All Blacks great: We’re still better than Boks

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Jeff Wilson has dismissed New Zealand’s record loss to South Africa and its relevance on the World Cup, saying that effort from the Springboks was the best they’re capable of.

The All Blacks crashed to a 35-7, five-tries-to-one result to the Boks at Twickenham on Friday, and Ian Foster’s charges were blasted as “panicky and rattled” by Kiwi media in the wake of their biggest defeat ever.

It was also an ideal way for the Boks to serve notice of their intentions ahead of a World Cup title defence they start against Scotland in Marseille on 8 September, as well as exact revenge for a heavy loss to the Kiwis in Auckland on 15 July.

Speaking on the latest episode of Sky Sport‘s The Breakdown, Wilson argued that a red card for All Blacks lock Scott Barrett, coupled with an inability from the Kiwis to dominate the gainline, afforded the Boks an opportunity to achieve their optimum performance.

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“If you think about the success we had against the Springboks at Mount Smart Stadium, it was the fact that we were able to get some momentum and our ability to get over the advantage line,” the 60-Test former winger said.

“We didn’t get that this game. The great carries that we got from Shannon Frizell, what we got from Scott Barrett… If you look at what we were trying to achieve, that’s the only way to create space.

“The tempo of this game [and] our inability to get over the advantage line… we just weren’t making breaks, we weren’t going forward.

“That didn’t allow Will Jordan to get into the game and as you watched it, the stop-start nature of the affair, the fact that we were down to 14 men, the Springboks didn’t need to overcommit to breakdowns because their defence is exactly what a world-champion defence should look like.

“But the great thing for me is, that’s the best that the Springboks can play, that’s it. We know that we can play so much better, and there’s not another team in this [World Cup] coming forward that we can anticipate can play like that.”

Photo: @Springboks/Twitter

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