All Blacks wary of confident Boks
Updated | By Gareth Jenkinson
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says a confident Springbok team poses a massive threat ahead of their Rugby Championship clash this weekend.
While the All Blacks certainly are the team to beat in the competition, the Springboks have been building a head of steam in what has been a successful, unbeaten run in 2017. A clean sweep of wins over France in June, followed by back-to-back wins over Argentina have put the Boks in a commanding position going into this clash.
A draw with Australia last weekend has left the Boks three points behind New Zealand on the Rugby Championship log but a win on Saturday could change all of that.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen will have done his homework on the visiting South Africans and he seems to have made an accurate assessment of the mood in the Bok camp.
The Kiwi boss has often spoken about the confidence that comes from winning Test matches and he believes the Springboks are currently riding that wave.
“We’re definitely facing a different team. They’ve got a lot more confidence and you can see that – that comes from winning,” Hansen said.
“They had a great series against the French first up and they got away to good start against the Argies and then that game in Australia. They come with confidence and that is something you can’t buy, you can’t bottle it.
“If you’ve got it, it’s a real advantage to you. You can see they’re a really happy team and they’re playing for each other. That makes them a difficult opponent, they’re a talented nation and they breed good rugby players. It’s going to be a good Test,” the All Blacks coach said.
On the flip side, Springbok coach Allister Coetzee is anticipating another physical, yet technical clash.
“We all know it’s going to physical – the All Blacks know that when they play South Africa. It’s going to be a contest all over, at the breakdowns and the set pieces as well as an aerial bombardment," Coetzee said.
“The big thing will be about how we utilise and exploit space. Normally you use your scrum to do that. We will have to be defensively very good – small margins will be everything this weekend.”
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