New Zealand sneak win over South Africa

The growth spurt that the Springbok forwards needed for their team to be competitive was forthcoming but sadly it was the game plan that was responsible for the All Blacks taking a vice-like grip on The Castle Rugby Championship race with a 21-11 win at the Forsythe-Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday.
This was by far the most compelling Bok performance in the competition, and the 10-point winning margin flattered an All Black team that was under the kosh for much of the way and frequently creaked under the pressure that was applied.
Sadly though for South African fans the periods of forward dominance only highlighted the bankruptcy of the game-plan. So much good ball was hoisted onto a New Zealand back three that were always equal to the task and punished the Boks in the telling moment of the first half. And then there were the occasions when the ball was just kicked when it should have been run.
Morne Steyn was the main culprit but he was playing a game-plan he was selected to play. What he definitely didn’t get right though was the one facet of rugby to which he undeniably owes his place in the team -- the goal-kicking.
The Boks trailed 5-3 at halftime and yet such were the opportunities that were wasted and their dominance of possession and territory that they could easily have been 15 points up. One area where the Kiwis were horrible in the first half was in their tidying up around the fringes, and the Boks created a great try-scoring chance in the fourth minute as wing Francois Hougaard punished All Black untidiness around a ruck by kicking the ball ahead.
Skipper Jean de Villiers was up to chase and cleverly kept the ball infield, and then following a set up and quick ruck the ball was spun down the line only for Bryan Habana to knock it on near the corner flag. That was the first chance wasted, and while Habana made up for it later with a brilliant individualistic try, it was a crucial moment in the game as the Boks would have gained massive confidence from a five pointer at that stage.
They were the first on the board when Morne Steyn slotted a penalty in the 17th minute, but it was to be Steyn’s only success out of five kicks at goal, and while Frans Steyn also missed two long-range attempts, it was the missed kickable shots from the flyhalf that really hurt the South Africans. The last was on the stroke of halftime, and given how the Boks had dominated, the New Zealanders must have been astounded at their luck as they took the break.
There were several aspects of the Bok game that were immeasurably improved on previous weeks. As always when the All Blacks come into view, there was no lack of passion, and the aggressive, physical Bok defensive line got into the Kiwi faces and made this by far their most difficult assignment of 2012.