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'That's a team we can take to pieces'- South Africa vs All Blacks preview
By Josh Raisey
The All Blacks secured the Rugby Championship on Saturday in their 100th Test against South Africa, in what was a match befitting a clash between the number one and number two ranked sides in the world.
Jordie Barrett's late long-range penalty sunk the world champions to deliver a 19-17 win for Ian Foster's side. The scoreboard reflects how little there was to separate either side, and they will know they both have to be at the top of their games again in the rematch this weekend.
When, where and how to watch the match
The match will kick-off at 23:05 (NZST) on Saturday October 2nd at the Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast.
It will be broadcast on SKY Sport in New Zealand, Stan Sport in Australia, SuperSport in South Africa, ESPN in South America and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Head-to-head
The victory in Townsville made it 60 wins for the All Blacks in the 100 Tests against the Springboks, losing 36 and drawing four. Though the All Blacks have four wins from their last six matches against South Africa, with one loss and one draw, the average score of those encounters is 25-23, with five of those matches being decided by two points or under.
Match odds from bet365
bet365 have the handicap on the All Blacks at -9, with 13/4 odds that Jacques Nienaber's side will avenge their loss last Saturday. There are also 5/4 odds that the All Blacks will win the match by 13+ points.
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Prediction
Former Springboks assistant coach Swys de Bruin was not too despondent from their third loss on the bounce, and firmly believes South Africa can punish the All Blacks by making some tactical adjustments and attacking more.
"We've got the guys to really hit them," de Bruin said on SuperSport after the match.
"I don't think it's the strongest All Blacks side around anymore. They've had disruptions, Aaron Smith is not playing, they're not scrumming so well, we pumped them often in the scrums. So for me, that's a team we can take to pieces, just by adding that component of when it's on, it's on.
"If we can attack properly at the right stages and the right plan, we can really kill them."
*Odds accurate as of 27/09/21.
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Latest Comments
Recent complaints that SA players have a 12-month workload isn't of itself a credible enough excuse to lay at the door of EPCR administrators. If SA clubs want to participate in NH league and club competitions and also participate in SH internationals, then clearly something has to give.
From the EPCR perspective, I do think that the format/schedule issues can be fixed if there's a strong enough desire to remove some of the logistical challenges clubs are facing with these long and frequent trips across the hemispheres.
From the SA player workload perspective however, I'm not sure how players can participate safely and competitively at both the club and international levels. Perhaps - and as Rassie appears to be developing, SA develop a super squad with sufficient player numbers and rotation to allow players to compete across the full 12-month calendar.
Bottom line though, is the geographical isolation is always going to restrict SA's ability to having the best of both worlds.
Go to commentsMoriaty refused to play for wales also he’s injured, France’s is being coy about wales, North in the dark but Sam David and jerad are you joking their not good enough
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