What type of game will the Boks adopt this weekend and what is the real impact of South Africa not playing Super Rugby?
The Springboks will look to win their first game in eight matches at Eden Park, going back to 1937, when they take on their biggest rivals, the All Blacks, in a Rugby Championship game in Auckland on Saturday (9.05am).
The Boks go into the game on the back of a loss and a win against Australia in Joburg and Cape Town respectively, while the All Blacks won in Cordoba, but lost in Buenos Aires.
The Boks have won their last four matches against the All Blacks – two on neutral ground in 2023 and two in South Africa, last year.
Here are five things to keep an eye on when the All Blacks host the Springboks on Saturday.
Bok game-plan
Desperate to win against the Wallabies in Cape Town two weeks ago, after losing the first Test in Joburg, the Boks reverted to a slightly more conservative game, kicking a number of up-and-unders. They also kept the ball closer to the forwards. Will this be the case on Saturday?
The All Blacks are one of the best counter-attacking teams in the game and any poor kicks, or aerial losses, by the Boks are likely to be pounced on by the home team.
It’ll be interesting to see exactly what type of game the Boks adopt for this match, and whether they kick their penalties or kick to touch, especially in the early stages.
Bok selections
So much to discuss … Willie le Roux and Handré Pollard bring experience and calm to the backline, but also a more conservative style of play, while Canan Moodie’s speed and height could be key out wide, with Kurt-Lee Arendse injured.
Siya Kolisi will be tested at No 8, but he performed well there last time out; the big question is, how long will he go for, having just made it into the team because of an injury niggle?
Lock Ruan Nortjé also faces his biggest challenge yet, but he’s shown he has a motor that never quits and will be keen to make a big statement. So, too, tighthead prop Thomas du Toit, in his biggest Test yet.
Second half issues
For whatever reason, the Boks have struggled to play for the full 80 minutes this season and have especially been disappointing in the second half of their matches, some of which they have lost on the scoreboard.
The famed “bomb squad” has also not fired, hence coach Rassie Erasmus going for a more traditional 5-3 split between forwards and backs on the bench this week.
If the Boks are to win at Eden Park they will need a big 80-minute effort, and a huge impact from the replacements. There is experience on the bench, but also exciting young talent, in Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Ethan Hooker … could one of them be a hero on Saturday?
All Blacks form
Like the Boks, the All Blacks have not quite hit top form this season and in fact lost their second Test in the Rugby Championship against Argentina in Buenos Aires two weeks ago.
They are not the invincible team they perhaps were a few years ago, and the Boks winning their last four matches against them, albeit on neutral territory and in South Africa, is testament to this. The fear factor is something of the past, the world-class players are absent, and the Boks are now the team to beat.
How will Scott Robertson and his players respond over the next 80 minutes? Has South Africa’s withdrawal from Super Rugby really weakened New Zealand rugby? We’ll soon know.
Eden Park aura
Is it the ground or have the All Blacks simply been so good, especially on home soil, over the last 30 years that they haven’t lost at Eden Park? It’s an interesting topic for discussion, but the reality is they simply don’t lose at the famed ground in Auckland?
The All Blacks’ last defeat there was in 1994, against France. Since then they have won 48 matches at Eden Park and drawn two … that’s 50 matches unbeaten – a quite incredible record.
The last South African win came in 1937 … and since then the Boks have lost eight at the ground. How will things play out on Saturday … could this Bok team be on the verge of history?
