Rugby: Ardie Savea heading home as All Blacks rue missed chances in third test defeat

All Blacks coach Dave Rennie was both disappointed and frustrated with the third test defeat to the Springboks, but he believes they're "close" to beating the World Champions.The All Blacks started well in front of about 90,000 fans in Soweto and took and early 7-0 lead - something they weren't able to do in the first two tests.However, the Springboks worked their way back into the match and levelled the score 12-12 by halftime.The host's scrum dominance and seemingly unstoppable lineout mauls helped them take the lead midway through the second half and never relinquish it.It was again a contrast of styles with the All Blacks trying to play at a high tempo with ball in hand and run the Springboks ragged in the Johannesburg Highveld, while the hosts took every opportunity to go to set piece and employ their power game.Ultimately it was power that prevailed over pace as South Africa took a 2-1 lead in the four-match series.Dave Rennie is disappointed but believes there's not much between the two sides.Photosport NZ Ltd / www.photosport.nzRennie said the All Blacks weren't accurate enough to win."We were able to play a high-tempo first half and we saw a lot of their big men struggling and we're keen to try and make that pay in the second half," Rennie said."But we made a few errors which slows the game down to a scrum and then often a penalty in field position for them."With penalties coming thick and fast for the Springboks at scrum and maul time, Rennie said his side struggled to get their game going."There was a period where, just after we'd hit the lead, they sort of dominated us at set-piece and won all the scraps and had all the momentum for that period and obviously got reasonably well in front."Rennie said the All Blacks need to be more ruthless when presented with opportunities to score."It's frustrating because there's a lot of effort out there and we just, maybe we weren't quite clinical enough first half and then couldn't wrestle momentum back when it mattered second half."Adding injury to insult, All Blacks captain Ardie Savea was forced from the field with what appeared to be a serious shoulder injury after scoring the tourist's first two tries of the game.Ardie Savea scores a try.Photosport NZ Ltd / www.photosport.nzRennie said Savea will miss the fourth and final test in Baltimore, where the All Blacks will try and salvage a series draw."Yes, his shoulder. I'm not sure whether it's dislocated, he certainly won't be travelling to the United States."Rennie said losing Savea was a blow, but not the reason the All Blacks lost."I mean, he was massive, wasn't he? But Wallace [replacement loose forward Wallace Sititi] come on and played well, so we're certainly not going to use that as an excuse."Two other All Blacks will also be heading home and have been ruled out of the match in the US, with midfielder Quinn Tupaea suffering a knee injury and loose forward Luke Jacobson, who took over as skipper when Savea went off, injuring a tendon in his elbow, which will require further investigation when he's back in New Zealand.Return to play timeframes for the trio are yet to be determined.The Springboks' scrum was again one of their strongest weapons, and after accusing them of "walking" the scrum around in the second test at Cape Town, Rennie said they were simply better than the All Blacks in Soweto."I think they got rewarded for dominance at times, so no issues with that," he said.While disappointed, Rennie isn't dejected, and he believes the All Blacks aren't far away from beating the Springboks."I don't reckon there's much in it. I didn't think there was much in the first test, which we won convincingly in the end, according to the scoreboard."So it's key moments. You know, like a big moment today was [wing] Will Jordan kicking it dead. That's just unlucky," Rennie said."It was a good option, but you come back for a scrum, which is a penalty to a maul where they drive however many metres to score. They made hay when they had momentum tonight. We probably didn't do that enough."Rennie also lamented some penalties his side conceded at crucial times, and said they will need to be better if they want to win the fourth and final test against the Springboks, in the US city of Baltimore next weekend."I think discipline hurt us at times. They're the world champions for a reason. They are very good up front, and they played a bit of footy tonight."We probably made a few errors that allowed them to play and I thought they were a lot stronger in that area than they had been in the first two tests."The most dominant part of the Springboks' performance was the maul, with the All Blacks consistently struggling to stop their lineout drives.Xavier Numia and Leroy Carter after the loss.Photosport NZ Ltd / www.photosport.nzRennie said they must find a solution before the fourth test, but said it's not beyond their grasp."The key thing is you've got to get in front of it," he said."The one they scored off, we competed, and then we scrambled to try and get in front of it and they kept rolling through us."It was really the only one that troubled us today and we've got to be able to stay in front of it. If we're going up [and competing at lineouts], we still need to stay in front of it. So, yeah, it's disappointing."Wing Leroy Carter had a high work rate and played a key role in two of the All Blacks' four tries but made some glaring errors on defence with two missed tackles leading directly to Springboks tries.Rennie was loath to single the winger out and said it wasn't just Carter who missed tackles."You know, a big fella misses a tackle around the fringe and no one notices, your winger misses a tackle out wide and they score," Rennie said."I feel for Leroy, he's a bloody good man. He's a very good defender and I'm sure he's hurting about that."I mean, our job, once they'd scored, was to try and bounce back and try and take control of possession, but they were able to dominate the next sort of 10 minutes and that was pivotal."Rennie said he couldn't fault the effort of Carter and all his players and said they're bitterly disappointed with the result.He said they will be determined to make amends in next weekend's fourth test in the US."Our boys worked bloody hard tonight," Rennie said."When you've lost a test, it's easier to reflect on all the negative things. I can guarantee you the room's pretty gutted. I just walked in there before, and there's a lot of heads down."So, look, our mindset will be to bounce back next week."