All Blacks win in Cape Town, but Stormers expose early flaws on South Africa tour
South Africa’s DHL Stadium had a game on Friday night, and the All Blacks had questions to answer. New Zealand opened its Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry
South Africa’s DHL Stadium had a game on Friday night, and the All Blacks had questions to answer. New Zealand opened its Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour with a 38-21 win over the Stormers in Cape Town, but the margin only took shape late after the home side had kept the tourists under real pressure for most of the match.
The final score looked comfortable. The performance did not. A spirited Stormers side, playing out of season and without 10 Springboks, twice dragged the contest back to level and kept the match tied at 14-14 until 12 minutes from the end before New Zealand finally pulled away.
Stormers keep it tight
For long stretches, the hosts asked hard questions in the areas that matter most in South Africa. Their line speed rattled New Zealand’s attack. The contestable kicking game caused problems. The scrum wobbled. The All Blacks also had to deal with a maul that did not always come under control.
That made the night more revealing than the scoreline suggests. New Zealand were forced to sweat by a passionate Stormers team that had little more than effort and structure to lean on, yet still found enough to unsettle a touring side expected to win more easily.
Late burst papers over cracks
The tourists settled the game only after the Stormers ran out of steam and lost their second scrum-half, leaving them without reserve backs. New Zealand then struck three tries in the last eight minutes and made the result look cleaner than it had been for most of the night.
Even then, the win did not hide the faults. The All Blacks were hit by ill-discipline and picked up three yellow cards. Their set-piece struggled. Their handling under pressure was shaky. And for 68 minutes, they were held to a 14-14 deadlock.
It was New Zealand’s first full-scale tour of South Africa in 30 years, and the opening test of a schedule that includes eight matches, four against the Springboks, before the final game in the United States. On this evidence, the next steps will matter. A lot.
