Boks caught with their pants down, say papers

JOHANNESBURG – World Cup hopefuls South Africa awoke to mixed reaction from their national press yesterday a day after New Zealand’s come-from-behind 26-21 in a Tri-Nations match in Durban.

While some, especially the mass circulation Afrikaans Sunday paper Rapport, felt there was hope for the Boks, most publications said Jake White’s team were “Caught with their pants down”, according to the Sunday Times. South Africa, who led 11-6 at the break after two penalties by Percy Montgomery and a well-taken try by Schalk Burger on the stroke of half-time, capitulated in the second half after opening up a nine-point gap – on two occasions – on the tourists.A converted Butch James try in the 45th minute put the Boks 18-9 ahead and then in the 66th minute the home side led 21-12.The inclusion of game-breakers such as Piri Weepu, Luke McAlister and Leon MacDonald however allowed the All Blacks to up the tempo in this fiercely contested southern hemisphere clash and score two tries through Richie McCaw and Joe Rokocoko in the space on three minutes around the 70 minute mark to ensure a win for the men from New Zealand.”The last few weeks caught up with us in the end,” was Bok coach’s Jake White’s excuse.”The guys were tired after a gruelling and physically demanding end to the Super 14 and having to play five Tests in a row simply got to us.The guys had nothing more to give when the All Blacks raised the tempo in the final stages of the match.”The majority of the Boks team play for the Northern Bulls and Coastal Sharks Super 14 franchises and were involved in five tough games leading into the semi-finals and final of that competition.They then had to lift their game for Tests against England, Samoa, Australia and on Saturday, New Zealand.New Zealand and Australian teams also play in the Super 14.Both those nations have also been involved in tests the past few weeks.All Blacks coach Graham Henry said: “We were able to lift ourselves when it mattered.”DAYS OF DENIAL The Rapport newspaper headlined their sports pages with ‘There is hope’ and said “the fact is there was nothing wrong with the Boks’ performance that cannot be corrected before the World Cup”.Another story read: ‘Boks lose, but not beaten’.White told the Afrikaans newspaper, “We lost against ourselves as well as against the long season.”We played good rugby in the opening 20 minutes, but in the final quarter you could see what the effects were of six, seven weeks of high intensity rugby.”The Sunday Times said “Glory for the All Blacks, sympathy for the Boks.South Africa rode a rollercoaster of passion and fury, but a lack of composure amid a thrilling second half saw their ambitions come crashing down.”Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett had plenty to say in his column in the Sunday Times.”South Africa started like a bomb – forcing Dan Carter to kick a lot – and their (New Zealand) lineouts were under pressure in the first half.”But there were alarm bells around the Bok scrum, which was very unstable.In the second half the All Blacks picked up the pace – their freshness in comparison with the Boks really started to tell.”The Sunday Independent said: ‘Boks lack All Blacks’ balance’ while columnist Rodney Hartman said “This was a flop of dazzling proportions.”It appears White is set to leave a number of his star players at home for the away leg of the competition.White told the Sunday Times it would be “a ludicrous risk” to travel with his best squad in a World Cup year.The Boks face Australia in Sydney on July 7 and New Zealand in Christchurch on July 14.Nampa-AFPSouth Africa, who led 11-6 at the break after two penalties by Percy Montgomery and a well-taken try by Schalk Burger on the stroke of half-time, capitulated in the second half after opening up a nine-point gap – on two occasions – on the tourists.A converted Butch James try in the 45th minute put the Boks 18-9 ahead and then in the 66th minute the home side led 21-12.The inclusion of game-breakers such as Piri Weepu, Luke McAlister and Leon MacDonald however allowed the All Blacks to up the tempo in this fiercely contested southern hemisphere clash and score two tries through Richie McCaw and Joe Rokocoko in the space on three minutes around the 70 minute mark to ensure a win for the men from New Zealand.”The last few weeks caught up with us in the end,” was Bok coach’s Jake White’s excuse.”The guys were tired after a gruelling and physically demanding end to the Super 14 and having to play five Tests in a row simply got to us.The guys had nothing more to give when the All Blacks raised the tempo in the final stages of the match.”The majority of the Boks team play for the Northern Bulls and Coastal Sharks Super 14 franchises and were involved in five tough games leading into the semi-finals and final of that competition.They then had to lift their game for Tests against England, Samoa, Australia and on Saturday, New Zealand.New Zealand and Australian teams also play in the Super 14.Both those nations have also been involved in tests the past few weeks.All Blacks coach Graham Henry said: “We were able to lift ourselves when it mattered.”DAYS OF DENIAL The Rapport newspaper headlined their sports pages with ‘There is hope’ and said “the fact is there was nothing wrong with the Boks’ performance that cannot be corrected before the World Cup”.Another story read: ‘Boks lose, but not beaten’.White told the Afrikaans newspaper, “We lost against ourselves as well as against the long season.”We played good rugby in the opening 20 minutes, but in the final quarter you could see what the effects were of six, seven weeks of high intensity rugby.”The Sunday Times said “Glory for the All Blacks, sympathy for the Boks.South Africa rode a rollercoaster of passion and fury, but a lack of composure amid a thrilling second half saw their ambitions come crashing down.”Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett had plenty to say in his column in the Sunday Times.”South Africa started like a bomb – forcing Dan Carter to kick a lot – and their (New Zealand) lineouts were under pressure in the first half.”But there were alarm bells around the Bok scrum, which was very unstable.In the second half the All Blacks picked up the pace – their freshness in comparison with the Boks really started to tell.”The Sunday Independent said: ‘Boks lack All Blacks’ balance’ while columnist Rodney Hartman said “This was a flop of dazzling proportions.”It appears White is set to leave a number of his star players at home for the away leg of the competition.White told the Sunday Times it would be “a ludicrous risk” to travel with his best squad in a World Cup year.The Boks face Australia in Sydney on July 7 and New Zealand in Christchurch on July 14.Nampa-AFP