'What is said outside doesn’t really matter': Kolisi ahead of All Blacks

Siya Kolisi has dismissed the noise surrounding South Africa ahead of their series finale against the All Blacks, insisting the Springboks know exactly who they are while stressing that their game plan “isn’t rigid”.

The Boks head into Saturday’s fourth Test at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore with a 2-1 series lead, meaning victory or a draw will secure Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, while an All Blacks win would leave the inaugural series level.

Kolisi expects another sizeable challenge from a much-changed New Zealand side, particularly with Richie Mo’unga returning at fly-half, but believes South Africa’s priority must be imposing themselves physically rather than becoming distracted by their opponents or any criticism that has surfaced over the past three weeks regarding their style of play.

While measures such as tries and points scored may favour the All Blacks in this series, those in the South African camp have stressed that Rassie Erasmus’ side lead the most important statistic of all – matches won. Their scrum and maul have proved decisive, with Kolisi insisting ahead of the fourth Test that “we do what works for us”.

The 107-cap captain likened the intensity of facing the All Blacks four weeks in succession to playing “four Rugby World Cup finals”, with both teams having had the opportunity to study one another and search for new weaknesses as the series has developed.

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“We definitely want to win the series,” Kolisi said. “We don’t want to draw it, and that has been our mindset this week.

“But the key thing for us will be to make sure we enforce our game on them, and pitch up physically on the day.

“In my experience, it doesn’t get tougher than this. It’s like playing four Rugby World Cup finals in as many weeks given the quality of both teams. We both want to enforce our style of play on the game.

“What matters within our circle is what we want of each other. What is said outside doesn’t really matter because we do what works for us, and we know who we are and want to stick to the way we play.

“Our system isn’t rigid. We can play set-piece rugby and a kicking game. We don’t have a system that says we have to play a certain way. It’s one that creates opportunities for us to play, so as long as it works, we’ll stick to it, and if it doesn’t, we’ll find a better way to do things.”