All Blacks star accused of ‘cheap shot’ during fiery Springboks clash

The fiercely contested encounter produced several flashpoints, but footage involving Jacobson quickly began circulating on social media after the final whistle.

The incident came during another hugely physical breakdown between the two great rivals, with some Springboks supporters questioning whether Jacobson’s actions deserved greater scrutiny.

Reaction was far from unanimous, however, with supporters fiercely debating whether there was actually anything wrong with the incident.

One fan simply asked: “Where’s the cheap shot??”

Another believed Jacobson had made a mistake but argued South Africa should have received the initial decision, writing: “Apart from Luke’s stupidity, 2 was tackled and held by Marx and then he tried to crawl further. It should have been a penalty for SA.”

A third dismissed the controversy altogether, commenting: “Let the boys play rugby… Anyone who’s actually played rugby understands there’s nothing wrong here.”

Others viewed the incident very differently.

One supporter claimed it was “deliberate”, while another called for more footage of Springbok infringements to be shown rather than focusing solely on Jacobson.

The contrasting reaction highlights just how difficult the incident is to judge in isolation.

Some viewers saw unnecessary involvement from Jacobson and questioned whether officials should have taken a closer look. Others argued it was little more than the sort of physical confrontation routinely seen around Test-level breakdowns.

There were also suggestions that what happened immediately beforehand was crucial, with Marx’s involvement and the actions of the tackled player forming part of the debate.

What is clear is that there is no overwhelming consensus that Jacobson committed a serious act of foul play.

Here, we look at the All Blacks trio who failed to stand out when it mattered most.

Love endured a difficult afternoon, missing two conversions and a penalty, with his second conversion attempt greeted by plenty of boos from the crowd.

He was also shown a yellow card while defending on the Boks’ line, although he had worked hard defensively up to that point. Going forward, however, he struggled to get the All Blacks attack into any real rhythm and will be disappointed with his overall display.

The Hurricanes fly-half also lacked the usual running threat that makes him so difficult to defend. That threat often creates space for those around him, even when his playmaking is not quite at its best.

Without it, the All Blacks attack became relatively easy to contain, with only a handful of moments of individual brilliance from his teammates creating the opportunities that ultimately led to their scores.

The set piece was one of the biggest problems for the All Blacks, as they struggled to establish any kind of physical dominance against a powerful Springboks pack that enjoyed plenty of success in that area.

Lomax was solid enough in the scrum for much of the afternoon but failed to exert the kind of influence required against South Africa. He was eventually outmuscled on his own line, resulting in a penalty try.

The tighthead prop was replaced after 45 minutes and, overall, failed to make the same impact as starting loosehead George Bower.

Lomax is an experienced international and facing the Springboks is always a huge challenge, but if the All Blacks are going to compete with South Africa, their scrum has to be firing. It simply was not at the required level here.

Bower makes the list of underperformers for many of the same reasons as Lomax, although he can take slightly more credit for his overall contribution than his tighthead counterpart.

Unfortunately, his scrummaging also fell short of the exceptionally high standard required against the Springboks, which had a significant impact on the All Blacks' performance.

He conceded an early penalty but was heavily involved defensively, putting in plenty of tackles and showing an excellent work rate throughout his time on the field.

The scrum was relatively solid, but like Lomax, he was eventually overpowered on his own line, contributing to the penalty try. He was replaced after 45 minutes.