All Black detractors will often state how it is all about the present – and that history and statistics count for little game to game. This is now a lesson the Springboks have to learn.

At Newlands, they showed that they are not the world’s best team, with a 2008 ledger that will now read one win and two losses against their blackest of foes. Yes, they are and will be world champions for the next four years – but even that statement sounds stale with the after-taste of the Cape Town defeat.

For South Africa to claim an unlikely Tri Nations crown, they would need to defeat the Wallabies twice, collect bonus points from both games and win by around 40 points – and then hope the All Blacks lose to Australia without a bonus point. Meanwhile the All Blacks, written off by even their own fans less than a month ago, are now favourites to claim their ninth trophy in 13 years in the world’s most difficult international rugby competition, the Tri-Nations.

For the world champions, some will state that they made mistakes before a ball was kicked in anger. For the first time in living memory, the New Zealand haka was drowned out by thousands of bongo drums handed out by a South African telecommunications company. History has proven that All Black sides do not take fondly to disrespect to their oldest tradition.

The absence of captain John Smit was gravely missed – and Victor Matfield again proved that he is not the inspired captain that international rugby teams require. The Springboks appeared rudderless and, despite opportunities, fell apart in the final 20 minutes. 

They lacked the ability to impose physically on the All Blacks and the South African loose-forward trio was completely outplayed. While question marks were valid about the officiating of the match – as well as claims that New Zealand cheated at the ruck – the reality is that as a breakaway Richie McCaw is without peer in the world, and the All Black back row is again becoming the vehicle of destruction that Kiwi supporters expect. No team can turn over the ball 29 times at Test match level and hope to win.

While the improvement in the Springbok scrum was obvious, for them to be unable to score a point is a problem. The third loss of the world champions' reign indicates that despite the experience and talent at Peter De Villiers' disposal, there is a lack of fluency in their play. The new coach's desire to implement a more flamboyant style to the game is hurting the South Africans. 

In 2008, when the Springboks have won they have been pragmatic, brutal and physically imposing. They started last Saturday night as if they were already 19 points down, and despite opportunities - with Jean de Villiers, Pierre Spies and “The Beast” having excellent games and ten World Cup winners in the starting 15 - nobody calmed the Springboks when it mattered.

The All Blacks were not as magnificent as the final score suggested, with their all-powerful scrum outplayed by the Springbok pack. But they showed exceptional tactical nous, led by commanding performances by their halves. Jimmy Cowan hopefully cemented his place as the starting halfback, while their defence was outstanding, gang-tackling the South African ball carriers and scrambling in a manner unseen by previous New Zealand defensive systems. 

Despite lack of domination at the set piece, the manner in which the All Blacks controlled the ruck was impressive. Richie McCaw – arguably for the first time in his illustrious reign as captain - controlled the game and influenced referee Matt Goddard impressively, while Matfield seemed to annoy the Australian official. While he did not lose the Springboks the game, it showed again that the standard of international officials in the game is poor.

Rodney So’oialo and Jerome Kaino showed a daunting presence in the ruck, both looking world-class in their natural playing positions. This is an All Black team rebuilding – but to be able to do so around the brilliance of Dan Carter and McCaw is a tremendous luxury, with both men perhaps the front runners to the IRB Player of the Year awards.

All Blacks coaches Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith – who looked like bumbling idiots after the loss to the Wallabies – are again looking the three wise men as tactics have allowed the All Blacks to impressively defeat their two great rivals in recent weeks. The win has elevated the All Blacks to the position of the No.1 team in the world, while the Springboks will drop to third with another loss in the next couple of weeks.

It would be dramatic to say that the South Africans are in trouble, but the alarm bells are ringing and if the atrocious travellers of world rugby, the Wallabies, inflict a loss in the next fortnight, it is fair to say that South Africa will consider their premier team to be in crisis. Furthermore, such a loss will ensure that the world champions will finish the Tri-Nations at the bottom of the table.

Last year will be remembered as the year the Springboks hoisted the William Webb Ellis Cup for the second time. But in 2008, the All Blacks have gone far to placate their rugby public by beating the world champions 2-1, with a remarkable aggregate score of 66 to 38. World Cup chokers, maybe, but the year post Cup often sees New Zealand dominate. Hard decisions will now need to be made by the Springbok brains trust, to ensure that their first year of championship reign is not remembered for all the wrong reasons.

                             P   W   L    PD   Pts

New Zealand     5     3   2   +42   14          

Australia             3     2   1     -7     9

South Africa       4     1   3    -35    5