Plum: All Blacks too small for Boks?

John Plumtree says the All Blacks may have to start picking bigger players to compete physically with the Springboks.

The world champions claimed a 3-1 series win in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, with New Zealand ultimately unable to live with South Africa’s physicality, particularly up front.

The Boks dominated the scrums and lineouts during the series, with their forward supremacy underlined by a memorable 25m maul try for Malcolm Marx in the third Test at FNB Stadium.

Speaking on PlayZN’s TMO podcast, former Sharks coach and All Blacks assistant Plumtree highlighted New Zealand’s inability to stop the Boks from consistently winning the gainline.

“When the Boks are coming around the corner, being very direct and using their tough runners like [Jasper] Wiese, Eben [Etzebeth], [Malcolm] Marx, those types of characters, you’ve got to be accurate in your tackle technique.

“Generally, you’ve got to be able to put two bodies into each tackle. For me, the All Blacks just looked a bit passive, particularly in their 22.

“Against the Boks, you have to have two in every time to stop the momentum.”

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Plumtree questioned whether the All Blacks have the personnel to do so.

“You’ve got to look at whether it’s just that the Boks are too physical or whether it’s a technique thing,” he said.

“That’s something the All Blacks will have to look at, because if it’s a physical thing and these guys are just too big for us, then they have to start picking some bigger players.

“There’s no use going in with a pack that can’t compete. That’s always going to be a struggle, no matter how good your attack is.”

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“I was really, really hoping that we wouldn’t be talking about physical dominance because that’s in the past,” he added. “That’s where the All Blacks have prided themselves.

“Right now, they’re just not competing. The scoreboard is competitive and a lot of the stats are competitive, but some of the big moments or rocks of the game – the scrum, the lineout, the high-ball contests, which are so important now – that’s where the Boks have dominated.”

Plumtree said New Zealand had failed to counter the Boks in the air.

“The All Blacks had a strategy of a centre or wing running back and catching the ball over the shoulder. It didn’t work against the Boks because the Boks were committing and were just happy to get a hand up.

“Whether the ball went forward or backwards didn’t really worry the Boks because if it went backwards, they picked up the scraps. If it went forward and the All Blacks didn’t get it, it would come back for the scrum.”

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Plumtree said the set-piece was the All Blacks’ biggest concern.

“They knew when they came over here that the scrum was going to be a big area of the game,” he said.

“For me, [Tyrel] Lomax and [Ethan] de Groot, who have played the Boks before – they were there even when I was there – really haven’t grown in their games. They’ve marked these guys before. Codie Taylor as well.

“That was pretty disappointing for me.”

Photo: Alan Spiegler/Gallo Images