Springboks must sharpen finishing to revive series against All Blacks

The Springboks will need to become far more clinical inside the opposition 22-metre area if they are to turn the Greatest Test series around against the All Blacks.

Rassie Erasmus’ side made 10 entries into New Zealand’s red zone at Ellis Park on Saturday but managed an average of only 0.7 points per visit. The All Blacks, by comparison, had nine entries and produced 3.6 points on average from each one.

That difference in efficiency provided a clear explanation of where the match was won and lost, with South Africa unable to make sufficient use of its opportunities while New Zealand punished the hosts more effectively.

Erasmus accepted that his team’s failure to convert pressure into points had been decisive.

“We didn’t play well. Against a class team like New Zealand, if you don’t convert, they give you a proper hiding,” Erasmus told reporters on Saturday night.

The Springboks coach said his players had allowed several important opportunities to slip away, although he also credited New Zealand’s intensity and defensive pressure for forcing the errors.

“With hindsight, there were a lot of things we didn’t convert; I think there were two or three big moments when we let the game go away from us. Not because we wanted to or because we wanted to make those errors but because New Zealand forced those on to us by being really intense and sharp.”

The contrasting attacking returns came despite South Africa producing the greater number of post-contact metres. The Springboks made 298 metres after contact, compared with 197m for the All Blacks.

South Africa also edged the line-break figures, recording seven to New Zealand’s six. However, those numbers did not translate into the same reward in the 22-metre area.

The Springboks made 11 dominant tackles from 89 attempts. New Zealand made six dominant tackles from 129 attempts.

The statistics underline the central issue facing Erasmus’ team as it attempts to recover in the series: creating pressure was not enough without the finishing required to turn entries into points.

South Africa’s 10 visits to the red zone gave it one more opportunity than the All Blacks, but the substantial difference in points per entry left New Zealand with the more productive attack.

Erasmus said the missed chances were not the result of a lack of desire to take them. Instead, he felt New Zealand’s sharpness and intensity had played a major part in creating the moments that went against the Springboks.

For South Africa to change the direction of the Greatest Test series, the focus will therefore be on improving its strike rate whenever it reaches the All Blacks’ 22-metre line. The team’s ability to convert those attacking positions, rather than simply accumulate entries, will be crucial.