All Blacks

Ill-discipline and errors proved costly, as New Zealand succumbed in their Rugby Championship opener.

MBOMBELA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa ground down an out-of-form New Zealand to win 26-10 in the Rugby Championship opener on Saturday and pile the ...

We’ll fight to the last minute every time.” “To come out on the wrong side on the scoreboard really hurts but a lot of credit must go to South Africa, they’re a very good side. “I can’t ask any more of the team in terms of the belief and the effort they’re putting out there. The consolation barely lasted a minute as Frizell dropped a pass from Cane as the All Blacks tried to attack from in front of their tryline, allowing le Roux to kick ahead, flop on the ball over the line and seal the win. The Springboks scored two tries at Mbombela Stadium, one at the start by wing Kurt-Lee Arendse and one right at the end by replacement back Willie le Roux as the All Blacks launched a desperate late attack from their own 22 in an attempt to salvage some pride. MBOMBELA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa ground down an out-of-form New Zealand to win 26-10 in the Rugby Championship opener on Saturday and pile the pressure on the All Blacks with their fifth loss in six games.

Hosts score two tries to one to win their opening Rugby Championship test. At Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela: Springboks 26 (Kurt-Lee Arendse 8min, Willie le Roux ...

He led a Springboks pack that dismantled the All Blacks at the breakdown. A beautiful mind crunching all the player stats. It encouraged the locals to really open their voice boxes, as they cheered their team to victory. A great team like the Springboks is hard enough to beat at the best of times. The All Blacks' desire couldn't be faulted. Not even the loss of halfback Faf de Klerk in the first minute, after he was unconscious following a whack in the head by Caleb Clarke's knee, could alter the outcome.

Kurt-Lee Arendse's maiden Test try condemned New Zealand to three straight defeats for the first time since 1998 as 14-man South Africa...

“Malcolm (Marx) was brilliant, every time there was a ruck he seemed to come up with the ball. Jordie Barrett land ed a penalty from in front and they will have been relieved to go into the break only 10-3 down. They kept applying pressure, especially at the breakdown and that disrupted a lot of our flow,” All Blacks captain Sam Cane said.

All Blacks attacking linchpin dumped on his head by Kurt-Lee Arendse when claiming high kick as coach Foster criticises Boks' tactics.

Ardie Savea was effective at times but neither Clark nor Will Jordan were in the game enough. They also struggled at the breakdown, as they did against Ireland, with hooker Malcolm Marx, celebrating his 50th Test, a constant menace there. The All Blacks now head to Johannesburg and the second Test at Ellis Park potentially without Beauden Barrett due to Arendse's act of foul play and in need of improvements across the board. In a continuation of recent events against Ireland, the All Blacks again conceded the first try which came via a Handre Pollard high kick, Jordie Barrett losing out and Arendse was the beneficiary of the Boks’ pressure and a brilliant pass off the ground by centre Lukhanyo Am. It meant the All Blacks struggled to find their attacking rhythm against a hard-charging defence, although Beauden Barrett showed glimpses of his former spark and Richie Mo’unga added value when he replaced the injured Jordie Barrett in the second half. Referee Angus Gardner had no option but to show Arendse a red card and the little No.14, who scored his first Test try in the first half, and who sailed very close to the wind in terms of his leaping into All Blacks off the ground in the opening half, faces a long ban.

Hosts score two tries to one to win their opening Rugby Championship test. ANALYSIS: Ian Foster's coaching tenure now hangs by a slender thread after his All ...

It was that sort of a first 40 for the men in black. The All Blacks actually did well to hang in there down just seven (10-3) at the break after a messy first half. This was a comprehensive display from a side that is not just comfortable in its skin, but plays out of it on the big occasions. Ardie Savea toiled up front, but even he failed to find the go-forward that was a feature of his July series. But to go down so decisively, and largely fail to apply anything resembling sustained pressure on their opponents for so much of this one-sided contest, well, it spoke to how far this All Blacks side has plunged. It is a long, long way back from this pit of despair, and time is fast running out.

Under-fire New Zealand rugby coach Ian Foster said he believed his All Blacks team took “a step up” despite losing 26-10 to South Africa in the Rugby ...

“We had to get back into the game but all the Springboks did was carry hard and clean hard and earn a couple of penalties. This is a Springbok team that knows what they do well and they stick to it.” “As the game unfolded, a few opportunities opened up.

How the players rated in the All Blacks' 26-10 loss to South Africa this morning. All Blacks. 1. George Bower: With honours even in the tally of mystery ...

