Has the Eden Park hoodoo been exaggerated? Bok coach Rassie has his say

The biggest talking point in the build-up to Saturday’s crunch clash between the All Blacks and the Springboks is the home team’s 31-year unbeaten record at Eden Park and South Africa’s inability to win a match there since 1937.

But the so-called “hoodoo” is somewhat of a farce, because Rassie Erasmus’s team are playing at Eden Park for the first time (Erasmus took over as Bok coach in 2018), while the last time the Boks played at the iconic stadium was in 2013.

Of the match 23 that will take on the All Blacks on Saturday, only veterans Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth featured in that 2013 defeat to the Kiwis. That makes it difficult for this Springbok team to fear playing at Eden Park, as 21 of the 23 players have never set foot on the Auckland turf.

Erasmus was asked if too much had been made about the hoodoo.

“It is a difficult one for me to answer without it coming out the wrong way,” the coach said, choosing his words carefully.

“Ellis Park was our go-to ground. Two years ago, we played well in beating the All Blacks in Mbombela, then lost the following week at Ellis Park. There was still talk about the Ellis Park aura, and it was interesting to hear Australia talking about it before we played them there a few weeks back. And they beat us.”

Erasmus is hinting that too much is made about specific grounds having an aura of invincibility.

“We have had success in Wellington against these All Blacks, but we don’t go around bragging, ‘we beat them in Wellington, we beat them in Wellington.’

“It is about what happens on the night, wherever you play. It is a 70 by 100m field; there is the referee; there are 30 guys on the field; there is a passionate crowd that can influence a game, as was the case when we played France in Marseilles,” Erasmus explained.

“We are not disrespecting it [the Eden Park record]. We just don’t think there is more that can motivate us than simply to be playing the All Blacks in New Zealand.

“It will be great if we can achieve it [ending the All Blacks’ record at Eden Park], but it is not our driving factor this week. We are playing on a rugby field.

“It is a massive game, not just because of Eden Park and the history, but because it is so hard to win in New Zealand. I never achieved it as a player, and as a coach, I have won one and drawn one [since 2018].

“I am not underplaying this game. The All Blacks are No 1 in the world, it is Ardie Savea’s 100th game, and the Rugby Championship is all square. We are desperate to win this game. It is nerve-wracking.”