The All Blacks toyed with and embarrassed the Springboks in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final fixture at Melbourne's Telstra Dome, as the advanced to the semi-finals in Sydney on the back of a convincing 29-9 win.
Seldom have two teams produced more contrasting displays at this level of the game. Everything the All Blacks were, the Springboks were not -- determined, focussed and hungry.
And when the experts look at this match in days to come, and analyse every minute in the most absolute manner, they will realise that the All Blacks could so easily have beaten this bunch of pitiful Springboks by 50 points again ... as they did a couple of months ago in Pretoria.
Yes, it is true. This All Black team, as easy as they made this victory look, played well below the standards we have come to expect from them.
But on the day they did more than enough to beat a team that will come under a huge amount of criticism back home for their lack of passion, their sub-standard skills on attack and their disorganised defensive showing.
Even more concerning for South Africans would be that this is the first time they have not advanced to the semi-finals of the RWC and it is also the first time they have lost at the RWC against the All Blacks -- to go with the many other "records" they have set under the tutelage of Rudolf Straeuli.
But all credit must go to the Kiwis for doing what they needed to do, without really exerting themselves at the Telstra Dome.
They easily accounted for the Springboks' much-vaunted tight five, which never looked like dominating anything other than the mistakes column. The Kiwis dominated the possession stakes from the opening stages and for long periods the Boks never saw anything of the ball.
In fact, in the first 15 minutes the Kiwis had more than 80 percent of the ball and enjoyed well over 70 percent in territorial advantage. That stat seldom dipped below 70 percent in the first half.
While the Boks saw a bit more of the ball in the second period, with the possession stakes ending at about 62-38 in favour of the Kiwis, the South Africans could not use any of the opportunities presented to them.
The All Blacks, however, showed how badly they wanted to win this game, showing greater determination in the set-pieces and at the breakdowns, turning ball over at regular intervals.
While the Kiwi forwards hunted as a unit, arriving at the breakdowns in far greater numbers, the Bok forwards seemed more eager to hang out wide and let the backs do their jobs.
Then there were the scrums where the Kiwis also embarrassed their opponents at times, and on at least one occasion turning over ball and scoring from it by shoving the South Africans off their own put-in.
Behind this dominant pack the New Zealand backline was brilliantly marshaled by their halfbacks, Justin Marshall and Carlos Spencer.
And the backs enjoyed the space and time afforded to them, often breaching the Boks' shockingly disorganised defensive lines -- especially their first-time tackles. The irony of it all was that while the Boks were so focussed on shutting down the All Blacks' dangerous runners out wide, they simply forgot to tackle around the fringes and in the midfield.
In the 10, 12, 13 channel the Boks slipped more first-time tackles on Saturday than some international teams do in an entire season.
And while we can go on at length about the lack of ball the Boks had, the few times when they did get the ball in hand their option-taking was either very ordinary or they simply could not control the possession, simply handing the ball back to the Kiwis on a platter.
And against a team of New Zealand's calibre, even when they are not firing on all cylinders, they will make you pay -- as indeed they did with the Springboks.
At the end of the game the Kiwis showed an almost disdainful contempt for the Boks, as they threw the ball around and ran the Boks ragged. And it was only some desperate one-off tackles by a couple of Springboks that prevented the Kiwis from scoring more tries.
Few players in the South African side will be able to walk away from this mess with their heads held high, but among them will be youngsters like Schalk Burger, a second-half replacement, winger Ashwin Willemse and lock Bakkies Botha.
For the Kiwis it was a game on which they can reflect how much they can still improve, having walked away with an easy win against one of their traditional rivals.
Man of the match: Many of the All Blacks put their hands up, with flanker Richard McCaw, first five-eighth Carlos Spencer, centre Leon MacDonald and captain Reuben Thorne all doing their bit. But our vote goes to the Kiwis' outstanding hooker Keven Mealamu, who time and again showed up the Boks' close-in tackling and was eventually rewarded for his high work-rate with one of his team's three tries.
Moment of the Match: This one goes to the 72nd-minute try scored by winger Joe Rokocoko, which epitomised the entire game. From a scrum deep inside the Boks' 22, with the South Africans putting the ball in, the Kiwis simply shoved them off the ball, turned it over and then it was quickly passed to Carlos Spencer. He, in turn, flicked it back brilliantly through his legs, to Rokocoko, who went over in the corner for the try.
Villain of the Match: We are tempted to nominate most of the Springboks for their lack of passion, but the vote goes to Springbok captain Corné Krige, who early in the match showed exactly the lack of discipline the Boks have been criticised for in the past year or two. At a ruck, and after having already been awarded a penalty within striking distance, Krige attempted to stand on an opponent's leg when the ball was nowhere near. The result was that the penalty was turned over and the Boks lost an opportunity to put a much-needed score on the board. This moment almost epitomised the Boks mind set throughout the game ... a beaten and frustrated side.
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Leon MacDonald, 13 Aaron Mauger, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves: Daniel Carter, Steve Devine, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws, Caleb Ralph
South Africa: 1 Faan Rautenbach, 2 John Smit, 3 Christo Bezuidenhout, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Danie Rossouw, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Derick Hougaard, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Thinus Delport, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves: Jaque Fourie, Neil De Kock, Richard Bands, Selborne Boome, Schalk Burger Jr., Danie Coetzee, Louis Koen
Attendance: 40734
Referee: Spreadbury t.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: MacDonald L.R. 1, Rokocoko J. 1, Mealamu K.F. 1
Conv: MacDonald L.R. 1
Pen K.: MacDonald L.R. 3
Drop G.: Mauger A.J.D. 1
South Africa
Pen K.: Hougaard D.J. 3
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