All Blacks not ruling out surprise tactics from 'old foe'
The current iteration of the Springboks have built their reputation on kicking-oriented, forwards-dominated rugby – but the All Blacks aren’t putting all their eggs in one basket when it comes to preparing to play against the world champions this weekend.
The All Blacks and Springboks will square off in back-to-back Test matches in South Africa over the coming weeks and while Ian Foster’s men have some idea what their opposition will bring to the table, they certainly aren’t ruling out a surprise attack.
Last year, every expectation was that the Springboks would simply try out-muscle the All Blacks up front in their rematch match on the Gold Coast during the Rugby Championship after attempting to do just that in their first clash of the competition.
While they may not have entirely shied away from that tactic, the Springboks came out of the blocks firing with some brilliant interlinking play to set up an early try for Damian de Allende.
Throughout the match, the Springboks weren’t afraid to throw caution to the wind and they eventually triumphed 31-29 after suffering a 17-19 defeat in the more kicking-oriented first match-up. The All Blacks will be wary that South Africa have plenty of firepower to call upon should they decide to spring a surprise again in 2022.
“They’ll definitely play to their strengths, as they always do,” said experienced All Blacks second-rower Sam Whitelock this week. “In saying that, you never want to go in there and think that you have their game plan in your head.
“They’re smart guys, got a number of players that play around the world, so they’ve got a number of different styles they can go to and that’s something for us [to keep an eye on], to make sure we can stop their Plan A and from that, if they change it, then we’ve got to be able to stop [their Plan B] as well.
“That’s the beauty of rugby. You can go out there and sometimes you know how they’re going to play and just stopping it’s the major [challenge]. That’s the cool thing, that’s the cool challenge about playing against South Africa – the old foe, as such.”
While the Springboks eventually secured a 2-1 series victory over Wales in July, the All Blacks had no such luck, dropping their final two matches against Ireland to suffer a historic series defeat.
Whitelock says that the pressure the All Blacks are facing now is similar to when he first earned a call-up in 2010.
“When I first came into the team we were going into a World Cup at home, hadn’t won it for 24 years and there was a lot of external pressure. The best advice I got given from the senior players was ‘Don’t read into media, don’t worry about those things, just control what you can control,’ and that’s the main thing I’ve been trying to tell the boys and think about myself.
“Controlling how you’re training, how you’re playing, how you’re preparing, that’s the best thing I got given as advice and it’s still true now I’m one of the older boys.
“I think from looking back to look forward, the times we’ve been here before, especially nailing the week and you’ve just got to deal with what’s in front of you.
Today, we just had to deal with clarity, get that understanding, and then as the week goes that will change slightly. But you’ve got to nail the days that lead into kick-off on Saturday. We’ve got to nail them and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Saturday’s match between the All Blacks and Springboks will kick off at 5:05pm SAST (3:05am NZT) from Mbombela Stadium.
Comments on RugbyPass
He would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to comments