Boks get played for suckers

Archie Henderson: No Boundaries | www.thetimes.co.za

There’s no chink in the All Blacks’ armour

So the curse continues. It has been 71 years since the Springboks were able to win a series in New Zealand.

The best the Boks can do on Saturday in Dunedin is to square it.

Even that seems unlikely. It’s hard to believe they can defend better than they did in Wellington, or play with greater commitment. It’s also hard to believe they will suddenly discover the creative spark, flair or real rugby intelligence that they were so obviously lacking in the first Test. The All Blacks, taking their game to a new level of intensity when we were led to believe they might be vulnerable, won’t lose in Dunedin.

The Boks have never won in Dunedin in five Tests played there since 1921. In contrast, they have won three out of six Tests at Wellington and drawn one; it is their most successful venue in New Zealand, while Carisbrook, the House of Pain, is their least .

The Boks are expected to be without captain John Smit, who has been inspirational. Victor Matfield, his likely successor, is a follower rather than a leader.

Indeed, Matfield was outplayed last Saturday by Ali Williams, who was supposed to have gone into the game with a dodgy ankle. Playing club rugby in France has clearly blunted the Springbok lock’s edge.

The Boks were meant to have had a host of options in the lineout, yet they revealed none, while even Jerome Kaino was used effectively at the back of the All Blacks lineout.

The Boks did steal four of New Zealand’s throws after the break, but these were mostly in their half and of little use in attack.

Butch James is the one Springbok who will need to show huge improvement. His field kicking was all awry when Dan Carter’s was precise. Okay, the Boks allowed Carter the space, but the All Blacks flyhalf still needed to put the ball into those gaps, which he did with aplomb.

It was a Carter kick across field that led to Kaino’s try early in the second half when the All Blacks led by only a single point and which changed the game dramatically in favour of the New Zealanders. Bok forwards Juan Smith and Matfield were left to cover, which they barely did, but in the end, the aggressive mauling by the All Blacks set up Kaino.

Whatever ailed James in Wellington, if it has not healed by late this week, Frans Steyn will be a better option. He might frighten his own team more than the opponents, but he brings something of the unexpected to a very one-dimensional team. That monster Garryowen he put went so high that no one was able to even catch it, and in a Test match, where both sides defended valiantly, to see an up-and-under bounce was astounding.