PRETORIA, South Africa — The New Zealand All Blacks concluded their pre-test series warm-up schedule in dominant fashion on Saturday, cruising to a 50-19 victory over South Africa’s provincial side the Bulls at Pretoria’s iconic Loftus Versfeld stadium. The win gives the world-famous side a perfect preparation heading into their highly anticipated four-test series against defending world champions South Africa, the Springboks, starting next weekend.
New Zealand’s squad controlled the contest from the opening whistle, racing out to an unassailable 24-0 lead by halftime. The high altitude of Pretoria, a new matchday condition for many of the All Blacks’ squad members on this tour, led to a more competitive, back-and-forth second 40 minutes, but it did little to derail New Zealand’s momentum. By the final whistle, the All Blacks crossed for eight tries, with wingers Josh Moorby and Leroy Carter, plus captain Codie Taylor each scoring a brace. The three-tries concession by the All Blacks on Saturday ended a 124-minute scoreless streak across their three warm-up matches against the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls.
While the bulk of the All Blacks’ second-string squad got the runaround against the Bulls, the match provided critical game time that will pay dividends across the grueling upcoming test schedule: four test matches will be held across four consecutive weekends, forcing the All Blacks to dig deep into their roster depth. Speaking to broadcaster SuperSport after the match, Taylor emphasized that the upcoming test series against the Springboks will be a step up in intensity from the warm-up fixture. “No disrespect to the Bulls but they (the Springboks) will lift the tempo and physicality,” Taylor said. “That’s what test match footy is all about. It’s an exciting week ahead.”
Despite the lopsided final score, several All Blacks players turned in standout performances in the expansive, high-energy contest. Flanker Anton Segner, captain Codie Taylor (who was returning to action) and center Rieko Ioane all impressed, while the newly minted front row combination of Taylor, props Tyrel Lomax and Xavier Numia — making their first appearances of the tour — delivered a rock-solid set-piece display. Numia pulled off a critical early stop to prevent a lineout maul try for the Bulls, before the All Blacks pushed back the Bulls’ attacking five-meter scrum in a show of physical dominance. Inside backs Josh Jacomb, Anton Lienert-Brown and Ioane consistently created space out wide for the team’s finishers, capitalizing on the reliable platform built by the forward pack.
Moorby crossed for his two tries while Bulls prop Francois Klopper was serving a sin-bin spell, with Taylor following up with two tries of his own: the first from a quick self-taken tap penalty, and the second from a turnover counter-ruck. The Bulls got on the board immediately after halftime, breaking New Zealand’s scoreless concession streak when lock Ruan Vermaak burrowed over from a lineout. Referee Nika Amashukeli overruled a TMO finding that Vermaak had fallen short of the try line to award the score.
The second half continued with tit-for-tat scoring. Carter crossed with a sharp stepping display along the touchline, before offloading to Ioane to add another All Blacks try. The Bulls responded with tries from winger Stravino Jacobs and captain Marcell Coetzee, while Carter and Wallace Sititi added late scores for the All Blacks to seal the 50-point haul, the second consecutive warm-up match in which New Zealand hit the 50-point mark.
Though the Bulls were considered the strongest provincial opponent the All Blacks would face on their South African tour, the side was underprepared for the fixture, having ended their United Rugby Championship season on June 19 and cut short their offseason break. The side struggled to match the All Blacks’ intensity, rarely testing New Zealand with contestable kicks despite playing an up-tempo, ambitious style similar to the All Blacks’. Taylor acknowledged some unforced errors from his side in the second half, but said the warm-up campaign had set the All Blacks up perfectly for test rugby. “There were a few mistakes in there, but we’ve played three games now and experienced some South African footy and are set up nicely to play some test matches now,” Taylor said.
Across in Johannesburg, the Springboks are putting the final touches on their preparations after a split squad saw them pick up a 17-10 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires last weekend. Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus said the squad has had sufficient time to recover and is fully focused on the upcoming series. “The players are well recovered, and ready to give everything for the forthcoming tests,” Erasmus said.