Mils Muliaina, John Afoa and Aaron Cruden lauded the Springboks for being “comfortable being uncomfortable” after a dominant Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry win over New Zealand.
The former All Blacks on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown analysed the Boks’ 43-28 victory at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday that sent the Kiwis home with a 3-1 series defeat and five wins from eight matches on tour.
“Obviously, as All Blacks, you look at this sort of progression but you’ve just got to take a step back,” Muliaina said. “I admire what the South Africans are bringing at the moment.
“They’re a step ahead of everyone. They’re comfortable being uncomfortable. What I mean by that is, when you put points on them, they don’t mind coming back and wrestling that arm-wrestle with you.
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“They’ve got so many weapons to do it. Is it their scrum? Is it their high ball? Is it their dominant carries? That’s what I’ve really enjoyed from the Springboks. They’ve got such a good team.
“We’re all disappointed about the result, but you’ve also got to look at who we’re playing against: the world champions,” the 2011 World CUp winner added. “For the last nine years, almost a decade, they have dominated in this space. We’re getting there, but you’ve got to take your hat off to the South Africans because they have been awesome.”
Cruden agreed, while acknowledging the improvement of the All Blacks under Dave Rennie in the face of a ruthless Bok outfit.
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“To be fair, I thought we were good. The uncomfortable fact is South Africa were just better. They were better in the sense that they absolutely pounced on any error that we made. They just transitioned really well,” the ex-flyhalf said.
“I love what Mils said about them being comfortable being uncomfortable. When they don’t have the momentum, they know, ‘Okay, we can wrestle this back. How are we going to do it?’ They go X, Y, Z, play their style, and that’s what it is.
“Yeah, it does hurt. But as I said earlier, we now know exactly what we’re chasing. We’ve got to put the plans in place to make sure we are closing that gap.”
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Afoa, though, was more frank about the Kiwis’ shortcomings in contrast to Rassie Erasmus’ charges.
“There’s a real leadership gap,” the 38-cap prop said. “If I look at that forward pack, they’re some young guys out there. There’s no one in there who’s the real leader … When it’s getting tough and it’s right at that moment, stands up.
“The Springboks, they’ve got maybe five of them with the Man of the Match awards and 100 Test caps in the backline. The others just follow them. I think we just lack a bit of that, but that will come with time.”
Photo: Michael Franken/Michael Franken Photography
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Mils Muliaina, John Afoa and Aaron Cruden lauded the Springboks for being “comfortable being uncomfortable” after a dominant Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry win over New Zealand.
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