Round 3 of the Inaugural Investec Rugby Championship came to a close last Saturday with two well contested encounters between the All Blacks and the Pumas in Wellington whilst the Springboks made their way to Perth to play the Wallabies for the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate.
All Blacks down feisty Pumas
New Zealand Coach Steve Hanson came in to the game with six changes from the team that beat Australia 22-00 two weeks ago. Veteran prop Tony Woodcock came in to the side in place of Wyatt Crockett whilst Broadie Rettalick got the nod over Sam Whitelock in the number five jersey. Victor Vito made his return to the blindside flank in place of Liam Messam. In three quarter line senior man Conrad Smith made his return to the Number 13 Jersey in place of Sonny-Bill Williams who bids farewell for now to International competition. Julian Savea steps in, in place of Hosea Gear and Aaron Cruden was given the number 10 jersey after Carter suffered a calf strain.
The Pumas came into the game with just 2 changes with the return of experienced five-eight Juan Martin Hernandez in place of the youngster Nicholas Sanchez being the biggest change. In the third-row Juan Manuel Leguizamon pulled on the number 7 jersey in place of Alvaro Galindo.
HT- 06-05 (All Blacks)
FT- 21-05 (All Blacks)
The game kicked off in Wellington with quite a downpour which made conditions under-foot quite difficult for both teams. Aaron Cruden opened the scoring for the blacks with a simple penalty in the 8th minute as both teams took a while to get in to the fluidity of the game.
The Pumas got off to the better start putting pressure on the all blacks by increasing the intensity of the game. Their passion paid off in the 12th minute when Rodrigo Roncero barged over the line after the Pumas capitalized on a knock forward by Ma’a Nonu 10m away from his own goal line.
The Pumas kept their guns blazing for the next ten minutes putting in some solid defense around the fringes until their enthusiasm cost them in the 24th minute when Cruden slotted over another penalty after the Pumas had strayed offside in their eagerness to get up in defense.
The Kiwis held their own for the rest of the half going into the break looking shell-shocked but ahead by just the one point. With way too many handling errors the All Blacks were given a lengthened half time break as the flood lights malfunctioned. The elongated break worked as an advantage for the hosts who used the time to re-group.
The All Blacks came out in the second half fired up with some powerful runs only to be thwarted by a rock solid Puma’s defense. Argentina was spectacular in their defense all evening driving into the Kiwis low and hard but their enthusiasm resulted in conceding too many penalties. Another defensive penalty by the Pumas resulted in Cruden slotting over his 3rd penalty of the night from 38m out. The All Blacks finally started getting into the game in the 55th minute and when Julio Farias interfered with a pass from Cory Jane and got himself sin-binned the game began to swing the All Blacks way. With an extra man in the line the Kiwis began to turn on the pressure and finally broke through in the 66th minute when Conrad Smith drew in three defenders and off loaded to Nonu who unselfishly popped the ball for Savea to score out wide.
With that score the All Blacks kicked into top gear and began a relentless attack on the Puma’s. McCaw opted for a scrum instead of the three points off a penalty which resulted in the Kiwis scoring a second try from a spectacular first phase move.
It took the All Blacks almost 60 minutes but they finally reached their best and definitely will be favorites to make it four wins in four games next week when they face the Springboks at home.
The elements and near-constant pressure from the Pumas forced countless mistakes from the hosts but Hansen refused to dwell on his players’ shortcomings and instead opted to applaud the efforts of their rivals. “In our first half we tried to play way too much rugby for the conditions. We tried to move the ball at times we should have held on to it,” he said. “Our ballsecurity wasn’t that great. But part of that was the intensity the Argentineans brought.
Phelan himself refused to get carried away with his side’s performance that followed a draw with South Africa last time out. “This game gave us confidence because of the way the players gave 100 percent and that is very important for us,” he told reporters. “We are looking forward to Australia …(but) every game is different. We have to keep on improving because we are playing the best teams in the world and we have to keep working to have a good game.”
Wallabies comeback strong in second half
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans made four changes to his side from the last game bringing in Tatafu Polota-Nau in for Stephen Moore and Radike Samo for Scott Higginbottom in the number 8 jersey. In the back row Adam Ashley-Cooper moved from full back to outside center in place of Rob Horne while Kurtley Beale moved into the full back position. Dom Shipperly made his international debut coming for Drew Mitchell in the number 14 Jersey.
Heyneke Meyer made just two changes to his Springboks side, bringing Ruan Pienaar into halfback and moving Hougaard to the blind wing in place of Lwazi Mvovo. Duane Vermulen came into the number 8 birth and Willem Alberts moved to the open side flank in place of Potgieter.
Half Time- 13-06 (Springboks)
Full Time- 26-19 (Wallabies)
The Springboks started the game very well and had a superb first half. Steyn opened the scoring early on with a penalty. Barnes also put over an early penalty for the Wallabies.
The Boks responded to this penalty with some spectacular attacking rugby putting together 10 phases swinging the ball both ways whilst gaining good yardage until Bryan Habbana dove over the line from two meters out in the 19th minute.
Frans Steyn extended South Africa’ advantage a few minutes later with a trademark long penalty but Barnes swiftly cancelled that score out with his second successful shot at the posts. Both teams looked to gain an advantage in the next few minutes of the half. The game then appeared to swing in Australia’s favour with South Africa prop Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira sin-binned for taking out Australia’s Kurtley Beale as he attempted to chase a kick but the home side was unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage.
The see-saw battle continued in the second half until Barnes brought his side back to within four points with his third penalty. The Wallabies appeared to be getting into the stride of the game for the first time in the entire tournament.
The Wallabies did well through the first fifteen minutes of the half putting the pressure on the Boks and converting that pressure into vital points. Scotty Higginbottom finally snuck through the tiniest of gaps to go over under the post for the Wallabies first try.
Frans Steyn thumped over a second penalty from 50m out to equalize at 16 all only to have Barnes take back the lead for the Wallabies 2 minutes later with a penalty. Morne Steyn equalized at 19 all five minutes later when he put over his first penalty of the night.
The scores were not tied for long with a superb burst of speed from Alexander carrying him away to the corner for his side’s second try and Barnes would once again add the extras.
Will Genia was helped off the field in the 70th minute which means Australia have now lost their third skipper to Injury with James Horwill, David Pocock and now Genia out.
”They showed real character tonight,” said Deans. ”In the second half, we were able to get the ball for longer periods and ran some good lines. We did enough to come from behind, and that doesn’t happen lightly in Mandela Cup games.”
In contrast, South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer slammed his team’s mental shortcomings. “It is all about handling pressure, being mentally tough and showing character,” said the Boks boss.
Coming up This Week
The Springboks will now travel further South to Duneidin to face the world champions New Zealand for the first time this season. Argentina will make their way to the Goal Coast in order to face the Wallabies in their 4th game of the Rugby Championship.
