CLASH OF THE TITANS: The Springboks welcome the All Backs to Cape Town in a bid to level their series 1-1.
Image: Cape Times Graphics
History suggests the Springboks are their most dangerous when wounded, and all eyes will be on Cape Town as they ready for the second Test that South Africa cannot afford to lose.
The Springboks have their backs to the wall, and the All Blacks have been handed a late twist in their favour, as the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry heads to DHL Stadium tomorrow.
The All Blacks lead the four-Test series after their stunning 33-16 victory at Ellis Park last Saturday, leaving the Springboks needing a win to keep the contest alive.
They will do so with a new man in the middle after World Rugby confirmed that Australia’s Angus Gardner will referee Saturday’s showdown. The New Zealanders know Gardner very well from their participation in Super Rugby.
Gardner was originally scheduled to take charge of the third Test in Johannesburg next week, but Georgia’s Nika Amashukeli has fallen ill.
Amashukeli will now take Gardner’s original assignment in Johannesburg.
For the Springboks, however, the focus is firmly on what happens between the white lines.
Springbok prop Thomas “Tank” du Toit speaks during a press conference at The Cullinan Hotel in Cape Town as South Africa prepares to face the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Image: Picture: Henk Kruger/ANA Studio
The Boks have repeatedly shown an ability to absorb a setback, learn from it and respond with a performance that changes the course of a series or tournament.
They did it against the British & Irish Lions in 2021, recovering from a 22-17 defeat in the opening Test to win the series 2-1.
At the 2019 Rugby World Cup, they lost to New Zealand in the pool stages before going on to lift the Webb Ellis Cup. Four years later, a defeat to Ireland in France was followed by a remarkable run to a second successive World Cup title.
And last year, after being beaten 38-22 by Australia at Ellis Park, the Springboks regrouped to retain the Rugby Championship for the first time in history.
That ability to move on quickly will be tested again in Cape Town.
Prop Thomas du Toit said the players had deliberately drawn a line under the Ellis Park defeat after conducting a thorough review on Monday.
“I think the important thing for us was to park that game and take the learning as quickly as we can,” Du Toit said.
“We’ve done an incredible job over the last couple of years in putting every individual game in its own box and not looking behind at what we did wrong. We rectify as much as we can and as quickly as we can.”
The Boks have therefore resisted the temptation to dwell on how badly things went wrong at Ellis Park.
“We took on board the good stuff, worked on the worst things of the game – it was as easy as that,” he said.
There is no disguising the significance of Saturday, though.
“We’ve got that undertone of what this occasion is,” Du Toit said. “However, the reality of it is we want to win on Saturday, and what we need to do during the week is going to be important.”
The All Blacks are under no illusion about what awaits them.
Coach Dave Rennie expects a wounded Springbok side to come out firing, but warned that New Zealand will also have to improve if they are to repeat their Ellis Park triumph.
“We’re aware that the Boks will come out firing for a potential bounce-back. They’ll obviously be very disappointed with last weekend,” Rennie said.
“There’s been a lot of talk around how they bounced back last year in Wellington after we beat them at Eden Park the week before. We are well aware of it.”
But Rennie insists the All Blacks will not sit back and defend their 1-0 lead.
“The Springboks at their best are tough to beat anywhere, but we spoke a lot about us being better than last weekend,” he said.
“We have to lift our level because we know that the Boks will be better as well.
“We don’t totally focus on what the Boks can bring; we’ll mostly focus on what we can bring.”
Follow the story
