'Ruthless and clinical' Springboks to bounce back from 'flat' patch
Some of the shine may have been lost from this weekend’s 100th clash between the All Blacks and Springboks following the latter’s poor performances over the past two weeks, but All Blacks head coach Ian Foster isn’t expecting anything but the best from his side’s old rivals on Saturday.
Having not played test rugby since claiming the World Cup in 2019, the Springboks have had a somewhat slow start to the year. After dropping the opening game of the British and Irish Lions series, the Boks bounced back to record back-to-back wins over the tourists in two of the least expansive test matches of the modern era.
A series win is a series win, however, and the Springboks entered the Rugby Championship with confidence high and quickly set about dismantling the Pumas over two weekends in late August, before heading to Australia for the remainder of the competition.
After leaving two weeks of mandatory quarantine, however, South Africa were comfortably accounted for by the Wallabies, going down 28-26 and 30-17 over successive weekends.
They now enter their historic match with the All Blacks with somewhat of a dark cloud hovering over their heads – but Foster’s side are planning for the best kind of Springboks side, one that drains the life out of you and forces you into making error after error as they knock over kicks to keep the scoreboard ticking along.
“I think their goal will be to be ruthless and clinical,” Foster said after naming his line-up for Saturday’s clash. “They’re at their best when they play a pressure game against you, when they play a power game against you. And that’s not to say they can’t do other things, but I think that’s when they’re at their best.
“We’re sort of preparing for a team that’s been targeting this game and we’ll come out with that focus. We’ve got to make sure in those two aspects that we win that battle so it’s a great challenge for us.”
Despite their less-than-exceptional performances against the Wallabies, Foster expects the Springboks will be more than up for the fight between the two top-ranked sides in the world at present, especially given the experience in their line-up, and the All Blacks have prepared accordingly.
“I can only plan and expect them to be at their best,” he said. “I think we’ve seen signs of that through the Lions series and I know we use the word ‘dire’ and all that sort of stuff for that series but let’s face it, it’s always a big series, it’s a pinnacle event and they won it. The style of the win was probably irrelevant in many ways in those sorts of series. We’ve got to give them credit for that.
“They’ve looked a little bit flat since then but they’ve come out of quarantine and played a fast team that’s really gone at them. I think they’re very experienced. We’re expecting them to have learnt a lot the last two weeks and there’s a lot on the line for them and there’s a lot on the line for us. Both teams need to be at their best so that’s what we’re preparing for.”
Ian Foster has explained some of the major selection calls for the All Blacks' 100th match with the Springboks and revealed the team's injury concerns. #AllBlacks #NZLvRSAhttps://t.co/s2uZa9QzpP
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 23, 2021
After besting the Springboks in the pool stages of the 2019 World Cup, winning 23-13 in Yokohama, the All Blacks were knocked out of the competition by England at the semi-final stages while South Africa eventually emerged as world champions.
Factor in the successful Lions series win and Foster says regardless of the past two weeks, this Springboks side is the best yard-stick for assessing the All Blacks’ current standing in the world.
“If you look back at the last two or three years and if you ignore the last couple of weeks for South Africa, they’ve earned the titles they’ve got and they haven’t done that just by playing a style no one likes, they’ve done it by being really efficient and they’ve nailed the game that they want to play,” said Foster. “They earned all the rewards they got at the World Cup for doing that and so, for us, it is a big test.
“It’s a chance to actually measure ourselves against a team that has earned their reputation by delivering week-in, week-out, in some big games. And if you go back to our last few games in 18 and 19, there’ve been some really tight battles so we’re expecting that. But we’re not worried about that, we’re excited by that.”
While the Springboks have made just two changes to the run-on side that were well-beaten by the Wallabies in Brisbane last weekend, Foster has heavily rotated his squad to bring in a number of experienced players.
Saturday’s test kicks off at 5:05pm AEST.
Comments on RugbyPass
Yawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
22 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe 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.
2 Go to comments