Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus once again showed how he can dictate matters in the build-up to a Test match as he got the better of Scott Robertson at the weekend.
That is according to former South Africa hooker Hanyani Shimange, who rated the display as one of the country’s best ever.
Shimange also noted the surprise he felt at what transpired in that second period as the Boks racked up the points to score 36 without reply after the interval.
‘I was even shocked’
“I’ve been on many of these tours and commentated – we’ve all been around the Springboks – and this has got to be, outside the two World Cups wins, performance number three,” he said on The Verdict podcast.
“That second half, I was even shocked afterwards. I spoke to some of the New Zealand commentators and there was no feeling at half-time that this was going to happen.
“You’ve got to say, when Rassie named the team on Monday, I think he controlled the narrative from day one. The whole chatter was that it’s a young backline.
“You’ve also got to mention a guy like Damian Willemse, he was on another planet at the weekend, he was properly in the zone.”
Shimange was joined on the show by Springboks legend Schalk Burger, who felt the groundwork was laid in the opening period despite the second-half blowout.
“I would say it’s the full 80. We laid the foundation in the first 40. Maybe if we got a bit more reward out of scrums, maybe if we were a bit more accurate, the dam would have broken earlier, but the fact of the matter is we dominated so many areas,” Burger said.
“The ball was in the air, behind the All Blacks and they were forced to turnaround and run back. Every collision went South Africa’s way, in the set-piece our scrum was dominated, our lineout was sorted out, but the aerial game was what really bullied them.
“They were running backwards, they were hanging by a thread by the end of that first half. In the second half they capitulated and it was when we got scoreboard pressure.
“The biggest moment for me was that scrum right after half-time. Our sub timing was perfect. Wilco Louw comes on, penalty advantage and the try off the back of that.
“As soon as scoreboard pressure happened – we had 70 per cent territory at that time – they hung themselves. There were too many failings in their game plan, too many soak tacklers.
“As far as brutal Bok rugby goes, this is right on top of it.”
The change which helped the Boks
Burger also praised Willemse and believed that there was a slight change in style which enabled them to be more effective with the ball.
“What enhanced our physicality is the way that we went from the one-pass ruck in the last two games – Cape Town and then Eden Park – to playing the link-up game,” he added.
“Stay on top of the breakdown and you see that from the scoot from Siya Kolisi, you see it through a lot of pick and go’s.
“Last week we were nervous when they announced the team, just because of the fear factor. We all said that if they get it right, we can beat the All Blacks. I thought it would be by 10, I didn’t see 43 coming.
“We needed one man to step up and that was Damian Willemse, and my word how good was he?”