ABs fire expansive warning
The All Blacks expect the Springboks to play with more width in their return Rugby Championship clash in Soweto on Saturday.
The Springboks employed a conservative, territory-based gameplan in the team’s previous encounter in Dunedin last month and were able to unsettle their hosts with the approach.
However, errant goal-kicking cost South Africa 20 points and led to a 21-11 defeat. All Black assistant coach Ian Foster said the Springboks’ five-try romp over the Wallabies at the weekend suggested they would play a more expansive game at FNB Stadium.
“They have a different kind of team and they certainly look like they had intentions to play with a bit of more width than they did against us in Dunedin and I guess we expect that to continue,” Foster said in Johannesburg on Tuesday
“It is still South Africa-All Blacks, they may chuck a few different things at us and they seem to have a lot of confidence in the way they played last week.
“We are still expecting the odd high, we are still expecting a tough physical battle through their forwards, through drives so some things won't change,” Foster said.
Foster warned the old foe of the high risk associated with an enterprising approach and said they would stick with what has worked for them.
“For us it is business as normal on our game, we want to keep running our game to us it is about how well we play and that is really important to us.
“Our game's reasonably obvious, we don't change it too much, if teams want to stretch us that is their decision and if they do it well then we are under stress and we have to defend well,” he said.
“If you play an expansive game it does come with a risk of errors and we've probably been through that process a little bit already and it doesn't come naturally you've got to work hard at it.”
Foster said there is no special focus on the Springboks’ 20-year-old flyhalf Johan Goosen.
“He is a fine goal-kicker…he distributes the ball well and I guess he's quite happy to run if it is obvious for him to take it,” he said.
“He is a good all-round player, I guess he is still finding his feet at the international game and this Saturday is going to be pretty big for him.
“Hopefully if we can attack well we will expose him in one-on-one situations but nothing really that we will target him.”
