Rennie accuses Springboks of 'walking around' as All Blacks scrum survives Johannesburg test

Dave Rennie has accused the Springboks of illegally rotating the scrum after the All Blacks were repeatedly penalised at their own put-in during a bruising set-piece battle in Johannesburg, though New Zealand ultimately turned the tables to secure the result.

South Africa dominated the scrum through much of the contest, exploiting their forward power to force penalties whenever halfback Cam Roigard was slow to clear the ball. The pressure was relentless, and the All Blacks’ starting front row struggled to provide a stable platform for much of the afternoon.

“We will always debate scrums, and I reckon every team does,” Rennie said post-match. “When you get penalised, you question whether they’re walking around. They got penalised for walking around eventually, and that was probably a key moment in the game.”

That key moment arrived in the 55th minute, when replacements George Bower, Asafo Aumua, and Fletcher Newell had come on to shore up the set piece. With the score at 19-16, South Africa had already turned down a kickable penalty to go back to the scrum — a decision that backfired when the All Blacks won a penalty of their own to swing momentum.

The Springboks’ cause was further damaged late on, with two yellow cards in the final ten minutes, including one to a flanker, leaving the home side short-handed at a critical stage.

Rennie also revealed that loosehead prop Ethan de Groot had played through illness after spending much of the previous day in bed. “De Groot, to be fair, was crook overnight,” Rennie said. “Gruda went home early from the captain’s run yesterday and spent a large time in bed. He’s tough and he barred up and gave us plenty.”

De Groot’s participation next week is in doubt, however, after he and lock Josh Lord suffered a nasty head clash late in the first half. Rennie was candid about the timeline. “They’re only two injuries tonight. Obviously a head clash, which is problematic long term. Neither of those guys can play on Tuesday, and probably can’t play Saturday, depending on the protocols.”

Captain Ardie Savea praised the composure his forwards showed when the match was in the balance. “We talked about being composed under tight, tight moments,” Savea said. “You can just hear the boys really present in the moment. What you can ask for as a leader is just everyone do the job, and everyone did that.”