Bulls can expose All Blacks soft underbelly

The All Blacks were too good for the Stormers and Sharks. And they will also be too good for the Bulls.

But the 54-0 scoreline against the Sharks in Durban did not disguise New Zealand’s vulnerability where it will matter most against the Springboks.

The All Blacks scrum is in trouble.

We saw this in Cape Town against the Stormers scrum and even against a Sharks pack without six of their Springboks, they were never dominant.

The Sharks were outclassed in the worst Durban weather imaginable, but their scrum stood up. They won penalties, disrupted the All Blacks and, when the young replacements arrived, the Junior Bok props immediately forced another scrum penalty.

When thinking Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test series between the world champion Springboks and All Blacks, that matters more than the final score.

The Sharks were never going to have the playing resources to sustain a challenge without their Springboks and several other leading players. They competed for 25 minutes, trailed just 7-0 and went into half-time 14-0 down.

Then the All Blacks came.

The rain delayed the inevitable. On a dry field, it would have been much uglier.

New Zealand’s individual skill remains exceptional. Their ability to pick up a ball from the ground, transfer in contact and turn poor possession into attacking opportunity is different to anything seen regularly in South African rugby.

Once the Sharks lost their defensive intensity, which lasted less than 30 minutes, every All Blacks possession threatened seven points.

But this was an okay All Blacks performance and not a great one.

They were expected to dominate the scrum. They didn’t. Their execution, even allowing for the conditions, was not always as precise as it should have been from a side featuring so many likely Test starters.

The All Blacks were also slow to start.

Against the Sharks, that did not hurt them. Against the Springboks at Ellis Park, the same start could have them 21 points down before they have taken a breath.

There was tactical growth from Cape Town to Durban. The All Blacks kicked more than 30 times against the Sharks, which was double their kicks in Cape Town. Player of the Match and inside centre Jordie Barrett identified the space, kicked intelligently and repeatedly moved the contest into the right areas.

It was slow poison.

The Sharks resisted for as long as they could, but the pressure eventually became too much.

The night’s most memorable contribution still belonged to 103 Test All Blacks veteran Ma’a Nonu. who was making his debut for the Sharks.

At 44, Nonu’s presence was greater than any carry or tackle. His response to the All Blacks’ haka, his physicality during his 20 minutes and the respect between him, the All Blacks and the Durban crowd gave the occasion its magic.

The Sharks youngsters will remember the 54-0 defeat. They will benefit more from sharing a dressing room and training environment with Nonu.

Now it is the Bulls’ turn.

The Bulls will provide the All Blacks with a stronger examination. Their team has enough experience, forward power and URC quality to compete for an hour. Jeandré Rudolph will be a nuisance, Willie le Roux will provide calm and creativity, and the Bulls’ kicking game will test the All Blacks at altitude.

The Bulls must attack the scrum. They must win collisions and force the All Blacks to play from the wrong side of halfway.

They can trouble them, but They won’t beat them.

Zelim Nel has the All Blacks winning 47-19. My score is 41-26.

The Bulls will contribute to a better contest than Durban and, in dry conditions, there should be tries from both teams. But New Zealand’s counterattack and transition play will eventually break them.

The Bulls can make the All Blacks sweat for an hour.

Then the All Blacks will pull away.

And then the warm-ups end and the real war begins at Ellis Park on the 22nd August.