Strange things seem to happen when the All Blacks travel to Durban to take on South Africa. Let me take you back to the year 2002, when one of the most bizarre incidents ever to happen during an international game took place. Coming off a loss to Australia the week before, New Zealand had to beat the Springboks to clinch the (then) Tri-nations crown, in front of a 52,000 strong partisan crowd.
The game itself was an immensely tense encounter. Some of the calls of Irish referee David McHugh were not going the way of the home side. This evidently reached boiling point when the All Blacks were awarded a penalty try for a high tackle on Tana Umaga, and then later denied diminutive flyer Breyton Paulse a score for an alleged interference call on James Dalton. For one beer-bellied South African spectator by the name of Pieter van Zyl, this proved to be the final straw.
I remember watching this match on TV, gripped with anticipation as both sides were engaged in a ding-dong battle. Then early in the second half, the unthinkable happened. Just as referee McHugh set a scrum, van Zyl, clad in a Springbok jersey far too small for him, appeared from nowhere and set upon the shell-shocked McHugh, manhandling him to the ground. The first to come to the rescue was the fresh faced New Zealand ‘open-side’, playing in only his 9th test match. His name? a certain Richie McCaw. With the help of a couple of Bok players, they managed to drag van Zyl off his victim.
The game itself was delayed for ten minutes. McHugh suffered a dislocated shoulder, and thus couldn’t continue. A bloodied van Zyl was evicted from the field in the custody of security and the police. Upon resumption, the All Blacks managed to clinch it late 30-23, eventually breaking the deadlock after being at 23-23 till the last ten minutes. Unfortunately, that game will forever be etched in the records for the wrong reasons.
Richie McCaw went on to make history, retiring with a tally of 139 test caps, with 110 of them as captain, in addition to two World Cup winners’ medals. Whilst van Zyl remains banned from ever attending a rugby match in South Africa, his namesake is likely to feature in some capacity. Piet van Zyl, the Bulls Scrum Half is part of the Springbok squad for this week.
Whilst I was not privy to the final match day squads for the Durban game at the time of penning this article, what I do know with certainty is that Aaron Smith will play no part in it. I tuned in to the sports news page this morning to find a teary eyed and remorse filled Smith apologize for his misdemeanor. The incident had taken place last month, at an airport in Christchurch. It featured Smith, of course, a female friend, and a toilet cubicle. It best be left at that. I really don’t think it’s for anyone to pass judgment. The All Blacks, despite their super-human achievements of late, are made of flesh, blood, and bone, like all of us. And thus, like us all are prone to make some wrong decisions along the way.
Smith is easily the best Half-back in the game today. And the All Blacks will miss his organizational ability and service. But as seen earlier in the championship, in TJ Perenara they have more than adequate cover in this area. This would apply to every position on the field actually, which is one of the reasons why there is daylight between them and the rest of the rugby playing world.
All Blacks drop Aaron Smith over toilet tryst
The All Blacks suspended halfback Aaron Smith Thursday over a toilet tryst with a woman at a busy airport, in the latest scandal to hit the beleaguered New Zealand Rugby union. Coach Steve Hansen said the 54-Test veteran breached team standards and his fellow players felt he should be punished.
Ardie Savea is thriving, having been thrust into the starting role at ‘7’, and Anton Lienert-Brown has taken the couple of opportunities given with both hands. Rotation, is not a policy favoured by all. But in this professional era, it is essential to blood in new talent, and develop bench strength within the playing group. The All Blacks have implemented this to perfection. Being the first post-World Cup year, the World Champions were expected to struggle a bit to maintain the same level of performance, following the retirement of some key personnel. However, in stark contrast, they have actually gone up a few notches. They wrestled back the Rugby Championship with two rounds to spare, and with last week’s win over Argentina have picked up bonus points in all five of their games played thus far.
I believe the side that Steve Hansen picks for Durban will have a more physical edge to it. So, if Jerome Kaino is fit, he will likely play. As will Julian Savea. All eyes will be on Beauden Barrett again, who has been in sensational form. The world record for Test wins looms large and will provide every motivation needed. Not that the All Blacks are in want of any. I don’t think that’ll be a distraction. The system they have within the All Black set-up is just too good for anyone to take their eye off the ball. You slip up, and there are blokes lined up back home asking for your shirt.
Whilst the World Champions look in fine fettle, all is not as rosy within the South African side. For those who believe in the adage ‘A win is a win’, coach Allister Coetzee’s team pushed this theory to the very limit. When Morne Steyn was selected at Fly Half for last week’s game against Australia, it was pretty clear what the game plan was going to be – physically take it to the Wallabies, defend resolutely, and then pick up the penalty goals, and field goals when they come your way. The way they played had the markings of desperation written all over it, and you could well understand that mind-set coming into the game on the back of three losses on the trot.
Though the win would have temporarily put the knives away, it hasn’t really pulled the wool over the eyes of how limited their attacking game is at the moment. For the whole of that game, they never really looked like crossing the chalk. It didn’t help matters when they inexplicably went in with a six/two, forwards/backs split on the bench, which resulted in Flanker Jaco Kriel having to play the last quarter on the wing.
This marked the first time South Africa failed to score a try this year. But their record in previous games don’t make pretty reading either – just 15 in seven matches played.
Durban is not the easiest of venues for a visiting team. The fans are close to the field, and the throng of home supporters will get behind their team. On current form, it’s hard to imagine that the Springboks will formulate a strategy to undo the All Blacks. They’re short on confidence, and just don’t possess the skill to outperform the Kiwis over 80 minutes. They will be spirited no doubt, but that will only get you so far.
I must warn you though, there were similar sentiments shared when the two sides lined up on that momentous day at Ellis Park 21 years ago. The prize on offer was the World Cup. The odds were beaten, and when the dust settled, the whole nation of South Africa emerged victorious.
