On Saturday, August 13, 2022, Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa, was packed to the rafters. The stadium was buzzing with the dark green of the South African jersey. In a deafening din, a Boeing 737 in Springbok colors twice flew low over the stadium. In the middle of the pitch, as they began their traditional haka, the New Zealanders looked tiny. On the road into the stadium, they had seen the columns of their rivals' supporters lined up like soldiers ready for assault. Insults had flown. Spittle had hit the bus windows. For that second day of the Rugby Championship – an international competition bringing together four Southern Hemisphere nations – the All Blacks had a date in hell.
They were starting to get used to it. For months, the best rugby team in history had been mired in an unprecedented slump. There was the long 2021 tour of the Northern Hemisphere, which ended with two defeats in Ireland and France. The lesson taught by Les Bleus in a euphoric Stade de France – where they meet again for the opening match of the World Cup – was particularly hard to digest. Then, the following summer, the Ireland team traveled to New Zealand, where they won two of the three matches against the host team. A feat unheard of.
So it was a very depleted New Zealand team that was facing the South African obstacle, having lost five of their last six matches. It was hard to recognize a team that had become clumsy, hesitant and ordinary, unthinkable and intolerable for players forged by a hatred of defeat and a habit of reaching the top, in a country where they are much more than just 15 sportsmen on a pitch.
'The worst All Blacks in history'
The country's press had been going wild, slamming "the worst All Blacks in history." In Wellington, at the federation headquarters, possible replacements for coach Ian Foster were being sounded out. When he took to the pitch at Ellis Park, Foster thought he was watching his last game in the top job. Eighty minutes later, captain Sam Cane and scrum-half Aaron Smith were wiping away tears of joy. They had beaten the Springboks, saved their coach's head and taken a small step toward escaping hell.
Four games later, and despite another infamous defeat to Argentina, they even won the Rugby Championship. On their autumn tour of the Northern Hemisphere, the problems were still there, but so were the signs of remission. While they struggled to beat Japan and drew in England, the All Blacks beat Scotland and Wales at home. It's anyone's guess exactly what state the New Zealand beast was in when it came time to put away the jersey at the end of the season.
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