This game is the opportunity to remember the historical legacy to rugby from NZ. As a side note, it would have been better to watch NZ games to observe the evolution of the legacy instead of being coerced into watching SA rugby games to check a non existing quota policy.
For decades, the men in black as they are called by rugby afficionados left theirs marks on the rugby game by staying faithful to game principles. They had convictions on the way the game must be played, they stuck to them and made them prevail on many rugby fields.
Lately, though, things have been changed and NZ no longer show the same dedication to the principles.
This game provided heaps of material to pay attention to.
Among which, the 10 performances and the spell spent playing 15 vs 14 players.
Due to the game principles, usually, a NZ ten was distincted from other 10s as he had to articulate the forward pack and the back line based on fundamentally different principles.
While this 10's performance contributed to the victory, the way he directed the game, his decision making, his passing and kicking patterns do not belong to an NZ registry and made him look as if he was drilled and trained in a north hemispher academy.
The numerical superiorty period is another tell. Usually, because of their ball displacement based game principles, conceding such a disadvantage was a kiss of death as it provides the ABs with multiple opportunities to overload a defensive line when in possession.
And the ABs were in possession during the most of the spell. Yet they made nothing happen. Which is very unexpected from a NZ side.
Of course, this must be toned down as their attitude came from a larger game plan.
Nevertheless, as shown by the previous game against SA rugby, it must be accepted that the recent NZ sides are ill at ease to express the same aptitudes as a typical NZ side from the past.
They no longer manage to stay true to their game principles.
It seems that globalization finally got the NZ scalp, forcing them in a uniformized vision of the game.
The next year will tell about this but at the moment, it appears the break is being made between the past and the future, the lineage is broken.
