How worried should the Springboks be about the All Blacks?

The Springboks will certainly have taken notice after the All Blacks continued their South African tour with a commanding 50-19 victory over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

New Zealand head into next weekend’s opening Test against South Africa with a perfect three wins from three on their tour, having also defeated the Stormers 38-21 in Cape Town and demolished the Sharks 54-0 in Durban.

The Bulls were simply unable to match the All Blacks’ intensity in the opening half, with New Zealand racing into a 24-0 lead at the break.

All Blacks hitting their stride

Josh Moorby, Cody Taylor and Leroy Carter each scored two tries as the visitors produced another powerful attacking display.

New Zealand’s speed and ability to turn pressure into points will be particularly concerning for the Springboks.

The All Blacks repeatedly punished mistakes and showed that they have attacking weapons across the field.

The Bulls did have their moments, with two early tries ruled out by the TMO, but a yellow card proved costly as New Zealand capitalised to extend their advantage.

The hosts improved considerably after half-time and scored three tries through Ruan Vermaak, Marcell Coetzee and Stravino Jacobs.

Curwin Bosch, making his first appearance for the Bulls, also impressed, while Jeandre Rudolph contributed strongly.

But by then the damage had already been done.

A warning for Rassie Erasmus?

The three wins will undoubtedly give coach Dave Rennie and his All Blacks plenty of confidence heading into the Test series.

However, the Springboks will also take some encouragement from the Bulls’ second-half performance.

New Zealand’s defence was breached three times, while the Bulls created several scoring opportunities before the result was effectively beyond doubt.

The biggest question now is whether the All Blacks can reproduce this level of performance against a full-strength Springbok side.

South Africa will be a vastly different challenge to the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls, particularly at set-piece and in the physical exchanges.

But there is no doubt New Zealand have sent a message.

Three wins. 142 points. 40 conceded.

The All Blacks have scored 142 points and conceded just 40 across their three South African matches.

That is impressive preparation for a four-Test battle.

The first Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry takes place at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, 22 August at 17:10.

So, should the Springboks be worried?

Not necessarily – but they should certainly know that nothing short of their very best will be good enough to get the four-Test series off to a winning start.

The All Blacks have arrived in South Africa in dangerous form, and Saturday’s demolition of the Bulls suggests the Springboks will have little room for error when the real battle begins.

Scorers

Bulls

Tries: Ruan Vermaak, Stravino Jacobs, Marcell Coetzee

Conversions: Curwin Bosch, Hakeem Kunene

All Blacks

Tries: Josh Moorby (2), Cody Taylor (2), Leroy Carter (2), Rieko Ioane, Wallace Sititi

Consversions: Beauden Barrett, Josh Jacomb (4)

How worried – if at all – should the Springboks and their fans be?