Springboks preparing for massive battle against All Blacks in Auckland
Bongi Mbonambi in action at a Springbok training session.
The Springboks are preparing themselves for a massive battle against their arch rivals, the All Blacks, in their Rugby Championship Test in Auckland on Saturday.
That was the word from assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and hooker Bongi Mbonambi ahead of the highly anticipated encounter at Mount Smart Stadium.
Forward battle will be crucial
Mbonambi believes the forward duel will be huge and said he and his team-mates are ready for the All Blacks’ onslaught, despite several players only arriving at the Boks’ hotel in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
“It’s always difficult playing against a fully loaded New Zealand team,” said Mbonambi. “They are a good scrummaging team, and we saw how they performed against Argentina, so we have to be up for it.”
Commenting on the Springbok preparations for the match, the 32-year-old said his team’s 43-12 victory over the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship opener in Pretoria last week was a good hit out ahead of their encounter with the All Blacks.
“The game against Australia was a good start for us, but we quickly put that behind us because we have another big challenge this week,” explained Mbonambi. “It was smooth sailing all the way here, and when we landed, we got down to training.
“Fortunately, all the planning was done when we touched down, so we just had to slot in, and as a team we’re aligned.”
The Boks’ preparations suffered a setback when star second-row and stand-in skipper Eben Etzebeth’s father passed away earlier this week and Stick said they would not only be playing for South Africa, but also for their team-mate.
“We’ve prepared as well as we could for a massive game,” he said. “Eben’s loss is also our loss because we are a family, and as a team we’d like to be there for one another.
“We also lost Jaden Hendrikse’s father before we left South Africa, so as a team we’d like to be as supportive as we can.
“Eben made the choice to play this weekend, and I’d like to think that he’ll be doing it for his father. If he plays for his dad, it doesn’t get bigger than facing the All Blacks, but from a team perspective, we always ensure that we perform as well as we can.”
Stick echoed Mbonambi’s sentiments on the upcoming Test saying he also expects a big onslaught from the All Blacks.
“If we want to beat the All Blacks, there’s no doubt that we have to stand up to them physically, and also cope with their high-tempo game for the full 80-minutes. It is also vital that when we create opportunities, we have to use them,” he said.
The former Springbok Sevens captain was caught by surprise when told that defeating the All Blacks on Saturday would be a first win for the Boks in Auckland since 1937.
“It’s the first time I hear about that,” said Stick. “It would be special for the boys, but it isn’t something we’ve been thinking about.
“As a team we spoke about facing the All Blacks at home. Some of us were part of the team that won in Wellington in 2018, but this is a new match, and we know the history between the teams is massive.”
Happy with a new venue
With the teams set to line up against one another at Mount Smart Stadium for the first time, Stick said he was pleasantly surprised with the venue.
“We were actually surprised when we got to the field after everything we heard about it,” said Stick. “It’s a nice pitch and stadium.
“In South Africa we’ve been to Welkom, Brakpan and Kimberley at stages in our careers, so we are used to very tough fields. After what we saw today, I don’t think the stadium will make a massive difference.”
