this there is nowhere to hide and all you can do is say you were outplayed.
The big difference this week was the finishing with last week the SA team entering the red zone (22m area) on 13 occasions and only scoring twice. Today the team entered the red zone 22 times and scored 7 tries. As I mentioned above the copped up 3 other opportunities with one of those being an illegal New Zealand hand holding the ball on the ground forcing a knock on. This is an automatic yellow card for intentional foul play.
I think most SA rugby fans were waiting for this day to happen as they have not been firing on all cylinders and it was only a mater of time before they got their juju back. The scary part for all the other teams is they replaced more than half their team and it raised their performance levels. The team that played this morning is 80% of the next world cup team and they have another 10 players coming back from injury still.
The Rugby Championship can still be won by any of the 4 teams which is great that this is not being dominated by one team. Australia and Argentina are the underdogs still as any team on their day can win. This is looking good for a Southern Hemisphere world cup win again as all these teams look a standard above everyone else.
There is a 2 week break before we see the next matches and I am keen to see the New Zealand Australia games as I expect they will be close and maybe the Aussies can win one of those which is more likely going to be their home game. South Africa play Argentina at home and then at Twickenham in England as their away game and these are also expected to be close encounters.