Justin Marshall believes that the Springboks surprised the All Blacks with how adventurous they were in the Wellington demolition on Saturday.
South Africa blew the Rugby Championship wide open with a stunning 43-10 success over New Zealand at the weekend.
They scored 36 unanswered points in the second period to leave all four teams on two wins and two defeats in the standings.
More unwanted history for the All Blacks
Perhaps more importantly, however, was that the All Blacks suffered their biggest-ever defeat, eclipsing the 35-7 reversal against the Boks in a 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up.
There will no doubt be another inquest into this loss, but Marshall was more positive than expected after Scott Robertson’s men made more unwanted history.
“Digesting it was important, because straight away you’re reacting when you see that result and then there’s a frustration element, but there’s also like, wow, impressed with what the Springboks produced,” he said on The Breakdown.
“Then it’s like, well, how were they allowed to do that? Or were they just that good? And then it’s like, it wasn’t all that bad and I’ve kind of entered into this day with my glass half full, to be honest, which is not like me.”
Marshall was content with how the All Blacks performed for the opening 40 minutes, but reckoned the hosts were left shocked by how expansive the Springboks were after the break.
“At the end of the day, I felt that the Springboks ambushed the All Blacks in the way that they played. I don’t think that they suspected that they would have the ambition to play that much,” he said.
“Yeah that that backline could play, but I didn’t think that they would play as much as what they did and all of a sudden they were chasing the game, particularly in the second half.
“I feel that we in the first half still created a lot and put them under a lot of pressure.”
All Blacks great: ‘We are a little arrogant here in New Zealand’
After a fast Boks start, which almost resulted in tries for Cheslin Kolbe and RG Snyman, the All Blacks settled down and moved in front through Leroy Carter’s score on debut.
New Zealand would continue to have the upper hand for the rest of the half, despite Kolbe’s intercept, and would go into the break with a three-point advantage.
Few foresaw what would happen after the interval, though, as the Springboks produced a complete display in the second period to secure a historic triumph.
‘The All Blacks couldn’t find an answer’
“I think if you look at the first 40 for me, I would have been confident as well. I was definitely confident the All Blacks would come out and continue to play the way they did, and to see if South Africa were willing to sort of hold on,” Marshall’s former All Blacks team-mate, Mils Muliaina, said.
“Eventually, it sort of ended up the other way and I think where the Springboks got it right is they played an expensive game, but then they mixed it up with the stuff that they always sort of talk about, and that’s in their DNA.
“They won the high ball, that gave them a bit more confidence and as they continued to grind, they eventually started to gain that confidence.
“The All Blacks just couldn’t find an answer and that’s probably the most disappointing part – they threw everything at them and I still thought that with 15 minutes to go that we could have an answer, but it just didn’t come.”
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