Knocks deny gutsy halfback Brisbane showdown

Halfback Piri Weepu fields his teammates' accolades after his pivotal try on Saturday night. Picture / Mark Mitchell

New Zealand 35 South Africa 17

Piri Weepu thought he could battle through a knee problem but the All Black medics have ruled him out of Bledisloe Cup 2 this weekend in Brisbane.

The rugged halfback battled through shoulder and knee injuries for 57 minutes before he was forced to call it quits against the Springboks in Wellington on Saturday.

Weepu was a powerful force around the fringes for the All Blacks. His abrasive surges put the Boks under strain and he saved one try with an enveloping tackle.

His try near halftime was a turning point in what was a fitful spectacle, one which ground to a near halt because of the Boks' negative tactics and referee Joel Jutge's reluctance to let the game flow.

Man of the match Daniel Carter retrieved a loose Springbok clearing kick to counter-attack with Mils Muliaina and Scott Hamilton before Weepu barged over.

He had stayed on the field after suffering nerve damage in his shoulder in the 12th minute, something he later revealed as a regular occupational hazard although he had been free of problems for the past six months.

Later he wrenched the medial ligament in his right knee making a tackle and was replaced by Jimmy Cowan.

After the test, Weepu was optimistic he would be available for Brisbane this Saturday but he would leave that assessment to the medical staff.

Their verdict yesterday was rest for the combative halfback, who also added some spice to the pre-match routines when he led the new haka.

"It was a big deal for me to lead the haka and I had been thinking about it for a while since I was told I would be leading it," Weepu said.

"I got a bit nervous but when I did do it, I felt like there was a lot of passion and energy put into it."

Weepu, Carter, Richie McCaw, Rodney So'oialo and Carl Hayman were among the better All Blacks in a side which struggled to deal with the spoiling play of the Springboks.

The visitors brought little to the match in the way of enterprise. It became an exercise in damage limitation, how to reduce the All Blacks' victory margin.

Gifted a seven-point start inside 20 seconds when Carter had his kick charged down, they brought an aggression, tackling defiance and grit which had been absent in Brisbane.

They slowed the game down, they bashed away in the forwards and too often the All Blacks were dragged down to that level, unable to escape the suffocating, slow tempo.

All Black coach Graham Henry conceded his side was unhappy with a great deal of their play, and they had not countered the Boks as intended.

"We are responsible for our game, we need to take it on the chin. We did not play well enough," he said.

Henry was also frustrated at the match officials' inability to deal with the repeated injury stoppages. His side wanted to express themselves but were stymied by some feigned injuries.

Although the scrum was impressive the All Blacks rarely got any flow from the lineouts and the backline did not prosper.

They looked like a side which had not played a great deal together, albeit a side with players like Anton Oliver, Reuben Thorne and Sam Tuitupou who could blunt the Boks while the top mob rested.

"I guess we need to do a lot more homework on these guys the next time we play them," Weepu said.

"They were negative but that is the way they go."

Had Percy Montgomery kicked with the immaculate precision of Carter there would have been a few more wrinkles on the All Black foreheads. He missed three penalties while Carter goaled all nine of his kicks for 25 points.

Carter's counter-attack from two sloppy Bok kicks brought two tries in the sort of imperious performance he produced at the Cake Tin last year against the Lions.

McCaw was equally special, having to cart the ball up more than usual because of the absence of Jerry Collins, while his defence and support play was first class.

Round the vital core players there was an impression that some of these All Black selections were cannon fodder, useful but expendable against a one-dimensional South African team.

They lacked the class of those who had cleaned up the Wallabies in Christchurch.

Other decisions were odd.

Replacing Neemia Tialata after 50 minutes made little sense unless he is needed to start this Saturday. He was warming to his rare loosehead propping duties before he was replaced while Carl Hayman soldiered on when Greg Somerville could have given him a rest. For no apparent reason, Chris Masoe got a few minutes at the end instead of McCaw.

The week had been notable for reunions of victorious All Black sides from the 1956, 1981 and 1996 series. On Saturday, the current teams played as if they were stuck in the earliest time warp.