Former All Blacks prop John Afoa believes the Springboks could have completed a clean sweep in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry had they been more clinical in the opening Test at Ellis Park.
The Boks lost 33-16 in Johannesburg but bounced back to win the next three Tests and claim a 3-1 series victory over the All Blacks.
Afoa believes the result in the first Test could easily have gone the other way, with the Springboks passing up several opportunities to take points.
“It’s definitely there, we’ve lost the last three games in a row,” Afoa said when asked about the gap between the teams on Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown.
“You could say things went our way in that first game, we could have lost that easily. The South Africans were too confident and went for a lot of corners. If they had taken the points in the first game, we could be sitting here 0-4 and people would be thinking the gap is humongous.”
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Despite the series defeat, Afoa says there were encouraging signs under new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie and that the team can improve with more time together.
“If you’re 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…” he said.
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The All Blacks will now turn their attention to the Wallabies as they begin their bid to retain the Bledisloe Cup.
Afoa believes the next two Tests will provide an opportunity for Rennie’s side to build momentum after their bruising tour.
“We’re lucky we’ve got Australia,” he said. “We could put 50 on them and then everyone’s like, ‘we’ll be happy’, but if we don’t then we’ll be like, ‘ooh, actually’.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Afoa: Boks could have won RGR 4-0 appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Former All Blacks prop John Afoa believes the Springboks could have completed a clean sweep in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry had they been more clinical in the opening Test at Ellis Park.
The post Afoa: Boks could have won RGR 4-0 appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
