All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has vowed his side will deliver a significantly improved scrum performance when they face the Springboks in the second Test of the Greatest Rivalry series at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
Speaking after his side's 33-16 victory at Ellis Park, Rennie revealed New Zealand have consulted World Rugby regarding set-piece issues from the opening Test. The All Blacks dominated large swathes of the contest, outscoring South Africa by five tries to one and winning 14 turnovers, yet struggled at scrum time for much of the match.
Rennie has made several changes to his pack, with George Bower starting at loosehead in place of the concussed Ethan de Groot, whilst Tupou Vaa'i shifts from flanker to the second row and Simon Parker comes in at blindside.
The New Zealand coach identified multiple areas requiring attention beyond the scrum. "We struggled to get go-forward in the contact area, especially early on when the Boks were full of energy," Rennie said. "Discipline-wise, we conceded way too many soft penalties, especially early on in the game, which is disappointing. It's something we spoke about, especially giving them easy entries into our 22, so that needs to be better."
Despite the comprehensive scoreline, South Africa dominated several statistical categories in the first Test, including post-contact metres (289 to 197), ball carries (96 to 86), territory (59 percent) and possession (51 percent). The Springboks also boasted a superior lineout percentage of 93 percent compared to New Zealand's 79 percent.
Rennie concluded: "I think scrum-wise… we've spoken to World Rugby because we had a couple of issues there from our point of view, so there we will be a lot better, and that was a massive win."