South Africa’s Springboks will set foot on New Zealand turf to face the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship for the first time in four years when they clash at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday at 9.05am
The two great rivals have met five times since their last meeting in New Zealand – a 16-all draw at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington in 2019.
One of those games was played at the World Cup in Japan, with New Zealand winning 23-13, two were played in Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic (NZ won the first match 19-17 and SA the second 31-29), while SA hosted the last two encounters – a 26-10 win for the Boks in Nelspruit and a 35-23 reverse for the All Blacks at Ellis Park in the most recent clash August last year.
ICYMI: Check out the All Blacks team to face the #Springboks on Saturday - more here: https://t.co/UftXhuNLrB 🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/827fZmJuly
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 13, 2023
And while the Kiwis have been on a downward spiral of late – losing a home series to Ireland (2-1) last year, before also losing to Argentina at home – Bok flanker Kwagga Smith says daai tel vir niks on Saturday.
With both teams coming off convincing wins in their tournament openers – SA beating Australia 43-12 and NZ beating Argentina 41-12 – the tournament gold could be on the line.
There is only one round left to play after this in a shortened tournament in the World Cup year.
And regardless of the importance of the clash in context of the Championship, Smith knows what it will mean to the team to beat the All Blacks in their own backyard.
He says: “New Zealand is a good team and they will never lose their aura…
“It’s going to be an epic match. Both teams had a good performance last weekend and I think it’s going to be nice rugby to watch, exciting for the fans.”
He adds of the rivalry: “Personally, I think it’s the biggest rivalry for me as a player…
“It’s the game that I really want to play every year.”
He adds: “Playing against the All Blacks is the ultimate test – the rivalry and history behind it makes it such an iconic game.”
Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Duane Vermeulen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.