Assistant coach’s warning for Springboks as All Blacks look to bounce back

Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick has warned “you can never underestimate” the All Blacks ahead of this weekend’s Freedom Cup decider in Cape Town. New Zealand are looking to bounce back after their recent 31-27 to the same foe in Johannesburg.

In that Test at Emirates Airline Park, the All Blacks looked a class above for the majority of the 80-minute battle. Codie Taylor scored the opening try less than 10 minutes into the contest, with Caleb Clarke (double) and Jordie Barrett also crossing for five-pointers later on.

The All Blacks led 27-17 with 15 minutes left to play and the mood among supporters at the Johannesburg venue wasn’t one that expressed confidence. But the Springboks themselves never lost hope as they rallied their way back for an impressive comeback win.

That victory has put the two-time defending Rugby World Cup champions on the cusp of more history as they chase a piece of silverware they haven’t held since 2009. This weekend, whoever wins that Test will hoist the Freedom Cup – the trophy these rivals compete for every year.

South Africa will carry the favourites tag into the Cape Town Test, but the New Zealanders are “desperate” and history suggests that works in their favour. The All Blacks bounced back from a loss to Argentina last month and they’ll back themselves to do something similar this weekend.

“You can never be too comfortable when you play against the All Blacks and we know they’re going to be a desperate team,” Stick told reporters on Friday.

“You saw after they lost against us at the Mbombela Stadium, they managed to bounce back. That’s the quality of a New Zealand team – if you’re not at your best on a day, they will put you away. (It’s) also a lesson we can learn from Argentina earlier in the Championship.

“Once again, they’ve got world-class players and they’re a well-coached side. On a day, if you’re not at your best they will punish you.

“If you look at the changes they’ve got now in their team, you look at that back three, you don’t really want to give those guys some space and enough time to make decisions because they will punish you, they’re world-class players.

“You can never underestimate an All Blacks team. But once again, we’ve done everything in our power to make sure we’re well prepared also for the game.”

The All Blacks have made five changes to their starting side, and it tells a story about what they expect from the Boks. Test veterans TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett have dropped back to the bench with Cortez Ratima and Will Jordan taking their spots in the First XV.

While the visitors clearly anticipated another tough challenge from the Boks’ bench, the All Blacks have named an intriguing run-on side as well. Wallace Sititi has been given the nod at blindside flanker, while Mark Tele’a and Sevu Reece return via the wings.

As for the Springboks, they’ve welcomed dual Rugby World Cup winners Eben Etzebeth, Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux back into their starting side. Captain Siya Kolisi has also been named despite there being some doubt over his availability earlier in the week.

South Africa have won their last three Tests against the New Zealanders, which included a record win at Twickenham and, of course, the Rugby World Cup Final. But still, both teams have reasons to be confident going into this weekend’s highly anticipated clash.

“You can never relax, not when you’re playing against the All Blacks,” Stick explained with a sense of passion.

“We’ve never been in a position like this in the past… you know how difficult it is to win a Freedom Cup away from the All Blacks. You need to win two games to get it away from them.

“We’ve been doing well against them, winning one game and then they win one game and they retain that Freedom Cup. It’s a very special trophy.

“If you look at where we are as a country, for example, 30 years of democracy, I think that trophy speaks volumes into what we stand for as a Springbok team currently.

“Yes, we spoke about it… I know we haven’t played a lot of games against the All Blacks here in Cape Town, the last one was in 2017, and now if you look at the team and what we stand for, I think the timing of bringing the game back into Cape Town… we are given an opportunity make a difference between the four lines.

“It’s going to be a great vibe, it’s going to be a great occasion… I know our people will be behind us and we’ll do everything in our powers to make sure that we are least give them a taste of that Freedom Cup.”