Rennie highlights three 'key metrics' the Boks have the world beat in

Dave Rennie’s analysis of the Springboks has confirmed that Rassie Erasmus’ men are world leaders in “a lot of key metrics”, with the Kiwi coach highlighting three in particular conducive to high-scoring performances.

The All Blacks coach has a strong record against South African opposition throughout his career, both as coach of the Chiefs in Super Rugby and as coach of Australia in The Rugby Championship.

Speaking to media in Johannesburg ahead of his first crack at the World Champions as All Blacks boss, Rennie praised Erasmus’ team as being “big innovators in the game” and compared the challenge of the coming four-Test series to a Rugby World Cup.

Backing his team to come away with a result in game one, Rennie said he expected New Zealand’s scrum to “bar up” to meet the Springboks’ challenge head-on, while stressing the importance of discipline and accuracy for keeping the Boks out of scoring territory.

“They lead the world in things like winning high balls back, the amount of entries into your 22, the amount of points per entry in your 22,” the coach said. “So it all paints a picture around the fact that you’ve got to limit the amount of times you can let them in there, because they’re the best in the world at converting that pressure into points.

“So denying them opportunities in there will be about discipline and about accuracy. They’ve got a smart kicking game; they can trap you down there. They’ve got a pressure game as well. They’ve got a big pack, and they’re a physical team.

“So, we know what’s coming, but they’ve got a team that can play as well, if they want to. We probably didn’t see that against Argentina, but I think the side they pick this week will be a fair bit different.”

Rennie said the challenge to take on the “best in the world” was an exciting one for his troops, with the game presenting a chance to see just how his new squad and game plan fares against the team that has owned the No.1 spot on the World Rugby rankings for much of the past three years.

The teams are early favourites to win their respective pools at next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia, and, by doing so, with additional wins in the newly added Round of 16, they would set themselves up for a date in the quarter-finals.

With that World Cup context in mind, Rennie said the value of this tour was clear.

“Both sides will be about a year out from a World Cup by the time we finish the series. So we’ll certainly learn a lot while we’re here, but no doubt it’s tough.”