South Africa suffered their worst ever defeat in New Zealand as the All Blacks put on a ruthless display to win 57-0 in Albany. The Springboks failed to score a point in a match that was competitive early on, but showed how crucial set piece stability and capitlizing on chances is.
Territory and possession were fairly even but missed tackles was a telling statistic, as the Springboks missed 33, helping the All Blacks to their eight tries overall. Missed lineouts in key positions also hurt the Springboks, as they failed to build momentum from set piece ball.
The hosts streaked out to a 31-0 lead by halftime, with captain Kieran Read later saying how even he was shocked by the scoreline.
"It was a pretty intense half of footy.. To be honest I don't know how we were up by however many points. It just felt like it was a tit for tat. We probably got four opportunities and took all four of them. Maybe that was the difference," said Read post match.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Nehe Milner-Skudder had a fairly quiet night on attack but managed to pick up two well taken tries, while Rieko Ioane, Brodie Retallick, Scott Barrett, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Lima Sopoaga and Codie Taylor also crossed as part of the demolition job.
NEW ZEALAND PRESS CONFERENCE
“We were very disappointed in our set piece and the amount of turnovers we conceded. New Zealand pounced on our mistakes and punished us," said Bok coach Alister Coetzee.
"Our execution on the night was bad and we must give credit to the All Blacks for a clinical display. Early on in the game we felt that we were dominating the collisions, territory and possession. Then one pass goes stray and you stand under your poles.
"We will stick to our processes, continue to improve in all areas and work extremely hard to bounce back."
SOUTH AFRICA PRESS CONFERENCE
The All Blacks play Argentina next, in Buenos Aires, while the Springboks face Australian in Bloemfontain. Both matches take place in a fortnight, on October 2nd.