Battered Boks finish third

The Springboks’ two-from-six win record sees them finishing behind the All Blacks and the Wallabies in the 2016 Rugby Championship, writes JON CARDINELLI.

The All Blacks smashed the Boks 57-15 at Kings Park on Saturday. The result allowed them to finish the Rugby Championship tournament with 30 log points. This year, the All Blacks have claimed six bonus-point wins in succession.

The Wallabies claimed a 33-21 bonus-point victory over the Pumas at Twickenham to boost their own tally to 14 log points. After six games, Australia have won three and lost three, and have ultimately finished four log points ahead of South Africa.

Last year, the Boks finished dead last in a truncated Rugby Championship. They lost all three of their matches to Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.

The optimists might claim that the Boks have made some progress. They have won two more matches in 2016, and have finished the tournament in third place instead of fourth. And yet, the stats tell a different story. The Boks finished the 2016 campaign with a points difference of minus 63.

At the end of the 2016 Rugby tournament, the Boks rank fourth out of four teams for tries (eight) and points (117) scored. Overall, they conceded 22 tries and 180 points.

Their record against the All Blacks in this tournament tells a story. The Boks scored just one try and 28 points in 160 minutes of rugby. The Boks’ defence was exposed by the New Zealanders when one considers that they conceded a whopping 98 points and 15 tries in just two games.

Allister Coetzee’s Bok side have lost five of their nine Tests in 2016 (for a 44% win record). They are yet to win a Test away from home.

Photo: Anne Laing/HSM Images

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