Hansen: All Blacks not in the hunt up front

Steve Hansen and Ewen McKenzie say the Springboks’ set-piece dominance in Joburg on Saturday meant New Zealand’s attacking skills simply weren’t enough. wlop.pl

They were speaking on the Rugby Unity podcast after the Boks’ 29-24 win at FNB Stadium, a result that put South Africa 2-1 up in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series ahead of this Saturday’s finale in Baltimore.

Hansen felt the All Blacks’ second-half scoreboard chase cost Dave Rennie’s men dearly.

ALSO: All Blacks coach tired of the same story

“They had to [chase the game], because they got too far behind on the scoreboard, and you’re not going to beat the Boks until you can get parity at scrum time and you can get decent ball in the lineout,” the former All Blacks coach said.

“A lot of the times we were having to go to the front and it was messy or ugly, and you’re letting them get a free shot at you from the back with their defensive system the way it is.

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“We’ve got until next year, the World Cup, to get those things right, and I think we will. Once we do that, then we’re right in the hunt.”

EX-ALL BLACKS: Boks thrive on pressure

McKenzie pointed to the same scrum imbalance but was equally taken by the Kiwis’ running rugby, even as Ardie Savea’s injury disrupted their shape late on.

“The points difference and the scrum was very good for them [the Boks], and their scramble defence. They got up in their [All Blacks’] faces,” the ex-Wallabies boss said.

“But New Zealand, some of the attacking footy they played at times was as good as you’ll see. The skill execution was brilliant but not good enough to win the game, unfortunately.

“Losing Savea was probably important from a leadership point of view … They probably lost a bit of composure right at the death.”

ALSO: ‘Humble’ Kiwis look for scrum quick fix

Hansen viewed the same passage of play as a lesson New Zealand can carry forward.

“That 10-minute mark, and this will be a great learning for this team, you can’t go scoreboard-focused because it creates an outcome pressure that you don’t need.

“You just have to say, ‘What do I need to do right now, right here?’

“We probably wasted five of those 10 minutes worrying about the scoreboard … Wanting to win is not a bad thing, but you’ve just got to be in control.”

Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

The post Hansen: All Blacks not in the hunt up front appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Young Orlando Pirates defender Cristian Derbyshire believes the Buccaneers could have come back with a positive result had they taken the chances they created in the game against LA Cure Waves.

This comes after the minnows held Pirates to a frustrating draw in the first leg of the CAF Champions League first preliminary round at the Côte d’Or National Sports Complex in Mauritius on Sunday.

‘It’s not easy’

Derbyshire, who made his official debut for Pirates and helped the club keep a clean sheet, believes that the Buccaneers created enough chances to come back with a healthy lead going into the second leg in Orlando.

“It’s never easy going away from home, especially leaving the country to play outside; it’s not easy,” he told the Pirates media department.

“I think we played well; we just didn’t take our chances. We dominated the game, and the other team just sat back,” the 20-year-old defender told Pirates media.

“But it was a good performance, just not the result we wanted, and we got a point away from home.

“I feel, if things went the way they did last season, it’s going to be a bit of a different story, but I think this point we got away from home is going to be beneficial for us when we go back because you know how it is at home.

“It’s nothing I expected. Okay, I thought we were far away, maybe we’ll get one or two, but I mean we had half of the stadium with us. So, I think that’s also a few roles in how we played. They motivated us; kept us going,” he added.

Will Pirates progress to the next round?

The share of the spoils in Mauritius has left this two-legged tie tantalisingly poised, and both sides have all to do in the second leg at the Orlando Amstel Arena next Saturday.

Pirates suffered an early exit in last season’s CAF Champions League, failing to make it past the second preliminary round after fighting back to level their tie against Congolese outfit Saint Eloi Lupopo.

The Buccaneers will be hoping to avoid an embarrassing defeat by beating La Cure and reaching the next qualifying round of the continental competition, where Mamelodi Sundowns will join them.

CAF gave the Brazilians, who are the defending champions after winning the tournament last season, a bye in the first qualifying round.

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Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Teboho Mokoena admits his side failed to make the most of their chances, despite securing the win over Golden Arrows.

The Brazilians secured their fourth consecutive victory in the Betway Premiership following their 2-1 win over Golden Arrows.

Mokoena scored the winning goal as his side walked away with all three points at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium in Durban.

The Sundowns midfielder believes the Brazilians’ attacking play needs to improve in the final third after they created several opportunities.

“I think we played really well, it was a difficult game,” Mokoena told Sundowns TV.

“I think we had a good first-half, second-half we played well in patches and I think if we can fix our final third actions then we could score a lot of goals.

“Overall, it was a nice game for the fans and not a nice game for us.

“It’s very tough because they know what we do and we tried to come up with a different strategy in the second half.

“I think on the counter-attack we did really well because we had a lot of chances but we couldn’t take our chances.”

The post ‘We Could Score a Lot of Goals’ – Mokoena appeared first on SportsClub.