Both the Springboks and the All Blacks will release their match 23s on Thursday for their Rugby Championship clash at Eden Park on Saturday.
The Springboks will only announce their team for the huge Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks at Eden Park this weekend on Thursday, as coach Rassie Erasmus looks to keep their biggest rivals guessing.
Over the years the Boks have become well known as an outfit which release their team well before others during a match week, usually on a Tuesday, and even named their side for their game against the Wallabies at Ellis Park last month on a Monday.
So it was a surprise to see their team announcement pencilled in for a Thursday this week, which is the day most sides name their team ahead of a Saturday match, and is the same day that the All Blacks will name their match 23 this week.
Erasmus admitted that due to injury concerns in the All Blacks camp that the Boks are unable to speculate who they will field, which makes their job a bit harder, and thus they want to do the same.
“We are not quite sure what team New Zealand will put out there and the honest answer is that we think we will benefit more from releasing the team on Thursday when they name their team,” explained Erasmus.
“There is a little bit of an unknown factor around the team they will put out. Most of the other teams (we have faced) we could more or less guess what their team would look like.
Big game
“But this is such a big game and maybe the best thing is that New Zealand also won’t be able to analyse us (due to not releasing the team as usual). So that’s the honest answer and why we are only naming the team on Thursday.
“We are really unsure about what team they will put out. I guess one can look at their injuries and say they might be in trouble, but we also have a number of players unavailable.”
Erasmus also rubbished the notion that this weekend’s match is the biggest for the Boks since the World Cup final in France in 2023, saying that they respected New Zealand, but also the other teams they have faced since then.
“I think other teams would take issue with that statement. Australia will say they beat us a few weeks ago and now we say this is our biggest game,” said Erasmus.
“There is a big and healthy rivalry between us and New Zealand. I remember even the games between the Springboks and All Blacks when I was a boy. Then 1995 was obviously big, and I played in a third and fourth playoff against them in 1999.
“So there is a special history between us and we have tremendous respect for them. But to say it’s the biggest game for us (since the World Cup final) would be a slap in the face of teams that have beaten us (since). Argentina beat us properly last year, and Ireland have beaten us (as well).”
