Nic Berry shows a yellow card to Sevu Reece. Photo: www.photosport.nz
All Blacks v Springboks
Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 6 September
Eden Park, Auckland
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
Analysis - Do the All Blacks have a discipline problem? Six yellow cards in five tests would suggest so, but there's a bit more to it, and what a comprehensive look at the team has fared with the whistle so far may allay a few fears before the world champion Springboks arrive for the most anticipated test of the year.
First off, the penalty count overall is quite significantly in the All Blacks' favour at 41 conceded to 59 awarded. That's an upward trend on last season, when it was a slightly tighter 43-52 after the first five tests, and so far, there have not been any tests where they have conceded more penalties than they've been awarded.
The 2024 total ended up being 135-149 overall, but the big change this year is that by the five test mark, the All Blacks had only given up one yellow card. This time around they've conceded six, with three coming in the weekend's loss to Argentina.
The sin bin certainly got busy from that point on last season, though. Ten yellows were shown in the last eight tests of 2024, which adds up to a slightly shocking 16 in the past 13 tests overall.
It doesn't look great compared to the other Rugby Championship sides this season, with the Pumas having conceded two yellow cards, the Springboks one and the Wallabies none.
Match referee Nika Amashukeli shows a yellow card to Caleb Clarke. Photo: Masanori Udagawa/Photosport
So are the All Blacks dirty, dumb or unlucky?
It's worth noting just exactly what the six yellow cards have been for. Tellingly, three have been for the much-derided deliberate knock on law, with Beauden Barrett sent for a rest in the All Blacks' ultimately comfortable victory against France in Wellington, then Tupou Vaa'i and Sevu Reece both in the loss to the Pumas on Sunday morning.
But however unpopular it is, it's still a law and one that doesn't really seem to be affecting other teams as much.
The other three yellows were for Billy Proctor for being the last of a string of defensive penalties, and an accidental head clash by Anton Lienert-Brown in the first Pumas test and Will Jordan for an obstructing the kicker call in the second.
Of those three, Proctor's one is the most egregious and even then, it wasn't entirely his fault as it was a desperation play on his own line. The issue here was more that the Pumas had got that close off the back of previous calls and the defence collapsing around him - something that the All Blacks just simply have to be better at, although you can make a pretty strong case that attacking teams play a massive role in manufacturing those situations.
Billy Proctor involved in a tussle with Argentina Los Pumas players. Photo: www.photosport.nz
Lienert-Brown's clumsy collision on Santiago Chocobares is clearly the one evidence of behaviour that should be getting coached out of test level players by now, however it's also worth noting that he was sent to the bin with only four minutes to play in a match that the All Blacks had well and truly sealed. Ironically, the major fallout was that Lienert-Brown ended up injured and missed the next test, so it did cost them in the long run.
In any event, it's not like any of this season's yellow cards are for serious offences. In comparison, the Springboks and Pumas have had players sent off, but even then, that doesn't tell the full story.
Pedro Rubiolo's red against Uruguay for head contact at a ruck was eventually overturned, while Jasper Wiese's against Italy for a very intentional head butt ended up being a four game suspension. Both tests ended up being very comfortable wins for their teams.
So really, the devil is in the details - especially considering not all penalties are created equal and are highly dependant on the decision made with what to do with them. The All Blacks definitely should strive to be a more disciplined team, especially since not long ago it cost them in the biggest game of all, but it's not always as simple as just pointing to the amount of time players are spending in the sin bin.
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