All Blacks coach: Soweto Test will be the series 'decider'
INTERVIEW: All Blacks attack coach Mike Blair believes that the third Test between South Africa and New Zealand would technically be the Greatest Rivalry series decider.
There are two Test matches left between the Springboks and All Blacks. The respective sides are locked at one win apiece heading into the third Test at FNB Stadium in Soweto, before they will lock horns for the last time this season in Baltimore, USA.
Blair said on Monday that, with the Soweto Test being the last one on South African soil, it would technically be the series decider, even though there will be a fourth clash on neutral ground.
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“It’s certainly a big game. You’ve got the three games in South Africa.
“Technically, you could argue the series would be one on whoever wins this game because those are the three games in South Africa.
“So, yeah, we’re seeing it like that as being a really important game for us.
“And if you win this one, then you’re not losing the series. So it puts you in the driving seat.”
Blair added that the All Blacks won’t deviate from what they’ve been doing throughout this Test series, despite the fixture’s magnitude.
“I think we’ve always had that ethos. Dave [Rennie] talks a lot about optimism.
“We talk a lot about playing the pictures in front of us, being open to moving the ball on our 22 if it’s on.
“So I don’t think being brave is the right thing. I think like backing our game that we’ve been able to execute over the last couple of months and trusting what we’ve been doing. I think that would be the main thing.
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Blair touched on the difference in playing surface at the FNB Stadium, which predominantly hosts soccer matches, with the last Test match occurring at the venue being between the same nations in 2010.
“I think 84,000 tickets have been sold already? So that’s awesome, we love that.
“We love playing in front of a big crowd, showing everyone what we can do and expressing ourselves.
“There’s not been too much chat about the surface yet. We’ll wait for the guys who will go ahead of the touring group to give us some feedback on that, and then we’ll adapt accordingly”
The former Scotland international concluded that the All Blacks parked the Cape Town defeat and explained how they approached this week in the lead-up to the third Test.
“The guys are really disappointed with the result, but we’ve moved quickly into what worked and where we need to improve. So there’s a real kind of solution-based mindset.
“Obviously, the guys were down about the result. There’s this Test match and another Test match afterwards. So you can’t wallow for too long.
“I believe the process that we’ve had since the game, the guys got their heads out of rugby yesterday. They’ve had a slightly easier morning. We didn’t train this morning.
“We’re just going to train this afternoon. So I think there’s a good balance in terms of freshening up the bodies, but a focus on what’s going to be important to win this weekend.”
