Bok stronghold under threat? Hansen says All Blacks can win in SA
Sir Steve Hansen does not doubt that the Springboks can be beaten in South Africa by the All Blacks on the upcoming Greatest Rivalry tour.
The All Blacks play three Tests in South Africa, two of which are in Johannesburg, before a fourth in Baltimore, USA.
The Springboks have won five of the last six, including two against 14 men with the All Blacks copping red cards in the first half.
Having coached the All Blacks arguably during their most successful era, Hansen was confident they could be beaten due to his own experience being on top.
“Of course they can, everyone can get beaten,” Hansen told Martin Devlin’s DSPN podcast with a smile.
“I remember back when we were really successful, everyone was saying ‘oh they can’t be beaten’, we always knew we could be beaten.
“If you get comfortable, you’ll get beat, and if you make mistakes in your preparation, you’ll get beat.
“Have they got a very good team at the moment? Yeah they have, but I think we do too.
“I think there are other countries out there that do too. You just have to make sure you get all your ingredients right when you are baking the cake.”
Since claiming the 2023 Rugby World Cup with a 12-11 win over the 14-man All Blacks, the Springboks have had their best period of success in the Rassie Erasmus/Jacques Nienaber era.
They’ve lost just four Test matches over 2024-25, compiling an impressive 85.7 per cent winning record and winning back-to-back Rugby Championship titles for the first time.
The consensus narrative is that other nations, particularly New Zealand, need to copy South Africa’s operating model to catch up. Hansen disagreed.
“What I’ve learnt coaching in Wales and Japan is that what works with New Zealanders, doesn’t always work with other people,” Hansen continued.
“How you coach in one country doesn’t mean you’ve got to coach like that. You’ve got different coaches, different backgrounds.
“What’s happening in South Africa, ok yes there are one or two things you could look at, and say ‘I’ll pinch that idea’, but that idea there may not suit us.
“I think that’s the art of being a good coach, working out what does suit your team and what doesn’t. I look forward to seeing the new coaching group, how the All Blacks are going to play with the talent we’ve got. We’ve got props that can scrum but they can also play rugby.
“When New Zealand teams have forwards that can do the hard yards, scrums, clean breakdowns, and the lineout stuff, we’ve always traditionally been a strong nation.”
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