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Rugby World Cup: Springboks brace for mammoth encounter with All Blacks

Rugby World Cup: Springboks brace for mammoth encounter with All Blacks

It is likely to be one of the biggest matches of Heyneke Meyer’s career and while the numbers are very much in favour of New Zealand, if there are any two teams who always bring out the best in each other it’s the Springboks and the All Blacks. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.

Statistically speaking, South Africa have a poor record against New Zealand. Out of the 90 meetings between the two teams, South Africa have won just 35. Since January 2010, South Africa have won just two of the 12 clashes. Still, if there are two teams who always bring the best out of each other, it’s these two.

The Boks have come a long way since that now infamous loss to Japan and are just one famous win away from their third World Cup final. It seems almost unbelievable considering the hysteria that followed that loss. South Africa have improved as a team since the start of the tournament and even coach Heyneke Meyer has seemingly shed some of his anti-logic and opted for Lood de Jager over Victor Matfield in the starting XV. That is, of course, provided everyone’s new favourite South African lock passes a late fitness test on Friday afternoon.

“I never thought a year or two back all these youngsters would be playing and all in great form,” Meyer said.

“I am happy with where we are at. We had a bad start to the season, but we have taken heart out of coming through adversity and sticking together. We showed great character under pressure to come back and beat Wales last weekend, but we are going to need more than that to beat the All Blacks.”

How much more is now the big question as the semifinal looms. The two sides could not have any less in common, though. New Zealand plays silky, smooth, running rugby while the South Africans force their way through the opposition with bulk, brawn and rolling mauls. New Zealand absolutely annihilated France in their quarterfinal while South Africa slipped through thanks to a bit of last-minute magic against a hamstrung Wales. The Boks made plenty of elementary errors against Wales while the All Blacks seemed to be pulling all the strings.

“What they did against France was amazing,” said Meyer. “I really believe this is the best team that has ever played the game. There is usually a decline after a team wins the World Cup, but they have got better, which hasn’t happened before. We know that to beat them we will need our best performance ever and we believe we can do it.”

Still, when these two powerhouses meet, something strange always happens. The All Blacks won’t be allowed the freedom they had against a lacklustre France and they won’t be able to run amok across the whitewash as they did time and time again in this tournament. Cast your eyes to the scorelines of the matches when these two teams met most recently and it becomes clear we’re in for an ugly encounter.

In their last meeting, in July this year, New Zealand won 27-20 while South Africa snuck a 27-25 win in October the year before. Also in 2014, in September, New Zealand won 14-10. In fact, it’s not since July 2011 that there is been a more-than-20-point margin between the two teams.

During the Rugby Championship, the most recent encounters between the two teams, South Africa showed visible signs of struggle towards the latter stages of their matches, something the coach admits had troubled him at the start of the World Cup.

“I was not happy with our fitness levels at the start of the World Cup,” said Meyer. “We had probably overtrained in the Rugby Championship and failed to close out games at the end when we were ahead. We finished strongly against Wales and we are fit enough. People talk about a contrast in styles on Saturday, but we want to move the ball round and score tries, which we have done against the All Blacks. Playing them is never a dull affair.”

It’s quite a paradoxical choice phrase to use because, considering the close scorelines between the two teams and the Boks’ tendency to suffocate opposition, it might be considered ‘dull’. South African fans will be hoping there’s nothing dull about the result, though. DM

Photo: The All Blacks perform the Haka dance facing the Springboks ahead of the rugby test match between South Africa and New Zealand at Emirates Airlines Park in Johannesburg, South Africa 25 July 2015. EPA/NIC BOTHMA

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