After almost a century of intense rivalry on the rugby field, the All Blacks are having nothing of suggestions the Springboks are ripe for a rout in their Rugby Championship clash on Saturday, according to captain Kieran Read.
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As good as this All Blacks team is, they weren’t at their best here and while they still played well in patches it has to be said that the Boks made it easy for them at times by making silly mistakes at crucial times.
“I have decided on a six-two split on the bench again as I believe Willem and Jaco (Kriel) will each make a big impact when they enter the field of play and I chose to swap Damian with Lionel to ensure we have cover for the inside centre position”, said Coetzee.
Joe Moody, Dane Coles, Owen Franks, Brodie Retallick, Samuel Whitelock, Jerome Kaino, Ardie Savea, Kieran Read, Aaron Smith, Beauden Barrett, Julian Savea, Ryan Crotty, Malakai Fekitoa, Israel Dagg, Ben Smith.
Hansen revealed he expected a testing transition period after winning last year’s World Cup.
Despite losing Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith, New Zealand have crushed Wales and now secured the Rugby Championship crown.
Taking a leaf out of Argentina’s handbook from last week, Pieter-Steph du Toit charged through the All Blacks pack to get South Africa inside the All Blacks 22 where Habana sliced through for the try.
“The All Blacks beat Argentina by about 30 points in a “close” test, and they have now crushed the hopelessly naive Springboks by a similar margin without even playing well”.
Hansen recalled the second Test in 1970, when Syd Nomis notoriously lost several teeth when he was felled by All Blacks fullback Fergie McCormick – who was roughed up so much in the third Test that he couldn’t start the fourth.
Following the loss of Richie McCaw and Dan Carter following the Rugby World Cup previous year, there was a fear among fans and a hope among rivals, that the mighty All Blacks might fall back into the realm of the beatable.
Just as the Springboks have not had it hard enough, they now face their sternest threat of the season yet, when they play the World Champion All Blacks in the AMI Stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Saturday morning (SA time).
“I knew that we had some really talented people but we had also lost a lot of talent”, Hansen said.
Strauss said they had taken note of how Argentina matched the New Zealand for 50 minutes last week.
All different types of passes, they exemplified the skill set which is setting New Zealand apart.
By failling to score a try in his 84th Test, the All Blacks’ tighthead prop set a new mark for the longest tryless start to a career.
“You know that they’re class players so they’re not going to have too many rough games”.
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It sparked two near-identical tries to wingers Dagg and Savea, the latter notching his first points in seven Tests against the Springboks.
