Ardie Savea of New Zealand challenged by Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa during the second Test of the 2026 Rugbys Greatest Rivalry series at Cape Town Stadium as the sides target a win in Soweto.
Image: BackpagePix
Mike Blair has helped transform the All Blacks’ attack into one of the Springboks’ biggest headaches – and the former Scotland scrumhalf believes New Zealand have plenty more to offer in Saturday’s crucial third Test at FNB Stadium.
The All Blacks have repeatedly exposed the Springbok defence out wide in the opening two Tests, scoring nine tries to South Africa’s four, and Blair’s influence on their improved attacking efficiency has been significant.
Blair has a strong relationship with All Blacks coach Dave Rennie, having worked with him at the Kobe Steelers in Japan from 2023 until earlier this year. When Rennie replaced Scott Robertson as All Blacks coach, he brought Blair into his new coaching staff.
The pair had also worked together at Glasgow Warriors from 2016 to 2019, when Rennie was head coach.
Blair, who won 85 Scotland caps, faced the media on Monday ahead of the third Test and was asked about Erasmus announcing his team early.
“You take notice of it, but you take it with a pinch of salt as well,” Blair said with a smile.
“Listening to what Rassie said after the second Test about how he changed the team around depending on the weather, it shows that they’ve got the capability of doing that.
“An early team announcement gives us an idea of what they might be thinking, but we’re not going to spend huge amounts of time planning for a certain individual in a certain position when we’re pretty aware that that can change right up until kick-off.”
Blair said the All Blacks would prepare for the Springboks’ broader defensive system rather than become obsessed with individual match-ups.
“We understand the South African DNA in terms of their game, how they defend. A lot of the individuals will fit within that system, so we prepare for the team’s ethos as opposed to the individuals.”
With the series level at 1-1, Blair knows the importance of Saturday’s clash in front of what is expected to be a huge crowd at the 94 000-capacity FNB Stadium.
“You could argue the series would be won on whoever wins this game, because those are the three games in South Africa,” he said.
“We’re seeing it like that, as being a really important game for us.
“If you win this one, then you’re not losing the series, so it certainly puts you in the driving seat.”
Blair said the All Blacks were relishing the prospect of playing in front of a packed stadium.
“We heard 84 000 tickets have been sold already. That’s awesome for our guys. We love that.
“We love playing in front of a big crowd, showing everyone what we can do and expressing ourselves.”
The All Blacks have had little time to dwell on last week’s 33-26 defeat in Cape Town, immediately turning their attention to finding solutions ahead of the third Test.
“There’s a real solution-based mindset,” Blair said.
“Guys were down about the result, but you can’t afford to be down for too long. We know we’ve got this Test match and another Test match afterwards, so you can’t wallow for too long.”
Blair believes the All Blacks’ attacking game remains in a healthy place despite the defeat.
“Backing our game that we’ve been able to execute over the last couple of months, and trusting what we’ve been doing, that would be the main thing,” he said.
“We obviously finished four of them on Saturday, but we left multiple opportunities out there, so we’ve been talking about how we will take them.”
The All Blacks’ attack coach believes there is reason for optimism, but also plenty to improve.
“The tries we scored were tougher to take than other opportunities that we created, so there’s a positive feel, but some work still to be done.”
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