Rennie says Will Jordan error proved costly in Springboks defeat

All Blacks coach Dave Rennie believes a mistake by Will Jordan was the turning point in New Zealand’s 29-24 loss to South Africa in Soweto.

The Springboks moved 2-1 ahead in the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series after beating the All Blacks in front of a capacity crowd at FNB Stadium.

The match was finely balanced for much of the contest, with the sides level at 12-12 at half-time. New Zealand then made the stronger start to the second half, with Jordan putting them 17-12 ahead after scoring in the 56th minute.

However, South Africa responded immediately. Jesse Kriel crossed two minutes later and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted to restore the Springboks’ lead.

Rennie identified that period as the point at which the world champions seized control.

“I think the Springboks got a fair bit of momentum mid-second half and we were able to play a high-tempo first half after we saw a lot of their big men struggling and were keen to try and make that play in the second half,” he told reporters after the match.

“But we made a few errors which slows the game down to a scrum and then often a penalty in field position for them. So, I had a period where just after we’d had the lead, they dominated us at set-piece and won all the scraps and had all the momentum for that period and obviously got reasonably well in front.

“So, it’s frustrating because there’s a lot of effort out there and maybe we weren’t quite clinical enough first half and then couldn’t wrestle momentum back when it mattered second half.”

Both teams scored four tries. Kurt-Lee Arendse, Kriel and Malcolm Marx went over for the Springboks, who were also awarded a penalty try. Feinberg-Mngomezulu added a penalty and two conversions.

Ardie Savea scored twice for the All Blacks, while Jordan and Samisoni Taukei’aho also crossed the line. Ruben Love and Damian McKenzie each kicked a conversion.

Despite suffering a second successive defeat by their long-standing rivals, Rennie said New Zealand were close to matching South Africa. He pointed to Jordan’s kick from inside his own half, which ran over the dead-ball line, as an example of how a single moment had influenced the result.

The kick gave South Africa an attacking scrum. A penalty followed, allowing the Springboks to find touch and set up a lineout drive. Marx then scored from that driving maul.

“I don’t reckon there’s much in it. I didn’t think there was much in the first Test, which we won convincingly in the end, according to the scoreboard,” he said.

“So, it’s key moments, like a big moment today was Will Jordan kicking it dead. It’s just unlucky, it was a good option. But you come back for a scrum, which is a penalty to them all, where they drive however many metres to score.

“They made hay when they had momentum tonight. We probably didn’t do that enough. I think discipline hurt us at times.

“They’re the world champions for a reason, aren’t they? Very good up front and they played a bit of footy tonight. We probably made a few errors that allowed them to play. I thought they were a lot stronger in that area than they had been in the first two Tests.”

Rennie also acknowledged the difficulty of stopping South Africa’s powerful driving maul, particularly the movement that led to the decisive try.

“The key thing is you’ve got to get in front of it,” he explained.

“The one they scored off, we competed and then we scrambled to try and get in front of it. They kept rolling through us. It was really the only one that troubled us today.

“We’ve got to be able to stay in front of it. If we’re going up, we still need to stay in front of it. Yeah, it’s disappointing.”