Although they only face the Springboks in September, All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has taken it upon himself to fire some early shots towards the back-to-back World Champions.
New Zealand hosts the South Africans in two Rugby Championship Test matches on 6 and 13 September in Auckland and Wellington, respectively.
SA/NZ Rivalry Reignited
And there is bound to be some niggle when the two big rivals clash after the Boks beat the All Blacks in both Rugby Championship Tests in Mzansi last year. But Robertson reckons his team should have beaten the Boks in the first encounter in Johannesburg after going down 31-27 at Ellis Park Stadium.
However, Robertson, affectionately nicknamed Razor, reckons a try by Bongi Mbonambi off the back of a rolling maul should never have been allowed.
Razor: Bongi Try Was NOT a Try
Asked about the try by former All Black scrumhalf Justin Marshall on Sky Sports New Zealand Show, The Breakdown, Razor says of why Mbonambi’s score was never a try as referee Andrew Brace ignored Kiwi captain Scott Robertson’s calls to have the Television Match Official review the score:
Let’s use Bongi’s try, that wasn’t a try, that was a try.
Ellis Park, first Test, at that moment, you know it is not going to go up on the big screen, not at Ellis Park. So, our analyst, who is always checking that stuff. He’ll say ‘It’s a knock-on Razor’, Okay sweet. I go straight down to Scooter [Scott Barrett], “Scooter, get to Andrew Brace.
Sacha, at that stage, was taking the kick [at goal]. Remember, he went too long on the kick, over 30 seconds. Scooter comes up to him [Brace] and goes, ‘Can you check the knock-on from Bongi?’, he goes,nah, nah, we’ve got the kick he’s over the 30-second limit.
Scooter goes, ‘Nah, nah, nah, we’re not worried about the kick, we’re worried about the try’, and he goes, ‘I’m not talking about the kick, he’s missed it’.
Springboks Stretched Unbeaten Streak Against Kiwi’s
The Mbonambi try was a big talking point after the game and ahead of the two rival countries’ second meeting in Cape Town, where the All Blacks were beaten 18-12 as the coach Rassie Erasmus’ Boks powered past the Kiwis with two late tries by captain Siya Kolisi and Malcolm Marx in the final quarter.
The two wins stretched South Africa’s unbeaten streak over New Zealand to four games, dating back to 2023 Word Cup Final that the Boks won 12-11 and a pre-World Cup Test at Twickenham where the Boks smashed the Kiwis 35-7 for South Africa’s largest win over the old enemy.
And there will certainly be no love lost as the two arch-rivals reignite their rivalry later on this year, as the All Blacks put their unbeaten record at Eden Park Stadium in Auckland on the line in the first Test on September 6.