But his effort to win a three-point ruck penalty in the 69th minute, snaffling the ball singlehandedly against three All Blacks (one of whom was the open-side flanker), pretty much summed up the day. Had the advantage of playing behind the better of the two packs, and made the most of it. 2. Malcolm Marx: The best of the Boks. Playing in his 50th test, the Japan-based man was every inch the modern hooker, carrying, bustling and jackaling the visitors out of the game in a display of brutal efficiency. 15. Jordie Barrett: Needed to do a better job of commanding the Bok high balls. The one bright light was a link up with Savea reminiscent of that which brought a try against Ireland. Expect that channel to be blocked next week. In a game of little space, the big winger had to work hard to get involved, bringing grunt to collisions. He was also beaten in the air by teeny-tiny Arendse for the opening try. Summed up by the blind pass in the 38th minute which went to ground, letting the Boks sneak out from a rare moment of rising pressure. Notable that the Hurricanes skipper had a lot to say to the referee late in the match. Out-played by the Bok loosies, his lowest point was probably taking out his own fullback under a highball at the start of the second half. 3. Angus Ta'avao: The Boks hammered his side of the scrum hard and the whistle follows him, but he got a couple of decisions in his favour, too. But like the rest of us, he could only look on as his opposite number delivered a masterclass in how modern hookers can dominate a match.

In their defining hour, their day of reckoning, the All Blacks barely fired a shot, going down to South Africa 26-10. Mbombela Stadium exploded at the seams ...

In the first half the All Blacks barely got out of their half. Wider out the All Blacks scrambled well, too, with Beauden and Jordie Barrett bundling opponents into touch early. Even when the All Blacks did create space passes often went to ground or the chance was wasted by basic errors. It also came close to matching South Africa's largest victory against the All Blacks at home – their 17-point win in 1928. Chants of "Boka Boka" repeatedly rung out as the Springboks pressed forward through high balls and brute force to methodically grind the All Blacks down. It wasn't that the All Blacks were intimidated.

Competing with an unrelenting defensive display, South Africa beat the All Blacks 26-10 in a Lipovitan D Rugby Championship Test in Mbombela that will be ...

In the first quarter the All Blacks only had 22 per cent of possession which improved to 44 per cent by the break while South Africa enjoyed 58-42 territory advantage. However, they worked their substitutions well to keep the pack fresh in the second half. South Africa's first try came from using their scrum to effect. While conceding a try in the eighth minute, it wasn't a poor start to rank with those the All Blacks suffered in the second and third Tests against Ireland. Rather it was a case of being unable to prise the ball away from the Boks pack. Over the ball he was consistently the man who put the All Blacks on the back foot, and when backed with determination at the tackle by the rest of the side, there was no way through until the 76th minute. Hamstrung by a lack of possession, and unable to have any impact in achieving their flow, the All Blacks were unable to find any answers in a Test which for the 53 minutes saw the breakdown become the domain of Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx.

In their defining hour, their day of reckoning, the All Blacks barely fired a shot, going down to South Africa 26-10. Mbombela Stadium exploded at the seams ...

In the first half the All Blacks barely got out of their half. Wider out the All Blacks scrambled well, too, with Beauden and Jordie Barrett bundling opponents into touch early. Even when the All Blacks did create space passes often went to ground or the chance was wasted by basic errors. It also came close to matching South Africa's largest victory against the All Blacks at home – their 17-point win in 1928. Chants of "Boka Boka" repeatedly rung out as the Springboks pressed forward through high balls and brute force to methodically grind the All Blacks down. It wasn't that the All Blacks were intimidated.

"Hard to see them recovering at Ellis Park next week in the return match."

The 26-10 loss to the Springboks in Mbolemba was another extension of the gaping wound that is the national side, writes Jamie Wall.

Ian Foster made mention of the fact that "there's a number of guys playing here for the first time", which really isn't good enough in the professional era. This was the Springboks' first win over the All Blacks at home since 2014, a test that immediately entered mythical status due to the adventurous nature of their performance. Faf de Klerk was knocked out of the game with barely any time gone, but all that meant was Jaden Hendrikse came on to play an absolute blinder at halfback. The 26-10 loss to the Springboks in Mbolemba was another extension of the gaping wound that is the national side, now festering with pus and infection, stinking to high heaven of defeat and desperation. 42,000 packed into Mbolemba Stadium to watch a clinical Springbok performance, very much the game they tried to play against the All Blacks in Townsville last year but perfected by better defence and control of possession. Another All Black loss in 2022, the third in four tests, another week of mounting pressure on the coaching staff and the people that put them there.

New Zealand coach Ian Foster says his side have improved their performance from the historic 2-1 home series loss to Ireland, despite a heaviest defeat by ...

"The third quarter was critical for us in terms of getting back into the game, but all the Springboks did was carry hard and get a few penalties. We will have to go and look at that." "For us, I actually thought it was a step up in performance from the last series.

The breakdown was an area that plagued the All Blacks at home against Ireland at times and has been a key work-on for Ian Foster's team.

