The Springboks in action during a training camp in Hazyview this week. Picture: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images
The Springboks are gearing up for a backlash from the struggling All Blacks as they kick-off their first two games of the Rugby Championship against the 2021 champs in Mbombela and Johannesburg.
With the first Test taking place next week Saturday, Bok coach Jacques Nienaber admitted that they were in for a very different challenge to what they faced in their three Test incoming series against Wales earlier this month.
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“It will be a different challenge to what we faced against Wales. If you look at New Zealand and the athletes they have and the skillsets they have available to them, it’s probably going to be a game built around a lot of continuity and moving the ball around a bit,” explained Nienaber.
“But then again they don’t shy away from the set piece battle as they showed against Ireland. So I think it’s going to be a blend of set piece battles and a bit more continuity than we saw in the Welsh series.”
The Boks aim for the two Tests is to continue growing, as they kick on into the rest of the 2022 international season and two positive results against their massive rivals will set them on the right path.
“Our goal is to keep improving and getting better. Having not played any (international) rugby and with Wales being our first game of 2022, we got a bit of a marker of where we were at and then we tried to build during that series,” said Nienaber.
“So I think the main thing for us is to control and fix things in our game. We were by no means perfect against Wales. There is a lot of stuff that we have to work and improve on.
“We had a nice review on Monday seeing where we are currently, what goals we met during the Welsh series, where we have to improve and what our goals are going forward. So that’s where we are currently at.”
Bok centre Lukhanyo Am claimed that the team was looking forward to the challenge of facing one of their biggest rivals and that they would be fired up and ready for the first game when the teams clash at the Mbombela next weekend.
“The All Blacks are a team that you always have to be on your A game against. So for us as a team we have tried preparing as much as we can,” said Am.
“We know we will be facing a different threat compared to Wales, so we are busy with our prep and we believe we will be in a good place for the first Test next week.”