Tri Nations round 2: Springboks 28-19 All Blacks

The Springboks put in a strong performance in Bloemfontein yesterday to beat the All Blacks 28-19 in round 2 of the 2009 Tri Nations. Admittedly they were favourites to win, but victory against the All Blacks is never guaranteed until the final whistle.

As it was, the Springboks completely dominated the first half, having the lion's share of territory and possession, and could be said to have been quite unlucky to have only been up 14-3 at half time. This was thanks to flyhalf Ruan Pienaar having an off day with the boot, missing three kickable penalties, a conversion and an attempted drop-goal. Consolation for Pienaar was his try in the left hand corner, which resulted from a long period of sustained pressure on the All Black line.

As well as the Springboks played in the first half, the All Blacks were their own worst enemy: the lineout continued from where it started against the Wallabies, with an overthrow to the back resulting in a turnover on the first All Black lineout. For New Zealand the half was characterised by mistakes and a string of penalties and free kicks which robbed them of any momentum and forced them to defend almost continuously - credit to them that they at least did that well and only conceded one try in the half.

Whatever Graeme Henry said to his team at half-time certainly worked, because they came out after the break and played with a lot more intensity and commitment, especially at the breakdown. They were rewarded with a superb solo try by Conrad Smith in the 48th minute, which was aided by some weak defence by the Springboks. Throughout the half the All Blacks were the ones pushing forward, but as so often happens they were a little unlucky to concede a late breakout try by Jaque Fourie after some excellent midfield work by Pierre Spies and Juan Smith - which basically sealed the match.

Actually this was one of several interceptions by the Springboks, although the only one to result in points. And Brian Habana was not involved in any of them! Actually he didn't see much of the ball - his role in the match was mainly to chase high kicks from scrumhalf Fourie du Preez onto the All Black wings, which he did very well as he forced several mistakes from the catchers. The other tactic the Springboks employed to good effect was the rolling maul - all in all they played fairly typical Springbok "ten-man" rugby. There's no disputing they do it well and it's effective, but it would be nice to see a bit more from the backline on attack - all very exciting players.

The All Blacks will undoubtedly be more than a bit unhappy with their performance, even though they managed to pick it up in the second half. The lineout remains an area of concern for them, which they will have to address before next week. In fairness though, it was always going to be difficult for them, coming to play in South Africa at altitude with so little time to acclimatise. Stephen Donald and Mils Muliaina will be starting to develop a complex, as a similar thing happened in the final of the Super 14, where the Chiefs were solidly thrashed by the Bulls after having to travel to the highveld to play that one too! Fortunately they have a chance to redeem themselves in Durban next week - should be an interesting one to watch!