Dave Rennie addresses the Wellington warning looming large for All Blacks

The date is Saturday, September 13, 2025, and the All Blacks run out onto the Hnry Stadium turf to face the Springboks. Just seven days earlier, they’ve beaten their famous foes to extend their unbeaten Eden Park record. But this time, things are about to go very differently, and the ensuing 43-10 pummeling sets a record for the biggest defeat New Zealand has ever conceded. It’s a memory not so far from mind ahead of Saturday’s showdown at DHL Stadium.

Last weekend’s 33-16 win at Ellis Park has the Kiwis in the driver’s seat of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, affording them an opportunity to cement at least a drawn series with another win in Cape Town. The team can only find so much comfort in a singular win, though, with 2025’s Wellington warning looming large in camp.

The historic result may have been before head coach Dave Rennie’s time with the team, but it’s serving as a key touchpoint this week as he and his men brace for a Springbok team with a big point to prove.

“We’re aware of the potential bounce-back,” Rennie told reporters in Cape Town. “Obviously, they’ll be really disappointed with last weekend, and there’s obviously been a lot of talk around how they bounced back last year.

“Look, we’ve touched on it; we’re well aware that the Springboks at their best are tough to beat anywhere.

“We’ve talked a lot about us being better. We think we can be a lot better than we were last weekend. So that’s the key: we’ve got to be able to lift our level. We know they’re going to be better, but we don’t want to focus totally on what South Africa are going to bring. We want to focus on what we can bring.”

To stay ahead of that rising tide, the All Blacks have several areas to address. Rennie said that his men will need to come out of the gates hot to match South Africa’s venom, which didn’t happen in Johannesburg.

“We struggled to get go-forward, so we need to be a lot better around that area,” Rennie said on the way his men started the Test series opener.

“Discipline-wise, we gave away way too many soft penalties, especially early in the game, which is disappointing because it’s something we’d spoken about; you give them an easy entry into your 22. So that needs to be better.

“I think scrum-wise, obviously we’ve spoken with World Rugby around a couple of issues from our point of view. And so we think, scrum-wise, we’ll be a lot better, and that was a massive in for them last week. They are elements we need to be better at.

“I think our energy and our scramble – we held them up over the line a couple of times, obviously Malcolm (Marx) lost the ball going over for one – they had plenty of time in our 22, but there was plenty of energy and heart and we need more of that.”

The messaging between Tests last year was also strong, and recognised South Africa’s ability to respond after a defeat. Rassie Erasmus’ side have not lost two consecutive Test matches since November 2022.

To do what no team has done in four years and ensure there is no repeat of Wellington 2025, the messaging needs to be coupled with something tangible. Just how successful the week’s training has been will be evident as soon as the kickoff is made, when the All Blacks’ contact work will be tested by the giant Springbok pack.

“I’m not going to tell you, tactically, how we’re doing that,” Rennie smirked when asked about how he goes about improving his side’s ability in the contact area. “But it’s been a real focus. They’re big men, and when they’re full of energy, if they can get two in a tackle, it’s hard to get go-forward. Sometimes you just need to bar up, carry hard and win races in support to generate quick ball.

“But we still want to be able to play at a tempo that will give us opportunities. They did a really good job of denying us gainline and lighting quick ball early in that game.”

Exactly how far the Springboks’ tweaks can take them will be revealed on Saturday, but Rennie has some clear expectations.

“I think they’ll just try and do what they did last week but try and do it better,” he said. “So, their mindset will be to attack us at set-piece, put more ball in the air, try to get a big wall in front of us and try to spend as much time as they can in our 22. But Rassie’s in a better position to let you know what that’ll look like.”