The Springboks have to beat the All Blacks in Wellington to keep alive their hopes of retaining their Rugby Championship title.
The Springboks collide with their biggest rivals, the All Blacks, with the Rugby Championship on the line, in the second Test between the two at the “Cake Tin” in Wellington on Saturday (kick-off 9:05am SA time).
It’s a must-win game for the Boks, who need to bounce back from their 24-17 defeat at Eden Park last weekend, which was their second loss of the competition, to keep their chances alive of retaining the title they won last year.
Coach Rassie Erasmus has shaken up the team, dropping a number of veterans for the match, while bringing in some exciting up and coming youngsters, in an effort to inspire them at a ground they won at the last time they played there back in 2018.
Squad depth
The game is also important in terms of the Boks building squad depth and getting players used to foreign conditions, ahead of the 2027 World Cup which will be played in Australia, especially since the next time they will play Down Under will only be in the World Cup year.
“Winning every match is quite important for us, or trying to win, or planning to win, every match. Now, after this weekend, we are going to be eight games into the season,” explained Erasmus.
“The big goal is to build squad depth and, as I said last week, that is introducing youngsters, sometimes with some senior players, at different venues, and in other positions, which is (a) really good (experience).
“Number one in the world (All Blacks) on their own field, under (intense) crowd pressure. And then slowly seeing how they develop, you know, a guy like (Aphelele) Fassi, this is the next stage of his development.”
Exciting talents
Erasmus pointed to some of their other exciting talents in the backline that would be aiming to impress in the match, and try to lead the Boks to what would be a massive win in the context of their stuttering season.
“A guy like Sasha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) played against New Zealand last year, but that was at home. Damian Williams coming back, hasn’t played at 12 for a while, so we’re getting him back into the mix,” said Erasmus.
“So it’s (about) trying to balance it (the team) while winning because I know the only thing that makes us all happy is winning. But yeah, there’s a bit of an eye on the future without forgetting the present.”
The Wallabies and Argentina are in action in Sydney on Saturday, and if the hosts win it will put them into the driving seat in the competition, while if the visitors win, along with the Boks, it would essentially even out the Rugby Championship after four rounds.
