Boks gearing up for ‘massive’ games against All Blacks

Mike Greenaway

As pleased as the Springboks are with their full house of points in Australia, they know they played a weak Wallabies team and the All Blacks will provide a far sterner challenge in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

At the weekend, the Kiwis bounced back from a shock first Test defeat to the Pumas to smash the Argentinians 42-10 in Auckland.

🇿🇦 A massive congratulations to the @springboks and @dricusduplessis on their incredible wins in Perth! 🏆 Your victories are a testament that "Hulle Weet Nie Wat Ons Weet Nie". We’re so proud of you! #TeamSA pic.twitter.com/znruxl1Dl8

— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) August 18, 2024

With their confidence restored, the All Blacks travel to South Africa believing that they can avenge their one-point defeat to the Boks in last year’s World Cup final, the last time the teams met.

Bok wing Cheslin Kolbe said there is no chance of complacency setting in before the August 31 encounter with the All Blacks in Joburg and the second Test a week later in Cape Town.

“We’ll keep our feet on the ground and continue working hard in the weeks leading up to the games against New Zealand in South Africa, which are going to be massive,” said Kolbe. “As a team, we are looking forward to giving back in South Africa at the packed stadiums.”

Kolbe had a fine fortnight against the Wallabies and was one of the few players to start both Tests. It would have been a reassuring sight for Rassie Erasmus to see the 30-year-old injury-free and in excellent form as the Boks won 33-7 and 30-12.

One scintillating break by Kolbe in Perth would have resulted in a try had the recipient of his pass, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, not snatched at the ball and dropped it.

“We had to adapt to the conditions that were unbelievably tough.” – Cheslin Kolbe

In both games, the Boks botched a host of scoring opportunities yet still had way too much for the worst Wallabies team in many a year. Still, the Boks’ record in Australia has been wretched in the professional era, and back-to-back wins there remains a notable achievement.

“As coach Rassie said after the game, we haven’t achieved this in years, and we are definitely in a good position in the Rugby Championship, but we won’t just leave it at that and be complacent because we know the next two games are going to be tough,” Kolbe said.

“From a depth point of view, all the guys who got opportunities put up their hands and showed that they want to stay there. So, we have a lot of excitement from a squad point of view and for the management that just believes in us as players and gives us the opportunities to be ourselves on the field.

“We have laid a good foundation and we need to make sure that we can build on that and progress as the competition continues.”

The Boks can be pleased with how they dealt with the tough conditions as the early spring rains pelted Perth. Kolbe said the conditions were among the worst he has ever played in.

“At times me and (Makazole) Mapimpi looked at each other when we had to chase high balls, we just couldn’t see it with all the rain pouring down,” Kolbe said.

“But with the experienced guys on the field, we came together and made the game much more simple and that worked for us.

“We had to adapt to the conditions that were unbelievably tough.”