“We got to take the lessons and start believing in ourselves. We knew it was going to be tough, they are at home, full crowd, come out with a lot of passion. “Playing a quality team, we knew it wasn’t just going to happen. So really proud of that effort, but what went wrong was our ability to build pressure with the ball. Get down in their half and then turn the ball over or ill discipline, or just simple knock-ons.” A forward pass from Akira Ioane spoiled the potential opportunity around the halfway mark.

Brace yourselves, All Blacks fans. His team outplayed by South Africa, embattled coach insists they took their game up 'several cogs'.

We know we’ve had a couple of losses, [but] in all honesty I thought we shifted up a couple of cogs in this test, and made some significant improvement. We want them to feel the pressure tonight, understand what it’s like playing test matches over here, and we’ve got to be sharper in what we do. “We’ve got to look at today, and just calm down and say we’ve got one more chance at Ellis Park to win a trophy that’s pretty special to us. “We’re coming off a lost test series, and there’s a lot of noise around this team now. But we’ve got to take some things out of there we’ve made some big shifts in. All Blacks fans, you may need to take a deep breath here.

The 26-10 loss to the Springboks in Mbolemba was another extension of the gaping wound that is the national side, writes Jamie Wall.

Ian Foster made mention of the fact that "there's a number of guys playing here for the first time", which really isn't good enough in the professional era. This was the Springboks' first win over the All Blacks at home since 2014, a test that immediately entered mythical status due to the adventurous nature of their performance. Faf de Klerk was knocked out of the game with barely any time gone, but all that meant was Jaden Hendrikse came on to play an absolute blinder at halfback. The 26-10 loss to the Springboks in Mbolemba was another extension of the gaping wound that is the national side, now festering with pus and infection, stinking to high heaven of defeat and desperation. 42,000 packed into Mbolemba Stadium to watch a clinical Springbok performance, very much the game they tried to play against the All Blacks in Townsville last year but perfected by better defence and control of possession. Another All Black loss in 2022, the third in four tests, another week of mounting pressure on the coaching staff and the people that put them there.

The All Blacks produced an improved effort but were not allowed to play as they wanted in their 10-26 loss to South Africa in the first Lipovitan-D Rugby ...

"We were really up for this game, it is an honour to play the Springboks in their backyard and they were very good tonight. "It's not like there's a lack of belief or effort or hard work trying to get us back on the right track but it's a very challenging time. "We should stay positive and keep working because it's not far. Captain Sam Cane said, "In that first half we didn't really throw a punch. "We really did well at the lineout stuff, we defended their drives. It was a game dominated by defence and dominated by a couple of high ball errors.

All Blacks halfback Graeme Bachop, pictured centre with No 9 on his shorts, performs the haka with his team-mates before the 1995 World Cup final in ...

I enjoy all the running in soccer, just giving the old lungs a good blow-out. A beautiful mind crunching all the player stats. "I get a bit frustrated at times. "I was still in the changing shed when the plane flew over. "The red and yellow card decisions are frustrating. You get a bit of a sick feeling in your guts (laughs).'' I have been down to Christchurch Boys' High School in the past and go and help out, I don't mind doing that.'' "Yes. I wasn't as bad as some of the boys. "I didn't think too much of it at the time. "I got cramp in both calves at one point, and couldn't actually move. Before the game a South African Airways 747 jet flew over the stadium with the words "Good Luck Bokke'' inscribed on the undercarriage. Some of the others had it coming out both ends.

The All Blacks travelled to South Africa with one task on the agenda - righting the ship that had veered so seriously off-course in their two most recent ...

On in 64th minute. Off in 63rd minute. Off in 53rd minute. A horror run off the bench for the experienced head. Was taken out Sam Cane when he was going for a high ball and didn’t look right for the rest of his time on the field. Returned with time almost up in place of Beauden Barrett. Ran a great line off Savea – which seems to be becoming a specialty of the combo – to get the All Blacks out of trouble from deep inside their own half. Secured a defensive breakdown penalty when the Springboks were hot on attack inside the 22 and always looked to get the ball in his hands but couldn’t quite replicate his destructive feats from prior games. Won a good turnover when the Boks were attacking early in the second half. Pinged at the first Springboks scrum and again late in the first half but got one back of his own right before the halftime break. The pick of the All Blacks. The All Blacks’ strongest carrier in the first half, typically taking two or three defenders to bring him to ground. Their first try came in just the eighth minute and they remained at least seven points clear of their opposition throughout the remainder of the game.

South Africa beat New Zealand 26-10 on Saturday in the Rugby Championship opener in Mbombela, adding to the woes of the embattled All Blacks.

We did well to absorb that but it took a lot out of us. We did all the things we wanted to do. We made the tackles, we know how dangerous they can be. They threw a heck of a lot at us. Under-fire Cane said: "A lot of credit has to go to the Springboks, especially the way they played in the first half. South Africa beat New Zealand 26-10 on Saturday in the Rugby Championship opener in Mbombela, adding to the woes of the embattled All Blacks.