All Blacks legend Zinzan Brooke's 'off-tour' concern ahead of Greatest Rivalry Series

All Blacks legend Zinzan Brooke knows what it takes to win a Test series in South Africa with his dramatic second Test drop goal in 1996 ensuring victory over the Springboks and providing the backdrop for the impending four-Test series between the world’s top two teams that is set to captivate the sport.

The All Blacks start their first tour of South Africa for 30 years against the Stormers on Friday with the double World Cup-while the Springboks completed their warm-up for the Test series by taking on Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

Brooke played for the All Blacks between 1987 and 1997, appearing in 58 Tests and scoring 195 points, made up of 42 tries and three drop goals.

His first-ever drop goal was from long range in the 1995 Rugby World Cup semi-final destruction of England. A year later he repeated the feat to help defeat the reigning world champions in Pretoria as the All Blacks won 33-26 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series that finished 2-1 with the team being called “The Incomparables”.

The drop kick was the kind of off-the-cuff moment that lives long in the memory as it was delivered at a vital moment of a thunderous series. Scrum-half Justin Marshall passed Brooke the ball and the No.8 fired over the kick from 45 metres.

“There wasn’t a prearranged call, just me shouting louder and louder Marshy, Marshy , MARSHY and he gave me the ball,” Brooke, who also scored tries in the first two Tests in 1996, told RugbyPass.

“Frank Bunce got us over the advantage line and I looked at the clock with less than 10 minutes left and I thought if I get this drop goal we would be seven points ahead. I knew I could kick it, and job done. It was the first series win in South Africa a year after the World Cup final defeat to the Springboks.”

Now, Brooke, like every All Blacks fans, is eagerly awaiting to see who emerges victorious from Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series that will see the 44-strong Kiwi squad face the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions and three Test matches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Soweto before a fourth is staged in Baltimore in the USA.

For the All Black squad the tour will be a mental and physical challenge, creating pressures many will not have previously faced. Brooke believes it is vital for the senior players to ensure the squad – much larger than will be chosen for next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia – does not become fragmented as they deal with the intensely physical opposition, the home crowds and the relentless nature of touring.

He explained: “It is feasible for the All Blacks to win the series but it comes back to that first Test which is absolutely critical. There are eight games and my attitude is that they are eight Test matches on this tour.

“The Springboks have set a benchmark and it’s all about knocking them off and if you create the opportunity to kick a drop goal then you have to take it.

“That first game against the Stormers is vitally important and you have to win it. You must make a statement right away and set the tone for the whole tour and this series is a massive challenge for the All Blacks.

“The South Africans are the best side having won the World Cup and they have a statement to make and earn another Cup next year.

“With us having won the last series in 1996, this current Springbok side will want to make history by beating the All Blacks. They will give the All Blacks absolutely nothing.

“My major concern is that with 44 players in the squad you are going to have to ensure there is friendship and camaraderie created so that there is a real bond. You must make sure every player in the All Blacks squad feels they have a chance of making the test side.

“You cannot have a ‘going off tour’ attitude and guys asking why they are here and that is why the senior players become vitally important.

“In the touring teams I was involved in it was always important that even the new guys felt they had a voice. You also have to make sure guys are not drained by rugby 24/7.

“The young guys need to recognise they must work their arse off in the mid-week games to be in contention for a Test spot. That’s how it is and you are never just given the jersey. You earn the right to wear it for 80 minutes and then you give it back.

“These All Black players will experience a different concept of touring and then there is the American match at the end of this. The opening Test match is going to be massive and it will become a very long trip if you start losing.”

While the series involves the top two teams in the rankings, Brooke believes France deserve to be bracketed with them having shown real attacking flair in the Nations Championship matches.

Brooke, who will be in South Africa to witness the titanic clashes, added: “We are a year out from the World Cup and you want to put a marker down now. It would be nice for the All Blacks to plant something in the Springboks psyche.

“At the moment, if I was to pick the best team in the world it would be a coin toss between South Africa, New Zealand and France.

“The French are a fantastic side with a great spine, which is critical for creating history. The Springboks have players coming to end of their careers but they won’t lie down and will be targeting the World Cup.”