{"id":602302,"date":"2026-09-16T16:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/602302\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:20:11","slug":"ex-all-black-john-afoa-gap-to-the-springboks-definitely-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/602302\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-All Black John Afoa: Gap to the Springboks ‘definitely there’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former All Blacks prop John Afoa has admitted that the gap to the Springboks<\/a> could have been \u201chumongous\u201d had the hosts not been \u201ctoo confident\u201d for the opening Test.<\/p>\n

South Africa claimed a 3-1 series triumph over New Zealand, fighting back after losing the first match at Ellis Park to win the next three.<\/p>\n

The All Blacks<\/a>, under their new head coach Dave Rennie, were competitive in those losses, but the Boks<\/a> were deserved winners and it could have been worse on the scoreboard, according to Afoa.<\/p>\n

Springboks\u2019 errors in first Test<\/p>\n

While the tourists defeated the Boks 33-16 in Johannesburg, it was another game which was decided on small margins and key moments.<\/p>\n

Asked on Sky Sport NZ\u2019s The Breakdown show if there\u2019s a gap between the two teams, the former tighthead responded: \u201cIt\u2019s definitely there, we\u2019ve lost the last three games in a row. You could say things went our way in that first game, we could have lost that easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe South Africans were too confident and went for a lot of corners. If they had took the points in the first game, we could be sitting here 0-4 and people would be thinking the gap is humongous.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say the All Blacks were far off, Afoa states, with Rennie\u2019s men showing some promising signs, but it is clear that they are not quite at the level of the Boks just yet.<\/p>\n

New Zealand will now look to get back on track with two games against the Wallabies as they look to retain the Bledisloe Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re really looking at the game, there are things that are there that you like and I think with a little bit more time, a little bit more tweaking\u2026\u201d Afoa added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re lucky we\u2019ve got Australia, we could put 50 on them and then everyone\u2019s like, \u2018we\u2019ll be happy\u2019, but if we don\u2019t then we\u2019ll be like, \u2018ooh, actually\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aaron Cruden\u2019s Cam Roigard theory which \u2018impacted\u2019 All Blacks fly-halves as verdict given on Ruben Love and Richie Mo\u2019unga<\/a><\/p>\n

While the Springboks offered a contrast in styles, the Wallabies are much more what the All Blacks are used to given that their franchises go head-to-head in Super Rugby Pacific.<\/p>\n

Afoa was joined on the panel by ex-New Zealand fly-half Aaron Cruden, who believes that they need more matches like Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry tour in order to adapt ahead of the Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wallabies are a very different style compared to what we\u2019ve just faced in the Springboks so we are going to have to adapt slightly, but if we are really chasing the Springboks, that\u2019s the type of duress, that\u2019s the type of pressure we need to be applying and constantly living under to close that gap,\u201d Cruden said.<\/p>\n

All Blacks continuity<\/p>\n

Continuity is also key, according to Test centurion Mils Muliaina, who insists that the All Blacks will continue to improve under Rennie.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s being together a lot more. You\u2019re up against the best in the world and that\u2019s the thing, it\u2019s feeling comfortable around that guy. You talk about Richie Mo\u2019unga, he was starting to see opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201c[But] it\u2019s not just about him seeing opportunities, they\u2019ve got to get on the same page as well and the more time that you get around it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re learning from the best in the world so let\u2019s just move onto the Bledisloe, hey.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: State of the Nation: \u2018Aesthetically pleasing\u2019 All Blacks find their \u2018identity\u2019 under Dave Rennie but are they really better?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former All Blacks prop John Afoa has admitted that the gap to the Springboks could have been \u201chumongous\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,1463,1464,111,43,6327,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-602302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-rugby","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}