‘Roped them up’: All Blacks optimistic about Boks rematch

The All Blacks believe they can pull off a draw in South Africa’s two-match series after being left ‘in pain and agony’ at Ellis Park, but a leading pundit has lamented that New Zealand rugby’s ‘self-destructive errors’ have thwarted their chances of victory.

The All Blacks are likely to tweak their squad for the second game in Cape Town, with Dalton Papalli expected to return after missing the game at Ellis Park with a thumb injury.

The All Blacks have faltered under coach Scott Robertson in recent weeks and were rectified in the second game at Eden Park after a home defeat to Argentina.

Head coach Scott Henson believes the team has the ability to bounce back quickly on Sunday.

(Photo courtesy of Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

“When you play a team twice, it’s important to be able to adapt. We’ve played against them and we understand them now. They’ll see opportunities and we’ll see opportunities,” Hanson told reporters.

“We know their DNA. They are very good at pressuring teams. We have to be better at adapting, but we have to keep our game aligned with our ability to attack and find space.”

Hansen said Papali’i “has a good chance of being selected,” adding, “There are a couple of guys who are sick around here, but most, if not all, of them are available. Everything looks pretty positive.”

Kiwis report that Sam Kane is expected to retain his place in the starting XI, with Papalli as a bench option. No. 8 Wallace Sititi and lock Josh Rhodes are expected to get bench spots, while Samifenny Finau is at risk of missing out.

Dalton Papali’i is expected to return (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Chiefs’ Josh Rhodes is also a candidate to bolster the bench, but the All Blacks are otherwise limited in their options and are expected to focus more on tactical changes than personnel changes.

Hanson said the All Blacks had not been able to get the bench to perform well in Johannesburg.

“That was the last quarter where we needed to make smart decisions and be precise about how it looked with our technology. We didn’t do it right. It was a result of the pressure building up on us,” Hanson said.

Hanson wanted to look at the positive side.

“When you feel a little bit hurt and a little bit of pain, you still have to look back at the things you did well. It took about 60 minutes to really impact the test the way it needed to. It’s important to look at that and say, ‘Well done,’ but also be honest about where we need to get better,” Hanson said.

“There were a lot of positives to see, finding space, beating the South Africans, defending very well in certain areas of the field, sometimes even around the lineout.

“We had four attempts in South Africa and we basically had them tied up in ropes and couldn’t finish it.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand Herald rugby reporter Gregor Paul argued that South Africa’s victory exposed the folly of New Zealand’s strict rules on player eligibility.

He wrote that if coach Scott Robertson had been given the same freedom of selection as Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus, he could have started the Ellis Park Test with Shannon Frizzell at blindside, Aaron Smith at halfback and Richie Mo’unga at No.10.

In contrast to the Boks, who select players for the international team regardless of where they play their club football, the Kiwis only select players for their domestic team.

“The All Blacks were not only outclassed by the Springboks at Ellis Park, but also by a world-class rugby system in South Africa that can utilise all its best players,” Paul wrote on Tuesday.

(Photo courtesy of Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

“There are many reasons why the All Blacks went 27-17 ahead before losing 31-27, but it all comes down to one fundamental advantage South Africa had: they had more depth and were therefore able to have a bigger impact in the final quarter.

“You could go through a lot of threads to see what one simple reason explains it all again: unlike New Zealand, South Africa doesn’t ruin a player’s Test career by signing an overseas contract.

“The biggest lesson from the defeat at Ellis Park is that New Zealand Rugby’s (NZR) insistence that the All Blacks’ qualification laws were fit for purpose has been exposed as a self-defeating error.

“The fact that New Zealand national football team coach Scott Robertson is denying access to Richie Mo’unga and Shannon Frizzell, who currently reside in Japan, makes absolutely no sense in the wider context of NZR’s financial master plan to squeeze every penny possible out of the All Blacks brand.

“If the All Blacks’ win percentage remains at 66 per cent, their commercial strategy will soon collapse and it is incomprehensible that NZR are staking their entire financial future on the All Blacks’ success, while imposing selection restrictions that are setting Robertson up for failure.”