All Blacks vs. Springboks

This year’s Rugby Championship is the shortened form of the competition, as there is a Rugby World Cup later in the year – in Japan, starting in September. Instead of playing each team twice (once at home and once away), they only play once, so each result is crucial. New Zealand will still play Australia twice, as they always play an extra match for the Bledisloe Cup.

The All Blacks have set their sights on the RWC, so they have been treating the Championship very much as a testing ground for new players in the squad, and new combinations. Following the loss of Damien McKenzie to injury earlier in the year, there has been much debate about how to fill the number 10 and number 15 jerseys. The solution, at least for this game, was to put Richie Mo’unga in as first five-eighth and move Beauden Barrett to full back.

It was a clear but chilly night as we approached the stadium. We’d set out in plenty of time to avoid any possible traffic hold-ups, and also to try and secure a parking space in or secret parking space place. Which we managed with no problem...although there was a difficulty after we'd got in, with a breakdown of the barcode readers on the gates, which caused a lot of people to miss the beginning of the game.

We also had time to get some dinner before the game, and went upstairs to the mezzanine bar, which has slightly better food than the typical pies, fish’n’chips etc. served from the main food stations. Although they’re upping their game down there as well with a bit more variety (we had Piri Weepu’s burgers downstairs on a previous occasion).

Then we took our seats. As I’d booked early, we were actually in pretty good seats, near the front and in the corner were the teams come out. Fortunately it was a dry night as there is no cover that far down.

All Blacks perform the haka

To the game: it was actually pretty forgettable. Both sides defended ferociously, and the Boks had the best of it in the first half, keeping the ABs out of their 22 for nearly the whole half. The Boks went for the goal kicks on two occasions, both successful, to lead  6-0 after the first 10 minutes, and it stayed that way until a 37^th minute breakout from Barrett, who used his speed to cover most of the ground to the line before passing to Goodhue to dot down. Barrett added the conversion and they led going into halftime at 7-6. In the second half, Barrett increased the lead with a penalty before handing over kicking duties to Mo’unga, who put another three points on. Meanwhile, the Boks had also pulled one back and in the final minute it looked like the ABs had ground out a win with the score at 16-9.  But there was an intercept, and suddenly a two-on-one situation, with the ball in the air. Aaron Smith tried to get to it, missed, and Jantjies, the smallest Springbok on the field, managed to juggle the ball and not knock-on to go over for a try in the final minute. Pollard converted and the scores were level, and the hooter had gone.

The only other notable event of the second half was the injury to Brodie Retalllick’s shoulder. But this has since been found to be not as serious as first thought, so he looks likely to be fit in time for the World Cup.

Not the world’s greatest game of rugby, but a useful testing ground for a squad that will continue to be whittled down before the World Cup. The All Blacks face South Africa again in their first game of the competition, so this gives them a useful calibration of what they will be facing.