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Ian Foster’s All Blacks are underdogs, but South African critics are wary of their potential to topple the Springboks.
The ‘underdog’ All Blacks may be reeling after four defeats in their last five Tests, but South African critics have warned that the Springboks in their Rugby World Cup final will be their best bet against Ian Foster’s beleaguered team. defeat.
Sam Cane and his teammates have arrived in Johannesburg to prepare for two unmissable Rugby Championship tests against South Africa in Mbombela on Sunday (NZ time) and a week later at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
The double header at height will be a test of the All Blacks attitude after losing a home series to Ireland for the first time.
The Springboks beat Wales 2-1 in a series of three tests while the All Blacks struggled against the Irish, but South African coach Jacques Nienaber expects a different challenge than the Kiwis.
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“If you look at the athletes they have and if you look at the skills they have at their disposal, it’s probably going to be a game built around a lot of continuity and maybe moving the ball a little bit,” Nienaber said. at a recent press conference.
“They don’t shy away from battles, which they showed against Ireland. So it’s going to be a mix of battles and probably a bit more continuity than what we saw in the Welsh series.” ‘
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The former All Blacks coach has defended his successor Ian Foster.
South African rugby media suggests that the All Blacks could benefit from being the underdogs against the Springboks.
But Ashfak Mohamed, the Cape sports editor for the Independent Newspapers (iol.za) groupbelieves the Springboks “need a shift to the strategy used in that memorable 2019 Rugby World Cup final against England in Yokohama, if the South Africans are to stop an excited All Black outfit”.
“Don’t be fooled by the series defeat to Ireland. New Zealand will be much better this time,” he wrote.
Themba Hadebe/AP
The Springboks set-piece was a formidable weapon, with the scrum seen here in action against Wales.
Mohamed said the Springboks “can’t just rely on playing their usual percentage game of box kicks, driving mauls and scrum penalties to beat the All Blacks”.
He noted the potential threats from Jordie and Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane and possibly Richie Mo’unga in the All Blacks’ backline and suggested that the Springboks should stop the supply of ball to them.
The All Blacks also knew how to “beat the Boks, especially in South Africa,” Mohamed wrote, pointing out that the Kiwis had won six of the last seven tests in Mzansi (South Africa) and the World Cup pool match in 2019. and had split the Rugby Championship encounters 1-1 last year.
The Springboks should “add the icing on the cake that we saw in all its glory in the World Cup final,” said Mohamed. “It goes without saying that the Boks will try to gain physical dominance and get their maul going, but what they do with that possession will determine the outcome.”
South Africa Rugby Mag columnist Dylan Jack also claimed: that the Springboks “have always been the traditional underdogs in this rivalry and have used that mentality to jack themselves up in some of their more recent victories.”
But now the All Blacks would “play with a back-to-the-wall mentality” that could make them dangerous, and the Boks couldn’t afford to “be lulled into a position of false security.”
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Will Jordan, who scored in the second Test against Ireland, be one of the All Blacks backs the Springboks should be wary of.
“They know for themselves that an injured team is a deadly team, that a poor set of results and criticism from outside the camp can excite a team, such as the heavy artillery targeting the alleged ‘boring’ game plan under Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber,” wrote Jaap.
“It could be a tactically flawed All Blacks team running wild at Mbombela Stadium… a team that doesn’t live up to the standards set for them. But make no mistake, this is a team that will not be lacking in motivation and they can benefit from being the underdog for once.”
Jack warned that the breakthrough of Will Jordan’s third test attempt against Ireland demonstrated the All Blacks’ ability to punish every mistake and their talent for scoring from anywhere on the pitch.