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The All Blacks outplayed the Springboks in the World Cup final
By Ben Smith
They say that history is written by the victors, and that is certainly true with Chasing the Sun 2 highlighting the story of the Springboksā successful 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign.
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The Springboks are the 2023 Rugby World Cup winners.
But what is the context of the 12-11 victory over the All Blacks in the final? Was it an emphatic victory demonstrating great rugby prowess? A win built on great defence? Or were they outplayed by a team down to 14-men for 80 per cent of the final?
This is the other side of the coin, the full picture of the game that paints a rather hollow victory for a side that now lays claim to āworldās bestā.
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The Springboks came to play with a high pressure defence that certainly made an impact early in the game.
They were on top early no doubt, Richie Moāunga was under fire and errors came. The second lineout launch play was botched, leading to a 25 metre net loss, the Shannon Frizell penalty, and a yellow card.
South Africa successfully controlled the gain line and slowed down the ruck speed as the soggy conditions under foot allowed, and used their kicking game to take control of territory.
The Springboks won the first 15 minutes and built a 6-0 lead as a result, at a time where Frizell was off the pitch.
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Back to a full compliment the All Blacks built some momentum and created the first try-scoring opportunity of the game.
They had the Springboks beat with a deft chip by Jordie Barrett that cruelly bounced out of the path of Ardie Savea. Instead of seven they settled for three.
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At 9-3, a critical three points were gifted to South Africa from a legitimate steal at the ruck by Ardie Savea that was penalised.
Despite going behind 12-3, the All Blacks continued to climb back into the arm wrestle and win another possession inside their 22.
Then came the game-changing moment which was not picked up in real-time, where Sam Cane made high contact on Jesse Kriel. Nearly a full two minutes of game clock elapsed before it was reviewed. After being binned, Cane would be upgraded to red and would not return.
The All Blacks still won the final 10 minutes of the first half with a piece of cynical play by Eben Etzebeth robbing the All Blacks of a try-scoring chance.
Coming from an offside position Etzebeth obstructed the pass after the All Blacks had made a line break.
The All Blacks had front foot ball after the line break and a four-on-one overlap with no defending fullback, who was at the bottom of the last ruck.
Etzebeth knew exactly what he was doing and killed the opportunity with cynical, illegal play by running an interfering line.
The penalty awarded is not fit punishment for the crime of this magnitude. This chance maybe comes a handful of times in a Test, even less so in a World Cup final.
The All Blacks would rate themselves a better than 50 per cent chance of finishing this phase off with a try.
Instead they settled for Moāungaās second penalty goal and went to the sheds down 12-6 and down a man.
The All Blacks would come out and completely dominate the Springboks from 45 minutes onward.
So how much credit can ultimately be given to South Africaās hard-nosed defence when they had a one-man advantage for over half of the game?
Shouldnāt it be expected that the opposition would be shut down in the second half?
Even with yellow cards to Siya Kolisi and Cheslin Kolbe, South Africa played 15 vs 14 for most of the contest taking into account Frizellās time in the bin.
Despite Aaron Smithās try being overruled by TMO error, the ball was live and the Springboks defence was beaten by Richie Moāunga dancing around Damian de Allende and setting up his halfback.
All that work was undone by a TMO stepping outside his jurisdiction going past four phases to make a call on a knock-on that Wayne Barnes had ruled was okay.
So New Zealand had to do it again, and did, when Mark Telea beat a handful of Bok defenders on the left wing to provide an offload back to fullback Beauden Barrett to dive over.
If the first try was in fact upheld, it would have changed the complexion of the game from that point on and Barrettās try might not have eventuated.
But by the same token, the All Blacks may have taken the lead 13-12. The Aaron Smith try was closer to the posts by 3-4 metres, giving Moāunga a slightly higher chance of converting his kick.
The fact is that two tries were scored during live play. The Boks defence was broken, make no bones about it.
The Springboks benefitted greatly from the official error by buying more time, the All Blacks burnt another five minutes to cross the second time. In a one-point game that matters.
Letās consider the 8-7 win by New Zealand over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, decided by the same margin.
The All Blacks were fortuitous in a number of ways to claim the result in that game, itās not deniable.
But France did not play with 14 men for 64 minutes of the contest. France did not crack the All Blacks try line twice for just one try, France did not miss two lead-taking kicks in the second half.
South Africaās luck in 2023 looks like Mt Everest compared to New Zealandās good fortune in 2011.
The Springboks were the better side in just two areas of the game, the aerial contests, where the All Blacks were poor, and goal kicking, where Handre Pollard knocked over four from four. Thatās really it.
The Springboksā set-piece was dominated, their defence was unlocked multiple times, their try line was broken twice, they committed cynical acts of play to survive on more than one occasion. And they had an extra man.
The story of this game is that the All Blacks nearly won despite doing what they could to lose it, and the Springboks just took the trophy by default. It might be the most unimpressive escape of all-time.
Had the All Blacks had 15 on the pitch and the final score remained 12-11, you could argue the Springboksā defensive performance warrants being called heroic.
But the Boks were outplayed comprehensively by a team with less players and clung on for a hollow win in the most important game of the four-year cycle.
The Springboks are the 2023 Rugby World Cup champions as a result. They won the game, thatās sport.
But thatās the context for how they won. Letās not forget that or we may need to put an asterisk on it as a reminder.
Get a life Benā¦ā¦and give back your sister's undies mateā¦..
Can someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa?
Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
Heās short on ideas. So he pulls out one of his templates.
ABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a rowā¦ Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldnāt buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
ā¤ļøš
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Wouldāve, couldāve, shouldāve, didnāt.
looking forward to RWC2027 ā¦. Boks on mission impossible for the Three-in-a-row, ABs to prove they being on par, France wishing to crown the āDuPont-eraā, Ireland knocking on the Semi-Door ā¦.. until then weāll probably have to deal with Weird Benās fantasy-RWC23 (fun fact is, the drivel always creates a flooding of comments) ā¦..
Ben Smith you really make some good points in this article, the Springboks were not close to perfect and good still beat the All Blacks, imagine if they were as good as they were against France what a hiding the All Blacks would have gottenā¦ maybe another Twickenham drubbing
Dear Ben Smith you are a genius! God please become the next all blacks coach that can take on the mighty BOKS. Your rugby acumen is second to none - imagine your dads sperm bounced as unfortunately as that oval ball didā¦.we would not be blessed with your presence. Just as the all blacks were missing a man you too are missing a chromosome for 80% of your life, so your insights are not only profound but ring true from your own experiences. Just as the TMO interfered with citing an illegal pass I am sure your local authorities interfere with your illegal passes you make on women - How dare they!!! God forbid that rugby be officiated fairly. You are the right man for the job. Next all blacks coach is here ladies and gentlemen Miss Ben Smith (He/She/They/IT)
The level of desperation in this article is just embarrassing.
Yup. 7 months later and this guy canāt find ANYTHING else to write about. Embarrassing that he is one of my countrymen.
Ben Smith, you are cry baby
So many excuses. No mention of the SA number 2 being taken out illegally in the 2nd minute. That act of foul play had a massive impact on the SA game. Face it, NZ play pretty dirty very regularly, and itās only since 2016 theyāve been held to higher officiating standards via stricter officiating and TMO reviews. They deserved to have a man down. Sorry. Fix the yellow and red cards and NZ will win more RWCs. Plus, there WAS a knock on invalidating the one try, so it was NOT a try. Period. Hereās a Kleenexā¦
Yeah lineout and scrum still functioned well (well the first few lineouts werent hot) but had the extra advantage of having a 4th loose forward running around which ended up be crucial to the winning of the game.
Do you think Rassie instructed him to leg his leg out prone like that so he could get injured? The rugby world of have cried foul if he just straight dropped Bongi and played Fourie, and that probably would have been too detrimental a distraction to the team right?
Wow, do we really still have to listen to all the excuses and āunfairnessā of it all. Even blaming the bounce of an egg shaped ball for the loss. But the article is about context, so what about the Springboks having to play the other 5 teams in the top 6 and still beating a comparatively rested AB team on a very empty tank.
It was the strangest result ever. Etzebeth should've been yellow card for his cynical retiring move and a penalty try. Birth second half tries by the Allblacks were fantastic and the TMO operating outside the law to rule out the first try was egregious. Yes, the boks got the win but it was through some bizarre officiating that allowed them to sneak home against 14 men that dominated them. The quieter Bok supporters know and acknowledge the Allblacks were the better and dominant side. Justifying the win because they beat a pre world cup Allblacks selection is silly.
āIt doesn't matter if you win by an inch, or a mile, winning is winningā
Dominic Toretto
Or of you prefer:
āEat my shortsā.
Bart Simpson.
Strange indeed! An AB team that attacked backwards, tackled illegaly, missed kicks, scored ātriesā from knock ons, kept playing wrong options, holding on to the ball too long, and was CRUSHED 8 weeks prior in record defeat, losing to the World Champion team that had to beat Fra and Eng in the 2 weeks before. Yes Id say it IS strange that Boks did not get the 3 tries they could have from Siya and KurtLee and did not win 29 to 11! Springboks #RWC27
You have to be a special class of South African supporter to keep turning up to these BS articles, thatās for sure.
Ben it's beyond their comprehension-
Only 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuthš¤£Canāt wait to see how unhinged youāre still gonna get between now & then
Probably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
Who hurt this man.. LoL š
His daddy was a Saffa, but left before he was hatched.
Its just daddy issues.
Leave him be.
ššššš
lol thatās your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didnāt
Dom kant
Speaks of your Mentality and Integrity-
Ben is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
Perhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZās ā87 WC win since the Boks werenāt there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
One does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambiās lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Blackās try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his āpunditā friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
Close games are what we want to seeā¦. What a match it wasā¦. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sanaā¦ Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
All I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece isā¦ Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 Augustā¦
Look, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !š
Really Rugbypass? Ben Smith I think you forgot what the Springboks did to the All Blacks at Twickenham 8 weeks earlier? Springboks 35 All Blacks 7. There is alot of ifs and buts in your article. The All Blacks threw the sink at the Springboks and unfortunately they were not good enough regardless if they played with 14 men or not. It was the Springboks who forced the All Blacks to make mistakes! Sorry but not Sorry the Springboks is the best ever Rugby World Cup Nation in the world. 4 Cups baby!
Ole Benny had excuses for Twickenham aplenty.
She suffers from depression.
You just backed the Boks with that fantastic review! Well done! Have some cake!
Ben Smith please write up something better than this. The Springboks would have won the world cup if you were 15 men on the field. They would have found a way, they always find a way to beat the All Blacks.
Wow, there is a lot of ācould haveā and ā should haveā in this waist of time dribble. I love the desperation in this story to search for a glimpse at a silver lining.
Here are the facts, NZ was a badly coached and undisciplined shadow of their former glory. They never took the lead in a game they were never going to win.
100% right. They had a captain who can't tackle, took out th Bok hooker to disable a primary weapon and still lost. Period.
@Ben smith. Thats knock out rugby. So honeslty who cares?