VIDEO: 'Desperate' Rassie skirring for decisive edge in Eden Park crunch
“It’s a massive game.”
In that concise sentence, South African coach Rassie Erasmus encapsulated the Rugby Championship Round Three face-off against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.
Erasmus reiterated the fact that as a player, he never won in New Zealand and as a coach, he has one win and a draw in Aotearoa.
“There’s history, with the [1981] Flower Bomb Test [at Eden Park], the Cavaliers [1986 NZ rebel team].
“They were the team we watched as little boys.
“They are currently No.1 in the world.
“It’s massive, it’s exciting, it’s nerve-racking, it’s an honour, it’s the 100th Test for Ardie [Savea].
“It is a big build-up, with the Rugby Championship all square.
“We desperately want to win this game.”
Erasmus’s comments are underpinned by the stats and history between the two giants.
The Springboks are chasing a fifth victory in a row against the All Blacks.
They have played 108 Tests, with the All Blacks leading the Springboks by 62-42 in the win column, with four draws.
The Springboks’ longest winning streak against the All Blacks was six matches in a row between 1937 and 1949, and the last time the Springboks defeated the All Blacks at Eden Park was in 1937 – a long-standing record they will be determined to end this weekend.
The hosts have not lost at this iconic Auckland venue since 1994, an unbeaten run of 50 Test matches.
Erasmus admitted that few challenges are more daunting.
That is why he delayed the team announcement from the regular Tuesday slot to Thursday, hoping to keep some of his tricks in the bag.
(WATCH as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus explains how he hopes to get an edge over the All Blacks in Auckland.….)
“If you’re playing New Zealand in New Zealand, you need every single bit of advantage,” Erasmus told a media briefing, after naming his team.
“Not that I think it’s a massive advantage [delaying the naming of the team], but for us not to 100 percent know the team they would pick, and there are four or five surprises that we didn’t think would be in the team.
“That is why we said we would front up and only name our team on Thursday.
“Sometimes we feel naming our team on Monday, it’s out of the way, and the speculation is out of the way.”
Turning to the All Blacks selection, Erasmus revealed which players he did not expect to front up to the Boks.
“[Fabian] Holland on the bench, we knew that [Tyrel] Lomax would come into the mix, we were sure Wallace [Sititi] would play.
“I wasn’t sure about the No.6 flank [Simon Parker] that is playing.
“We knew [Ardie] Savea would play [in his 100th Test].
“There was always doubt about their No.9s, but the starting scrumhalf [Finlay Christie] played against us in the [2023] World Cup Final.
“I wasn’t sure whether they were going to swap outside centre and wings, and where Will Jordan would play.
“That’s why I said on Monday we were guessing a bit, and we just thought let’s even the playing field, so both teams only really know the teams on Thursday.
“That’s the truth.”
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