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The All Blacks do have a lesser record on neutral soil outside of World Cups

Dejected New Zealand players look on following their team's 40-29 defeat during the international match between Ireland and New Zealand at Soldier Field on November 5, 2016 in Chicago, United States. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

When the All Blacks play South Africa at Twickenham this weekend it will be New Zealand’s 50th Test match at a neutral venue, most of which have come during Rugby World Cup tournaments (38).

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In the other 11 non-World Cup clashes on neutral soil, the All Blacks have won seven and lost four which is below their historical winning rate. The All Blacks first defeat to Ireland in 2016 was suffered at Soldier Field in Chicago.

This will be only the second time the All Blacks and the Springboks have clashed in London, with the first occasion was the brutal 2015 World Cup semi-final won 20-18 by the All Blacks.

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A late lineout steal by Sam Whitelock denied Victor Matfield the chance to set up a last drive. The Springboks had kicked six penalties and Beauden Barrett and Jerome Kaino scored tries for the All Blacks.

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the All Blacks 100th Test against South Africa in 2021 was shifted to Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville.

The All Blacks won an error-ridden tussle 19-17 with Jordie Barrett kicking a 45m penalty in the 77th minute. Bruising defense and cautious kicking were the order of the day.

Tries by wings Sibusiso Nkosi and Will Jordan were scored in the opening ten minutes.

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South Africa exacted revenge a week later with a 31-29 victory on the Gold Coast. Elton Jantjies landed a penalty goal with the last kick of the game.

The other clash on a neutral field between the All Blacks and the Springboks was the forgettable playoff for third at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Cardiff.

South Africa won 22-18. There was a solitary try scored by Breyton Paulse, converted by Henry Honiball who also added three penalties. Percy Montgomery slotted two drop goals. Andrew Mehrtens kicked six penalties for the All Blacks.

The first ‘neutral’ test was the 1987 World Cup semi-final against Wales in Ballymore, Brisbane. The All Blacks won 49-6 with Welsh lock Huw Richards receiving the first red card in World Cup history.

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Emerging from a loose scrum, Gary Whetton elbowed Richards face. Richards punched Whetton and was in turn punched furiously by New Zealand No.8 Buck Shelford.

Richards fell to the floor following the right hook and when revived, was sent off by referee Kerry Fitzgerald. Shelford escaped punishment and scored two of the All Blacks seven tries.

The All Blacks first Test on neutral soil that wasn’t a World Cup fixture was a Bledisloe Cup Test in Hong Kong in 2008. The All Blacks beat the Wallabies 19-14 after being down by five at halftime.

Isaia Toeava was awarded the player of the day, Daniel Carter kicked three penalties, and Richie McCaw and Sitiveni Sivivatu scored tries.

The Bledisloe Cup would move to Japan in 2009 with the All Blacks winning 32-19 but back in Hong Kong a year later a last-play penalty goal from James O’Connor saw a 24-26 defeat suffered.

All Blacks first-five Stephen Donald took muck flak by failing to find touch with a late clearance but a year later he would kick the winning penalty goal in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final.

All Blacks Test Record on Neutral Soil

Played: 49
Won: 40
Lost: 9

Points For: 2178 (294 tries)
Points Against: 757 (68 tries)

World Cup: 33-5
Other: 7-4

World Cup Matches on Neutral Soil

Most Famous Win: 34-17 v Australia, 2015 Rugby World Cup Final, Twickenham, London.
Most Famous Individual Performance: Jonah Lomu 4 tries v England, 1995 Rugby World Cup semi-final, Cape Town.
Most Infamous Defeat: 18-20, France, 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, Cardiff.
Biggest Win: 145-17 v Japan, 1995 Rugby World Cup, Bloemfontein. Marc Ellis scored a record six tires. Simon Culhane scored 45 points on debut.
Semi-Final Exists: Australia (6-16, 1991, Dublin), France (31-43, 1999, London), England (6-19, 2019, Tokyo)

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Comments

2 Comments
P
Pecos 598 days ago

Um, so what lol?

N
Northandsouth 598 days ago

Interesting summary, thanks. Seems understandable ABs record is worse in unconventional neutral settings. They tend to play bigger rivals in neutral countries and often at awkward times of tours. Therefore dropping more than they typically drop seems like it would be expected.

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fl 1 hour ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“Why do you downplay his later career, post 50? He won a treble less than two years ago, with a club who played more games and won more games than any other team that managed the same feat. His crowning achievement - by his own admission.”

He’s won many trebles in his career - why do you only care about one of them?

I think its unsurprising that he’d feel more emotional about his recent achievements, but its less clear why you do.


“Is it FA cups or League cups you’re forgetting in his English trophy haul? You haven’t made that clear…”

It actually was clear, if you knew the number he had won of each, but I was ignoring the league cup, because Germany and Spain only have one cup competition so it isn’t possible to compare league cup performance with City to his performance with Bayern and Barcelona.


“With Barcelona he won 14 trophies. With Bayern Munich he won 5 trophies. With City he has currently won 18 trophies…”

I can count, but clearly you can’t divide! He was at Barca for 4 years, so that’s 3.5 trophies per year. He was at Bayern for 3 years, and actually won 7 trophies so that’s 2.3 trophies per year. He has been at City for 8 completed seasons so that’s 2.25 trophies per year. If in his 9th season (this one) he wins both the FA cup and the FIFA club world cup that will take his total to 20 for an average of 2.22 trophies per year.


To be clear - you said that Pep had gotten better with age by every metric. In fact by most metrics he has gotten worse!

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fl 3 hours ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“He made history beyond the age of 50. History.”

He made history before the age of 50, why are you so keen to downplay Pep’s early career achievements? In 2009 he won the sextuple. No other manager in history had achieved that, and Pep hasn’t achieved it since, but here you are jizzing your pants over a couple of CL finals.


“If continuing to break records and achieve trophies isn't a metric for success”

Achieving trophies is a metric for success, and Pep wins fewer trophies as he gets older.


“He's still competing for a major trophy this year. Should he get it, it would be 8 consecutive seasons with a major trophy. Then the world club cup in the summer.”

You’re cherry picking some quite odd stats now. In Pep’s first 8 seasons as a manager he won 6 league titles, 2 CL titles, & 4 cup titles. In Pep’s last 8 seasons as a manager (including this one) he’s won 6 league titles, 1 CL title, & 2 (or possibly 3) cup titles. In his first 8 seasons he won the FIFA world club cup 3 times; in his last 8 seasons he’s won it 1 (or possibly soon to be 2) time(s). In his first 8 seasons he won the UEFA super cup 3 times; in his last 8 he won the UEFA super cup once. His record over the past 8 seasons has been amazing - but it is a step down from his record in his first 8 seasons, and winning the FA cup and FIFA club world cup this summer won’t change that.


Pep is still a brilliant manager. He will probably remain a brilliant manager for many years to come, but you seem to want to forget how incredible he was when he first broke through. To be clear - you said that Pep had gotten better with age by every metric. That was false!

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