Boks seek quality as grudge trophy deciders against All Blacks loom

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says their focus this week, with make or break home Tests against an All Blacks side with a point to prove looming, is on producing the best quality rugby they can to build on their encouraging start to the Rugby Championship.

The Springboks returned to training on Friday after a two-day break after their return from Australia. They line up against their southern hemisphere arch-rivals at Ellis Park on Saturday and at Cape Town Stadium on September 7.

Stick expects a completely different challenge to what the world champions faced in their back-to-back wins against the Wallabies Down Under when they meet the All Blacks for the first time since last year's Rugby World Cup final in Paris.

The New Zealanders will arrive in South Africa not just stung by that result — while they have ruled the Rugby Championship with 20 wins to South Africa and Australia's four apiece, the All Blacks (three victories) fell behind the Boks (four) in World Cup wins with October's final defeat. South Africa became the first back-to-back champions in France while New Zealand have not won since 2015.

The Boks, after their start in Australia, have a chance to follow their World Cup triumph lifting a rare Rugby Championship trophy, with the results against the All Blacks crucial to that.

“If you had asked us at the beginning of the season if we thought it was possible to get 10 points against Australia at home, we would have probably have said you are joking because it’s always tough against them Down Under,” Stick said.

“But we’ll take those results. It was positive for us as a team, but we are now facing a different challenge.

“The All Blacks have been one of the best teams for a while now and it showed in how they bounced back against Argentina after losing their first game.

“On a good day they can be very dangerous, so the keys for us are to prepare well, ensure we are aligned as a team and execute our game plan well because if you are not at your best on the day against the All Blacks they can punish you.”

Stick said the team was in a good state mentally and physically after their tour and he is confident that two extra days' training before the All Black Tests will set them in good stead similarly to the time they spent in Australia to acclimatise to the time zone and conditions.

“As a team we are in a good space at the moment. We had two or three days off with our families and we are now back in camp. This means we have two extra days to work with the players, which will allow us to implement a few things.

“It’s similar to what we did before the Australian leg and it helped a lot. One can see the guys are fresh and the energy in the group is great.”

Stick said there were several positives the Boks can build on from their Australian tour and he hopes it will allow the team to dive straight into action when they line up against the All Blacks.

“The one thing I enjoyed [from the tour] was the young guys who came through and their excitement when they received opportunities to play.

“If you look at a young guy like Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] and Aphelele Fassi and way they are maturing in those positions, it’s great for the team.

“Of course they’ll make mistakes now and then, but as long as one learns from those mistakes it makes you a better player.

“A few of the players grabbed their opportunities with both hands and that’s great for us as coaches to build our squad depth and to create more competition in the different positions.

“It’s going to be a different challenge playing against the All Blacks but these are the moments we live for and we’ll make sure we prepare well.”

The Springboks jumped into action in Johannesburg on Friday with a gym and field training session and continued their preparations on Saturday before having Sunday off to recover before switching into full Test match mode on Monday.

SA Rugby