Pressure mounts on Allister Coetzee after All Blacks defeat Springboks

17 September 2016 - 13:59 By Greg Stutchbury

The All Blacks had a 15-10 lead at halftime as they struggled to maintain their flow but turned their game around in the seconf half when they stretched the Springboks to breaking point, kicking away four tries.CHRISTCHURCH - The Springboks blundered their way to a third successive Rugby Championship defeat here on Saturday.It completes a full set of away defeats against all their rivals in this competition and heaps more pressure on Allister Coetzee and his coaching staff.They now have to engineer a turn around in the two home tests next month against the Wallabies and the All Blacks.The imprecision that dogged the Springboks against the Wallabies in Brisbane last week followed them across the Tasman Sea and their handling‚ in particular‚ was ham fisted.By contrast‚ the All Blacks look better organised‚ conditioned and maybe even assembled.The visitors shot themselves in the foot‚ and they did so repeatedly.Avoidable errors‚ especially of the handling variety‚ conspired against the Boks in the first half and the trend did not dissipate in the second.With the All Blacks already in the ascendancy due to a superior kicking game‚ the Boks invited trouble onto themselves by not applying due care and diligence in possession.The crowd was still stunned and the Boks in a mild state of euphoria following Bryan Habana’s converted try in the 19th minute when Elton Jantjies inexplicably dropped the kick-in close to the Bok tryline.From the resultant scrum the All Blacks hit left before switching play to the right allowing Israel Dagg to run in unchallenged. There was an air of inevitability that they would score once Jantjies dropped the ball.Six minutes later Johan Goosen thought it prudent to throw a speculative pass around the Bok 22.From the resultant scrum the All Blacks advanced down the left flank before Julian Savea applied the finishing touches.It must have been infuriating for captain Adriaan Strauss who hitherto had led the Bok charge when they stretched their legs in attack.The Boks looked composed and patient when they ran at the All Blacks in the first half and their breaches then proved telling.They didn’t enjoy much territory in that period but when they got into the All Blacks’ 22 they looked like they meant business.It was a patient but determined build-up that eventually led to a try for Habana‚ who completed the move when he ran onto the ball from a deft angle.The Boks‚ however‚ had to do a lot of defending as the hosts probed forcefully through various avenues.The Jantjies/Juan de Jongh channel was like the Panama Canal with traffic frequent and heavy.The Bok cover defence in the first half proved timely.Warren Whiteley’s intervention in concert with De Jongh prevented what looked a certain try for Ben Smith.The Boks‚ however‚ made life difficult for themselves.If Jantjies was again lackadaisical‚ Goosen appeared absent-minded.Faf de Klerk has lost the zip that made him such a sprightly figure in Super Rugby.If Coetzee did not assemble his bench the way he did‚ De Klerk‚ like Goosen and Jantjies would have been withdrawn from the action.Captain Strauss was withdrawn from the action in the 44th minute and was replaced by Malcolm Marx‚ giving rise to all sorts of conspiracy theories.Marx had leapfrogged Bongi Mbonambi into the match day 23 after the latter was given scant game time in the first six tests of the season.He didn’t exactly hit the mark with his lineout feeds and his rapid predicted rise remains in its infancy.Elsewhere Bok errors kept coming and the All Blacks kept punishing.The immaculate Ben Smith scored after an aimless Jantjies punt‚ while Ardie Savea touched down after turn over possession at a ruck inside their own half.The Boks were struggling the plug all the holes and the All Blacks’ much vaunted bench again stretched the opposition.Sam Whitelock scored in the corner with 15 minutes to go as the Boks ran out of defenders.At that point the Boks were potentially looking down the barrel of a 50-pointer but they were thankfully spared that embarrassment.NEW ZEALAND (15) 41SOUTH AFRICA (10) 13ScorersAll Blacks (41) – Tries: Israel Dagg‚ Julian Savea‚ Ben Smith‚ Ardie Savea‚ Sam Whitelock‚ TJ Perenara. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (4). Penalty: Barrett.Springboks (13) – Try: Bryan Habana. Conversion: Elton Jantjies. Penalties: Jantjies (2). TMG Digital..

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