Analysis: New Zealand's World Cup defeat and the All Blacks' record loss to South Africa adds up to a very bad week for the game here, writes Patrick McKendry.
Seven days after the All Blacks' collapse to their worst defeat on home soil against the Springboks, the defending champion Black Ferns have been knocked out of the running for the World Cup in a record-breaking loss to Canada.
A bad week for New Zealand Rugby, the organisation which leverages off the sustained excellence and standards of their highest profile teams in black, and a bad week for the game in this country.
A couple of themes run through both defeats.
Say what you like about the attacking strategies of the Black Ferns, a side that has hung its reputation on the hook of being willing and able to score tries from anywhere – its so-called "DNA" – it was their defence which was most notably missing during the 34-19 semifinal thrashing at the hands of Canada in Bristol.
Canada, led by livewire halfback Justine Pelletier, who offered an attacking threat that the Black Ferns could not match, scored five tries in total, and the game was all but gone for New Zealand in the first half when they leaked four for a 24-7 scoreline at the break.
Canada handed the Ferns their first ever Rugby World Cup loss since 2014. (Source: 1News)
It was not necessarily the Black Ferns' inability to tackle the Canadians, a team that does not benefit from any financial backing from its national organisation and which helped raise money for their trip to England by "Crowdfunding".
It was their passivity on defence, a lack of line speed which enabled their opponents to quickly build momentum. In contrast, Canada were far more committed, connected and played at a pace New Zealand could not live with.
Simply put, whichever defensive system Black Ferns were following did not work and it was perhaps instructive to hear skipper Kennedy Tukuafu talk afterwards about how far the women’s game has come.
"It's pretty special to be part of this legacy, to see how big this tournament's been, the biggest there's ever been, so we can be proud of contributing to that," Tukuafu said.
Unfortunately for Tukuafu and the Black Ferns, it seems clear that they have been unable to move with the times.
As for the All Blacks, who assemble today and start training tomorrow for their Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia at Eden Park on Saturday, they were also exposed defensively in their 43-10 defeat to South Africa in Wellington.
The world champion Boks, beaten a week earlier at Eden Park, scored 36 unanswered points against an All Blacks team who looked utterly devoid of ideas.
New Zealand's players put in front of the media tomorrow will no doubt talk about “brutal” reviews after they examine the wreckage of their performance at the Cake Tin.
We will see if they have genuinely learned anything on Saturday night as they attempt to extend their unbeaten record at their fortress to 52 Tests.
Eden Park has been a graveyard for Wallabies’ hopes and dreams for a long time – they have not beaten the All Blacks there since 1986, and while the home side will be favourites even despite the recent rejuvenation of the Aussies under head coach Joe Schmidt, it would be no surprise to see them fail again in Perth in the return match on October 4 such is the boom and bust nature of this team.
An associated question: has the rest of the rugby world caught up to New Zealand or have the standards at the All Blacks and Black Ferns dropped?
It’s impossible to say for sure. It’s probably more the former but the concept of a decline in some areas cannot be dismissed.
New Zealand’s two top teams once held a big advantage in fitness, ball skills and the ability to see and use space on the pitch but improvements among the rest of the rugby world have resulted in a far more level playing field, metaphorically speaking.
The greater concern may be the suspicion that New Zealand’s status as the great rugby innovator is now well in the past.
The All Blacks, once the great finishers of Test matches, were out-thought and over-run in the second half in Wellington, and the Black Ferns were out-thought and over-run in the first half in Bristol. They were performances in two defeats which should send shockwaves through the national organisation.
For the Black Ferns, world champions since 2017, finding the appropriate motivation for a bronze medal playoff match against France at Twickenham on Saturday night NZT may not be as easy as the task facing the All Blacks who have a record to uphold, a Bledisloe Cup to retain and a Rugby Championship to contest.
Either way, a big week ahead for New Zealand rugby and New Zealand Rugby.
SHARE ME