Jake White: 'It's difficult to deny their crown has slipped'

I’d like to start this column, as a proud South African - and someone who has been in that cauldron – with an apology for what happened on Saturday during the Haka. It is a massively important ritual in our game and we have to give it the reverence it deserves. We can make all the excuses about poor timing of a fly-by, or music getting accidentally turned up, but anyone who knows anything about rugby knows that after the anthems, there is the customary challenge laid down by the All Blacks.

You meddle with the Haka at your peril. Wales tried it in 2006, and it ended with the All Blacks performing it in the bowels of the Principality Stadium. Eighty minutes later, they ended up on the end of the 45-10 walloping. Dan Carter said the players were fuming. Mistake or not, I’d say be careful not to poke the sleeping bear.

The problem is that such a slight could have given the All Blacks a motivation they wouldn’t have had. Sure, the All Blacks had to accept the diplomatic niceties offered and said all the right things, but behind closed doors, it will be used to rile them up. I’ve been fortunate to have been to New Zealand on numerous occasions, at Super Rugby and at Test level and it is a country steeped in tradition and history. That’s why any affront over the Haka would be keenly felt and taken umbrage over.

Now I’ve got that off my chest, I must say, having the All Blacks coming to South Africa is a privilege and if you believe the reports, it sounds like they’ll be returning in 2026 for a much longer stay, which will be magnificent.

The All Blacks tours shaped my childhood and adolescence. In 1976, captained by Andy Leslie, they brought the likes of Billy Bush and Sid Going over. Bryan Williams was every bit as big as Jonah Lomu back then and Grant Batty was a household name when he left. Alan Sutherland liked it so much he married a South African beauty queen, Vera Johns and I remember Kevin Everleigh coming to my club, Jeppe's Old Boys. We simply could not believe that a tiny island - The Land Of The Long White Cloud - could have so many gifted players.

As a young man, I remember the Cavalier Tour in 1986 with Buck Shelford, Grant Fox and Jock Hobbs. Without digital media, young South Africans grew up not knowing these players until they saw them in the flesh. Invariably they’d come and play some jaw-dropping rugby. It was at that time that they created an aura. Granted, in the modern era with familiarity, some of that mystique is lost. Suddenly, you’re playing the likes of Richie McCaw and Kieran Read five times a year, but the rivalry is still something to be savoured.

I know over in New Zealand there is a lot of hand-wringing over the South Africans leaving Super Rugby but it’s not as big an issue as it’s made out. Put it this way, they didn’t struggle to impose their physicality on our shores back then. I’m not sold on that argument but it’s difficult to deny their crown has slipped somewhat in recent years.

Rugby is cyclical and to put it bluntly, they don’t seem to have the players just yet. What side wouldn’t miss the likes of Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Aaron Smith and Dane Coles leaving the Test scene in the last twelve months? I’m not saying the current crop aren’t going to make it but they’re not there just yet. The black jersey is special and there is something about the way they do things that gives them a point of difference – a je ne sais quoi. Indeed, after 65 minutes in Ellis Park, they certainly looked like the educators and we were the students. That’s how close the Test margins are.

The All Blacks are still looking for a balance. I read an interesting article from Murray Mexted commenting on the merits of picking a specialist No.8 and I’ve read about pundits saying Rieko Ioane should be on the wing, or Will Jordan is a better fullback, but that will come with time.

Last weekend, I’m not sure if anyone noticed, but every player who started in their backline, apart from TJ Perenara, had played at wing or full-back for them. Damian (McKenzie) has played 15 before, Jordie (Barrett) has played on the wing and at 15, while Reiko has plenty of experience in the back three. The point is they were opting for pace. The one thing they didn’t have was a bench that could match the Boks – that decided the game. Sam Darry, Samipeni Finau and Cortez Ratima have a handful of caps between them, so need time. They didn’t have the luxury of having 50, 60 caps on the pine, waiting to make a difference. When they did, they were No 1 side in the world!

That reckoning for South Africa will come, but not yet. They have an ageing squad and you can’t expect these boys to constantly go to the well forever. There were times when the All Blacks were way ahead of everyone else, and when the Wallabies were the team to mimic. It will be interesting to see how these teams evolve over the next twelve months because a lot can change.

If I look from the outside in, I think what Rassie is trying to do is give youngsters game time, while at the same time, keeping the experienced guys fresh. He’s not panicking. I think he likes his stars going out to Japan where they don’t play much rugby. Pieter Steph Du Toit, Jesse Kriel and Faf de Klerk are out there, Kwagga Smith was there and Jasper Wiese is heading there. Meanwhile, Siya (Kolisi) is coming back to South Africa and RG Snyman will be used sparingly at Leinster. He’s realised it’s the model that suits him. He’s trying to get a double-barrel gun going. If one player doesn’t work, he can use another one, like Handre (Pollard) and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu). Switching them up. He’ll be saying to guys like Faf, ‘don’t worry if you’re not involved for a campaign or two, you’re still in my mind and you can be brought back at any time’. Rassie likes the Japan model as a ‘get out of jail’ card while he’s blooding these young guys.

As I’ve said, there will be a changing of the guard, but even though they have won two World Cups I don’t see motivation being a problem. I’ll tell you why; winning three consecutive World Cups is now their focus – it’s never been done before, and it’s hard to see it being done again. Do that and they put themselves in the pantheon of the gods if they can succeed in Australia. Behind the scenes, they will have talked about 2027, don’t you worry.

Looking ahead to the weekend, I don’t think it’s a fait accompli that the Boks win. They have a new coach and they are only six Tests into a rebuild but you can’t say there’s a chasm between them and the Boks - it’s not often that the All Blacks come to SA and rack up a bonus point after 51 minutes. It certainly wasn’t a few late consolation tries.

I’ve got no doubt the Kiwis genuinely believe they are good enough to win. It wasn’t a defeat where they were also-rans, or the Boks were in a different league. Any neutral watching will know they were pretty unlucky. They will front up, as they did in the second Test against Argentina and don’t forget Scott Robertson is a winner. He knows that Test rugby is a different animal, and he is adjusting. He won seven consecutive Super Rugby titles and he’s not going to accept being second best. I’m expecting a pumped-up All Blacks in Cape Town, so expect fireworks.