Rennie warns unbeaten All Blacks of Springbok storm after 50-19 win

New Zealand maintained their perfect tour record by beating the Bulls 50-19 in Pretoria, but coach Dave Rennie believes the All Blacks are heading towards a far more demanding challenge against the Springboks next week.

The result followed victories over the Stormers and Sharks, with New Zealand winning those matches 38-21 and 54-0. However, the South African franchises were missing most of their Springboks as Rassie Erasmus managed his international players ahead of the Test series.

Rennie said the All Blacks had created situations in Pretoria that would help prepare them for South Africa’s defensive intensity. He expects the standard and physical pressure from the back-to-back world champions to rise several levels in the next match.

The Bulls included four Springboks in their starting side, while two more were brought onto the bench shortly before the game. Rennie viewed the performance as a significant positive, particularly because New Zealand handled the contest well at altitude and improved their work in the scrum.

New Zealand produced 11 line breaks compared with one for the Bulls, although Rennie felt the visitors failed to turn some of those chances into points. He also praised the team’s effort and discipline after an earlier tour performance in which the set-piece had not been as effective.

The scrum improvement has come after technical adjustments and further work from Jason Ryan and his coaching group. Rennie said the players had benefited from the altitude experience, but acknowledged that the upcoming Springbok assignment would demand a substantial increase in intensity from the undefeated All Blacks.