They were hoping to take the high road en route to the Rugby World Cup final but now their task looks the size of Mount Fuji after the Springboks went down to the All Blacks yesterday.
The objective was always to beat the old foe, win the pool and avoid a potentially tricky clash against Ireland in the quarterfinals, but now the Boks have to do it the hard way.
Crucially though, they are not out
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen dismissed talk that defeat would be the end of the road for the team vanquished in this Pool B game.
“We have to win every game but it is the same for them,” Hansen said.
The Springboks enjoyed periods of dominance but they failed to make it count
“No one is any worse off. History shows that no team has lost a pool game and gone on to win the tournament but history is there to be broken. They can,” said Hansen.
As in recent matches against the All Blacks, the Springboks enjoyed periods of dominance but they failed to make it count.
The All Blacks won this match of brutal intensity on the back of an eight-minute burst in the first half after the Boks seemed to take their foot off the gas.
The men in black drew deep breaths and held sway in the decisive moments to win this much anticipated match.
In front of an enthusiastic crowd of 63,649 the Kiwis held their defensive lines when the Boks came knocking but they crucially also better seized the big moments.
While the Boks’ effort cannot be faulted the All Blacks were again slightly more alert when they had a chance to score.
Bok flank Pieter Steph du Toit threw himself around like a man possessed and his range of influence extended far and wide.
He made tackles with little regard for life and limb and when he stayed down late in the game there would have been huge concern in the Bok coach’s box.
He got up, as he always does.
Apart from Du Toit, Duane Vermeulen and Malcolm Marx grew ever more influential in their ball carries as the Boks grew increasingly restive after the break.
Franco Mostert’s presence in the lineout was also keenly felt.
If the Boks’ tall timber stood out, so did Cheslin Kolbe who squirrelled down the right wing, mostly tantalisingly out of reach of defenders.
Lamentably, however, the Boks’ box kicking wasn’t always on point. It at times lacked depth and only handed over possession
It required a lot to reel him in.
He teased and tormented the All Blacks defence and was a colossus.
Lamentably, however, the Boks’ box kicking wasn’t always on point. It at times lacked depth and only handed over possession.
They also conceded too many kickable penalties to sustain a realistic challenge against a side like the All Blacks.
The penalty count was 11-2 in the All Blacks’ favour and tellingly the Boks remain winless against their traditional rivals with match referee Jérôme Garcès armed with the whistle.
“It was an unbelievably well-disciplined performance by them,” said Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, with a hint of sarcasm.
“That battle we lost.”'
To be fair, it was an area the All Blacks had targeted.
Discipline is always massive for us,” said captain Kieran Read.
“It was a conscious decision from us not conceding penalties. We were at a different level today,” said Read.
Erasmus was disappointed but not despondent about his team’s performance. He knows there is revision to be done, but crucially, he has time to fix what needs mending before they potentially play against the All Blacks again.
“We are creeping closer to them, I think,” said the coach.
“They handled our scrum, they handled our maul. People forget as well as they attack, they defend as well. They know how to ramp up the pressure when they get a chance,” said the coach about an area which is perhaps the biggest difference between the teams.“
They are favourites,” said Erasmus about the All Blacks’ prospects going forward.
“They will face stiff opposition because teams like England and Wales will challenge them in different ways.“
"I don’t want to talk about them too much because we have a helluva lot to sort out ourselves.” With the All Blacks now likely to top the pool, for the Springboks, victory over Italy is now non-negotiable.
