{
  "id": 795227,
  "title": "CHANGING THE NARRATIVE: Under-pressure All Blacks’ ‘speed the game up’ campaign rings hollow",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/changing-the-narrative-under-pressure-all-blacks-speed-the-game-up",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-13T19:00:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-13-under-pressure-all-blacks-speed-the-game-up-campaign-rings-hollow/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The All Blacks are pushing for a faster, more high-paced style of play in rugby, hoping to \"speed up\" the game and bring back the success they enjoyed a decade ago. However, their critics argue that the All Blacks' superior skills and conditioning allowed them to dominate their opponents, and that focusing solely on this style is a narrow approach.\n\nThe South African Springboks under coach Rassie Erasmus and his assistant Jacques Nienaber, known as \"RasNaber,\" have taken a different route to success. They have focused on tactical kicking, improved scrumming, and lineout work, creating a unique approach that beats the All Blacks at their own game. The Boks have won eight of their last 15 meetings with the All Blacks, demonstrating that their alternative strategy works.\n\nThe All Blacks' assistant coach, Tana Umaga, has echoed these sentiments, claiming that the team wants to speed up the game globally and that this is the only style worth pursuing. However, this narrative ignores the fact that the Boks have won 31 of their last 34 Tests, including the last 12 in a row. Their success speaks volumes about their alternative approach, which seems to be working better than the All Blacks' desire to play the way they did in the past.",
  "summary": "The All Blacks want the world to play their way again. The problem is, the Boks worked out years ago that to be successful, they don’t have to.",
  "key_points": [
    "All Blacks aim to speed up game, but critics say it's a narrow approach.",
    "South Africa's Springboks use tactical kicking, scrumming, and lineout work to dominate.",
    "All Blacks' assistant coach Tana Umaga promotes global speed-up, ignoring Springboks' success."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}