Sir John Kirwan has sympathised with Leroy Carter after the Chiefs wing's defensive mistakes proved costly in the All Blacks' 29-24 defeat to the Springboks at FNB Stadium, a result that handed South Africa a 2-1 series lead.
Carter was culpable for two of the Boks' tries in Soweto, first missing a tackle on Damian de Allende in the build-up to Kurt-Lee Arendse's score before a rushed attempted hit on Jesse Kriel allowed the outside centre to cross. The errors undid Carter's positive attacking work, which included an assist for Will Jordan's try and a key role in Ardie Savea's second.
"I really like Leroy and I've been in a similar situation before where if you miss a tackle and you're a lock, no one really notices because you're in the middle of the field," Kirwan said. "When you miss a couple of tackles like that, you feel like digging a hole. Leroy will learn from that. What he did was rush, so when you're in a situation like that and your opposition is coming at you, and you go too fast at him, he's got all the options."
Springboks' scrum statement
Kirwan conceded the better side prevailed, pointing to South Africa's second-half dominance as the decisive factor. "The best team won. I thought the South African team was outstanding when they needed to be. We had about 15 minutes in the second half where they just dominated us," he said. "Hats off to the South African team, they were pretty good. I'm really proud that the boys stayed close and the difference is you had a very good mature side that know how to win."
The Springboks' scrum provided a platform for that second-half surge, with Wilco Louw anchoring a set-piece that repeatedly shunted the All Blacks backwards. The statement shove just before half-time set the tone, and the dominance continued after Dave Rennie introduced a fresh front row. Malcolm Marx's 65th-minute try, scored off the back of a scrum that transitioned into a maul, epitomised South Africa's forward superiority.
Former Springboks lock Victor Matfield attributed the victory to experience and cohesion. "Actually, South Africa were too loose in that first half but in that second half you could just see this is a very experienced team that has played together for nine years," he said. "They just had another gear and it came through. The experience, playing together for a long time, there was just an extra gear for them to go to."
The All Blacks can still level the series when the sides meet in Baltimore, but they will need to address both their scrum frailties and the defensive lapses that allowed South Africa to capitalise on a match that remained tight until the final whistle.