Boks seek to add to Foster's misery

Nienaber wary of wounded New Zealanders

10 August 2022 - 09:22
By Athenkosi Tsotsi
Lukhanyo Am of South Africa during The Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand at Mbombela Stadium on August 06, 2022 in Nelspruit, South Africa.
Image: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images Lukhanyo Am of South Africa during The Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand at Mbombela Stadium on August 06, 2022 in Nelspruit, South Africa.

The Springboks will look to pile on more misery to the All Blacks when they meet at Ellis Park on Saturday for the second game of the Rugby Championship. 

The All Blacks are under immense pressure, they have been called imposters by the media and back home in New Zealand, there have been calls for their head coach Ian Foster to step down as they say he's out of depth. In last Saturday's Test at the Mbombela Stadium where the Boks won 26-10, they made New Zealand look like a tier-two team. 

The Boks will look to put on the final nail in Foster's coffin this weekend and have him carry the tag of being the worst New Zealand head coach of all time.

A Springbok and All Blacks game at Ellis Park is one of rugby's heritage games. The most famous encounter between the two in Johannesburg was the 1995 Rugby World Cup final where South Africa won 15-12. 

Heading into this weekend's encounter, Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber says the All Blacks will be fuelled by playing in front of the Ellis Park crowd and the desperation to change their situation. 

“New Zealand are similar to the Springboks in the sense that they do not give up,” said Nienaber. “They fought until the end against us at the Mbombela Stadium last week and we expect nothing less from them on Saturday.

“They have quality players within their ranks and given the rich history between the sides in Johannesburg and their desperation to turn things around after a few disappointing results, we know we are in for a massive challenge this weekend," he said.

Yesterday, the Springboks announced the squad to play on the weekend and they flexed their muscle in terms of quality in depth. 

Prop Ox Nche and hooker Bongi Mbonambi start in the front row alongside Frans Malherbe, who will get his 50th cap. Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager are the locks again. Veteran Duane Vermeulen returns from a spell on the sidelines to form part of a loose trio with Pieter-Steph du Toit and skipper Siya Kolisi. 

After a sound performance from the bench last weekend, Jaden Hendrikse starts at scrumhalf, replacing Faf de Klerk, who is on a return to play protocol after suffering a concussion in the last Test. Flyhalf Handre Pollard will look to kick on from his impressive display with the boot from last week. 

Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am start in midfield, the back-three will be Damian Willemse, Jesse Kriel and Makazole Mapimpi.