All Blacks: Donald comes of age

Stephen Donald produced a solid display in both attack and defence while his goalkicking kept the All Blacks in the game. Photo / Getty Images

BLOEMFONTEIN - While some All Blacks struggled to handle the vice-like pressure of the Springboks in yesterday's 28-19 loss, one to further improve his battered rugby stocks was first five-eighth Stephen Donald.

Defensively Donald got through a power of work as the South Africans targeted his channel, mostly in vain, while he attacked the line aggressively himself and was a fluent link as New Zealand went wider than in any game this year.

Most impressive was his goalkicking, landing five from six, several from a wide angle or distance. It kept the All Blacks in the hunt as his opposite Ruan Pienaar could manage just one from five, much to the opprobrium of the Vodacom Park crowd.

It was ironic Donald should lift his overall percentage for the All Blacks to the same level as Daniel Carter on the same weekend Carter made his long-awaited return from injury at club level.

Donald has now landed 29 of 40 shots in tests for a 72.5 per cent success rate. Last year Carter kicked at 72.4 per cent (71/98) and in 2007 was slightly better at 75.4 per cent (45/61).

"I feel I've got a decent sort of rhythm at the moment and it's coming off the boot pretty nicely," Donald said.

The performance was another on the long road to acceptance in the eyes of a New Zealand rugby public who are divided over the 25-year-old's merits as playmaker following mixed outings against France last month.

If Donald was pleased with his performance it didn't show as he reflected grimly on a game he said slipped from the All Blacks' grasp.

"In the end, our execution cost us," he said.

"I thought we did bloody well in that second half to get back within four points.

"We were wearing them down. There was a real belief that we were going to crack it and it's just frustrating that in the end we were the cause of our own demise."

Donald said the way the All Blacks were able to impose their game for much of the second spell left them confident they can turn the result around at Durban this weekend.

"Absolutely. We feel we've missed one tonight," he said.

"It was probably the first time this year that we've had a bit of a lick out wide and at times we looked pretty sharp.

"We pride ourselves on coming home pretty strong ... we certainly did feel that we were going to crack them."

- NZPA