The teams meet in a big Rugby Championship Test at Eden Park in Auckland next Saturday.
The Springboks’ recent dominance over their fiercest rivals, the All Blacks, will serve as motivation for both Rassie Erasmus’ team in New Zealand over the next two weeks, but also for their hosts, who’ll be hoping to snap a four-game losing streak.
The teams meet in back-to-back Rugby Championship matches in Auckland (6 September) and Wellington (13 September) with the competition finely poised.
While New Zealand lead the way with six log points after two games, they’re closely followed by Australia (5), South Africa (4) and Argentina (4). All four teams have won a match and lost a match.
The Boks returned to winning ways last weekend with a 30-22 win against Australia in Cape Town, a victory Erasmus said would give the team confidence when they board the plane to New Zealand on Tuesday.
Tour squad
Erasmus named a 36-man squad for the tour. Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit will tour with the Boks after missing last weekend’s Test, and so will Willie le Roux, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Jean-Luc du Preez, who all sat out of matches recently because of injuries or illness.
Wings Edwill van der Merwe and Kurt-Lee Arendse will, however, not tour because of injuries.
The Boks will be going for their fifth straight win against the All Blacks on tour, something Erasmus said would be a big motivator for both teams.
“We are under no illusions that both games are going to be massive, and every match against the All Blacks is epic given the rivalry between the teams,” said Erasmus on Monday.
“We won our last four matches against them dating back to 2023, which marked only the second time in history that we defeated them four times in a row, and there is no doubt that will motivate both teams.
“So, we need to ensure that we build on what we’ve been working on this year and take another step-up before facing them in two weeks.
“We are travelling to New Zealand tomorrow (Tuesday), which will give us sufficient time to acclimatise to the time zone, so we believe we will be settled and ready for the task ahead by the time we take the field.”
The Boks’ recent four-in-a-row wins against the All Blacks include the 18-12 victory in Cape Town (2024), the 31-27 victory in Joburg (2024), the 12-11 win in Paris (2023) and the 35-7 victory in London (2023).
The Boks’ best run of wins against the All Blacks came way back between 4 September 1937 and 17 September 1949 when they won six in a row. Those wins came in Christchurch and Auckland, both in 1937, and in Cape Town, Joburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth, all in 1949.
Full Springbok 36-man tour group.
