Boks need their best-ever
There is great mutual respect between the two sides in what is rugby's greatest rivalry, and Meyer said that if his team is to get the better of the defending champions in their semifinal at Twickenham on Saturday they will need their best-ever performance.
"I believe that this [All Blacks] is the best team that has ever played the game, if you look at their record in the four years since the last World Cup. Usually the year after the World Cup there is a decline in performance but Steve [Hansen] has been there for eight years as an assistant and most of their coaching staff have gone on so they have just got better.
"We as a team know that this must be our best performance probably ever if we want to beat them because they are the best team that has ever played the game.
"In saying that you have to believe you can beat them, we are great friends off the field with a lot of mutual respect between the two sides and that is great," he said.
Meyer and Hansen have overseen some epic clashes between the sides over the last three years, with their matches at Ellis Park in 2013, 2014 and 2015 all foing down as classics which could have gone either way.
Those matches were all high-scoring affairs, which Meyer puts down to the fact that the teams actually play a similar style, contrary to popular belief.
"In a sense we play more or less the same. Their skill level and the way they play has been unbelievable, and every time we have played them we have also scored a lot of tries, it has never been a dull affair.
"They move the ball around and they want to score tries, if you look at our previous encounters it has always been four tries to five or three to four.
"We have moved on from where we came from, we can move the ball around and score great tries," he said.
However, that does not mean that we are necessarily in for a feat of tries in what is after all a World Cup knock-out game in what are expected to be wet conditions in London this weekend.
"I think knock-out games are different, on the day there will always be pressure. It was amazing to see what they did against France where they still threw the ball around and scored great tries.
"Where they are very good is their tactical kicking and when they get a chance they will finish which is something we need to improve on," said Meyer.
The Bok coach said that considering the strong bench he has picked he is not concerned about his team's ability to finish strong, but warned that their execution and defence will have to be top drawer.
"I think it is one of the best benches I have ever picked and in the last 15 or 20 minutes against them you need quality guys that are fit.
"I definitely think we are fit enough, they will chase the game and they will try to make the game quicker, but that is how we play as well lately.
"What is great about our gameplan now is that we can grind it out and we can also open up the game.
"I don't think it is a question of running out of steam, I think we need to execute. You have to back your defence with these guys and I think where they are brilliant is they are the best tactical kicking team in the world which is something we need to improve on.
"The one thing is that you can't give them turnovers, where they are better than most teams is if you give them half a chance they will score.
"We have to execute very well, use every opportunity and defend for our lives. We have always scored enough tries, that has never been a problem against them, I think that we need to back our defence and be very disciplined," he added.
