Steve Hansen says New Zealand’s form is nothing to worry about after a lack of penetration in Saturday’s 16-16 draw with South Africa. In a match that, despite another round of fixtures to come, was billed as the Rugby Championship decider, Jack Goodhue scored the All Blacks’ only try on 37 minutes to see them go in 7-6 up at the break.
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Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga kept the scoreboard ticking for the hosts, who lost lock Brodie Retallick to a suspected dislocated shoulder on the hour. However, after starring on debut in last weekend’s 35-17 win over Australia, replacement South Africa scrum-half Jantjies went over in the closing moments to make it 16-14.
A TMO review was required to check the legality of the score following a suspected knock-on, but the try stood, allowing Handre Pollard to show nerves of steel to level the scores with the conversion. After once again experimenting with his line-up, Kiwi coach Steve Hansen was philosophical in the aftermath. “There were enough signs there to show that we will be able to hurt some teams,” he said. “So we won’t panic.”
