A podcast jab that landed
Sir John Kirwan did not soften it. Speaking on the Rivals podcast this morning, the All Blacks great said watching South Africa play bores him to tears, and he did not stop at the headline. He pointed to a stretch of roughly a quarter of an hour in the Cape Town Test where, by his count, the world champions did nothing but put the ball in the air.
His argument is about style rather than scoreline. Kirwan likes what Dave Rennie has built with New Zealand, a side moving the ball wide and trusting the men outside. He said South African supporters came up to him after the second Test to tell him they had enjoyed watching the All Blacks play, even in defeat. His verdict on the Springboks was shorter: the way they play frustrates him.
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Matfield refuses to take it
Victor Matfield answered in the same conversation. The lock who won 127 caps and a World Cup in 2007 told Kirwan that South Africa loves a big scrum, loves driving over the top of people, and loves winning a box-kick back, and that crowds at home cheer those moments rather than tolerate them. Beat us with your style, he said, but do not tell us ours is wrong.
Then he turned the question around. Fifteen phases moving left to right and back again without gaining ground, Matfield suggested, is not exactly gripping either. Kirwan conceded that the two nations play to different DNAs, agreed the Springboks are excellent at theirs, and immediately repeated that it bores him.
Two philosophies, three days out
The row lands with the third Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry waiting at FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday. The series is level at one apiece after South Africa’s 33-26 win in Cape Town, and the two sides are separated by 0.54 of a ranking point at the top of the World Rugby table. Whatever bores Kirwan has not cost the Springboks their position.
His framing was that the All Blacks carry more risk and use all fifteen players, while South Africa build from set piece and territory. Matfield’s reply was that risk is a preference, not a virtue. Neither man moved an inch.
This is also not Kirwan’s first shot at the South African camp on this tour. He questioned Rassie Erasmus over the tour schedule last month and got a similar reception. Saturday decides which philosophy goes 2-1 up.
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