View photosKEY POINTS:
There is some sort of inverse dynamic going on here that is exposing the All Blacks as less likely world champions every day the tournament creeps nearer.
From the imperious highs of the Lions slaughter and the shock and awe blitz through Europe last year, we now have a faltering unit who appear to have bought the public's doubt in their own ability.
Last night was never about the result. Spanking the cannon fodder the Boks had sent over would never stop the seriously lonely from venting their latest tuppeny-bit theories of doom on talkback radio.
There needed to be relentless accuracy, ferocious intensity and a demonstration of the full power of the black beast to ward off fears that the blips of recent weeks weren't serious arterial ruptures.
A diagnosis can't really be made quite yet, although there is certainly more reason to be worried than not.
Someone seriously sad with too much time on their hands will reveal exactly when it was the All Blacks last went 110 minutes without scoring a try.
Being shut out in the final 40 in Melbourne and then for a further 70 minutes in Christchurch is cause for concern.
This is a side that the world supposedly fears on account of its offensive threat. This is a side that plays total rugby designed to score tries from anywhere by anyone.
The tries haven't dried up because the All Blacks are flirting with some more gritty stuff. They have dried up because the error count was again extraordinarily high.
The All Blacks are also supposedly a side who have healed their psychological cracks. Yet for most of the second half, they were edgy, allowing their frustration to blight their judgement and execution.
Balls were dropped under no pressure and at one point in the second half, Doug Howlett ignored a four-man overlap to cut back inside and be swallowed up.
Brendon Leonard's late try seemed to settle things down by removing the fear that the game could be lost and Nick Evans and Daniel Carter added a late gloss that the collective effort probably deserved purely in terms of commitment.
The win, in the end, had to be taken as a positive, as did the fact the All Blacks rediscovered their passion. The energy was there in a way it never was in Melbourne.
Richie McCaw, clearly stung by his own sloppy work in Australia, took responsibility for carrying the ball.
Without Jerry Collins, someone needed to put their hand up and volunteer for a seriously sore and bruised Sunday morning. McCaw fancied it, obviously taking the view that his leadership is more in the follow me rather than listen to me mould.
But the energy was never really accompanied with a clinical edge. There was just a hint of hesitation in most things the All Blacks did. The runners stacked up too flat, the passing was just a little harried and the overall impression was of a side not quite in control.
It wouldn't be right to blame that uncertainty on Carter. The first five was steadier, more certain with his kicking and played with his head higher than in recent weeks. Yet there is an unmistakable fragility about his work.
He's not been the commanding figure of old and because of that, the attacking lines are still too lateral, as if too many players are happy to shovel the ball on and consider their job done.
Luke McAlister was the honourable exception. He made one bustling run in the first half that was unfortunately capped with a clumsy pass to Howlett, and again early in the second, McAlister scorched through the Bok defensive screen when he ran a decisive angle.
The youngster must now be nudging ahead of Aaron Mauger in their intriguing battle to wear the No 12 shirt.
He adds a penetrative dimension that Mauger lacks and that directness is something the All Blacks will be reluctant to dispense with when they face the Wallabies this week.
The game in Auckland is the last chance for the All Blacks to restore their own failing confidence ahead of the World Cup. But who knows, the traditional strategy of coming into the tournament on the peak of the form curve hasn't worked in the past.
New Zealand 33 (B. Leonard, N. Evans, D. Carter tries; D. Carter 3 cons, 4 pens) South Africa 6 (D. Hougaard 2 pens). HT 6-3.
