Henry’s game plan backfires

NEW ZEALAND coach Graham Henry has defended his side’s “attack from anywhere” plan following their 31-19 loss to South Africa in Saturday’s Tri-Nations match at Durban’s Absa Stadium.

While the Springboks played a sound territorial game and were happy to use the kicking of fly-half Morne Steyn – who scored all his side’s points with a try, eight penalties and a conversion – to create pressure, the New Zealanders looked to attack with ball in hand.

But poor execution under pressure from a swarming South African defence and ill-discipline let the All Blacks down and allowed Steyn too many kickable penalties.

“We had to play a certain game,” Henry said. “If we had taken some of the opportunities we had created it may have been a bit closer and it may have been a better contest.

“We didn’t execute as well as we would have hoped but I think that is a sign of pressure. But obviously we have got to work on that and make sure we improve our execution as the season goes on.”

It was clear from the start the New Zealanders did not want to kick the ball out and allow South Africa to use their dominant lineout as a platform to attack.

But a poor kick-chase game, vulnerability under the high ball and the risky run-at-all-costs attitude meant they spent large periods of the match camped in their own half as the Springboks turned the screws.

The loss, the second in as many weeks to the Springboks, leaves the All Blacks facing an uphill battle to retain the Tri-Nations title for another year.

Henry and his men will now be hoping Australia can halt the world champions’ march in Cape Town next weekend before the trans-Tasman foes lock horns again in Sydney on August 22.

He said: “It is always a challenge when you are relying on other sides to produce the right result I would imagine.

“But we have got three games to go and we just have to be positive.

“The only thing we can do is look forward and look to improve.”

It was however a memorable night for the hosts, who beat New Zealand in successive Tests at home for the first time in 33 years. Steyn also set a new Tri-Nations record by scoring all 31 points, breaking the 10-year record for New Zealand great Andrew Mehrtens by two points.

John Smit became the most capped Test captain with 60 appearances as skipper, eclipsing the record held jointly by former Wallabies captain George Gregan and ex-England skipper Will Carling, while Bryan Habana and Jean De Villiers earned their 50th caps.

But for the hooker-turned tighthead prop, the focus had simply been on ensuring they repeated the level of intensity displayed in the first win in Bloemfontein last week.

De Villiers said: “Our biggest task was just to make sure we brought what we did last week and we managed to do that and do what was necessary.

“We played clever footy for the last part of the game and piled the pressure on so we’re pretty happy with the result.”