Rennie highlighted the resilience of his team post-match, especially after a challenging start filled with penalties and two yellow cards. He reflected on the team's performance and adaptation to the South African style of play.
"It's a good introduction for us to South African rugby and a proud province. It felt like whichever side had the ball got rewarded by the referee. We gave away a number of scrum penalties and they were able to piggyback their way, and then a handful of more penalties and then obviously yellow cards."
The New Zealand coach admired the Stormers' tactical efforts but noted areas for improvement for his squad, particularly in handling set-pieces and aerial attacks.
"We knew that they’d come at us with their set-piece, so we’ve got to be better in those areas. We expected a lot of aerial sort of attacks, and again, we probably didn’t deal with that as well as we wanted," Rennie elaborated.
Rennie was proud of how his team managed to maintain possession and exploit spaces despite the setbacks. "But just a heap of character and we’re very well conditioned, we felt if we could hang on to the ball, we could eventually find space and hurt them. And we were very clinical late in the game."
Despite challenges, including playing with fewer men, Rennie saw strategic kicking as a later game decisive factor. "There’s probably times in the second half where there wasn’t a lot on and we could have put some sort of contestable up and put the pressure back on them. When we kicked later in the game, we got rewards," he added.
The match did not conclude without a worry for Rennie, who expressed concern for Billy Proctor's condition. "He was trying to juggle for a ball and going to clean out. Looks like it may be a shoulder injury. I’m not sure yet. But yeah, there’s a few bumps and bruises," he reported.
Tuipulotu also shared his thoughts, particularly applauding the Stormers for their defensive pressure and set-piece strength. He noted the challenges his team faced in adapting to the disciplined and rigorous South African playing style.
"It’s good to come back and play against them. It’s been a while since we played them in Super Rugby, but tonight they showed the qualities of a good South African team. Certainly around their set-piece and around their defence, putting pressure on us and forcing a lot of errors, and especially around the discipline area."
As the All Blacks rest and regroup, the anticipation builds for their upcoming confrontation with the Sharks in Durban, promising another high-stakes showdown in this thrilling international rugby series.
