Springboks vs All Blacks

In more than 300 Tests since TAB began taking bets on the outcome of All Black Tests, the Kiwis have only ever started as underdogs four times on betting odds.

But Nienaber is sending a message that despite the massive stakes against the old foe, the Boks are not ignoring development and growth completely. That’s what happens when you play great teams and the key is not to over-exaggerate one facet of the game because they’ll move to another one.” “We still have a lot of faith in the areas where we want to grow our game. For Foster though, who made four changes to the side that lost the third and deciding Test against Ireland in Wellington three weeks ago, the only focus is on this weekend. Recent form suggests the All Blacks will struggle, but the great joy and mystery of sport is that the unexpected could happen. “You dovetail that with where we are and who we are playing against, so we’ve got quite a great concoction. The set piece purred along well against Wales, but the Boks’ attacking game was as blunt as a Gordon Ramsay put-down. And in the professional era that record in South Africa reads: played 32, won 21, lost 11. We want to play better and we probably know that we’ve never been a great July team. The All Blacks are in unusual territory, especially this century. Samisoni Taukei’aho is named at hooker alongside props George Bower and Angus Ta’avao in a new-look front row. The All Blacks lost.

The Springboks should focus on playing the team in front of them rather than the rich legacy of the All Blacks jersey in the Rugby Championship opener on ...

“These All Blacks forwards don’t have the collective mongrel to be in the gutters. “The Boks, as a unit, have never been more settled and the All Blacks have rarely been such a shambles,” Keohane wrote. In this instance there is no way the Boks can claim to be the underdogs, and neither should their supporters lean on such a crutch.”

The skilled All Blacks want to go to the dance floor on Saturday, but Siya Kolisi's world champion Springboks must take them to the gutters, ...

The Boks were indifferent in beating Wales 2-1 in this season’s home series. Add the axing of the two assistant coaches and it amounts to a pretty big shake-up. Erasmus, at the 2019 World Cup, told his players to take Japan to the gutters for their rousing quarter-final win. But they didn’t fancy the gutters. They have to show the qualities against the All Blacks that they showed in the World Cup final against England. There will always be respect from players and coaches for the game’s greatest rivalry.

The Springboks should be expected to claim victory on Saturday, but the under-fire All Blacks are more than capable of causing a shock result.

Unfortunately, I think the Boks will be on the receiving end of a big response, and may well endure an agonising narrow defeat. The Springboks should be expected to claim victory on Saturday, but the under-fire All Blacks are more than capable of causing a shock result. The Springboks should be expected to claim victory on Saturday, but the under-fire All Blacks are more than capable of causing a shock result.

Check out some of the pictures from the Boks' captain's run on a warm Friday morning at Mbombela Stadium as they completed final preparations for Sunday's game.

Reserves: Dane Coles, Ethan de Groot, Tyrel Lomax, Tupou Vaa'i, Shannon Frizell, Finlay Christie, Richie Mo'unga, Quinn Tupaea. Springboks: Damian Willemse, ...

The results? A beautiful mind crunching all the player stats. You need journalists close enough to smell the liniment.

But it is a gigantic one, the men in black opening their Rugby Championship campaign with back-to-back clashes against their greatest rivals, the Springboks, in ...

The results? A beautiful mind crunching all the player stats. You need journalists close enough to smell the liniment.

The stakes, stats and story lines ahead of the All Blacks' visit to Mbombela Stadium.

The All Blacks opened around the $2 mark and have moved out to $2.20, while the Springboks opened at $1.87 and have closed in to $1.70. The draw is paying $16. This will be the first time in 13 years that the All Blacks have gone into a match as the betting underdogs with the New Zealand bookmaker. If you're a diehard All Blacks supporter you may wish to stop reading here, because this test really is the Springboks' to lose. The Springboks opened up as slim favourites with the TAB, and the money line has moved in the same direction over the last couple of days. To the Springboks, who are running out arguably the strongest possible team they can assemble (minus injured superstar wing Cheslin Kolbe). Up front, they are going to bring the physicality to the All Blacks and test them in every contest and collision. You can expect them to challenge the All Blacks at the lineout, too, with Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager at lock, and openside flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit who can also cause some problems there as a handy lineout option. But where's the fun in that? One major point to note is this weekend's test is at 3.05am NZ time on Sunday... bringing in to play that classic conundrum for the sports fan in your life of 'do I get up, or stay up?' on Saturday night. Hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho will make just his second test start (in his 12th appearance) in a move that will provide some ball-carrying punch to the attack and shows faith from Foster that the form No 2 will make the step up (especially given his very limited experience playing top level rugby in South Africa. His addition sees Chiefs teammate Angus Ta'avao get the nod to fill the vacant No 3 jersey, as Foster is looking to lean upon already established connections. This weekend's match at MbombelaStadium in Nelspruit is the first of a two-match series, kicking off the Rugby Championship campaign. Register with us and content you save will appear here so you can access them to read later. Your News is the place for you to save content to read later from any device. You're here for All Blacks content, so let's start with them.

Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi has dismissed talk that the world champions are the favourites to win the 2022 Rugby Championship opener against the embattled ...

“As children we dreamed of games like these, and we filled up the living room watching them. “The All Blacks are a team that just don’t stop, so it will require an 80-minute performance to defeat them. “We’ve been in a situation before where we lost two matches in a row, and what we learned is that it takes one game to kickstart a team, so we do not see ourselves as favourites at all.

Hard-running No 8 Ardie Savea says the All Blacks will counter the Springboks' physicality with flair and “dangerous” ball-in-hand attack when the teams ...

We know the crowd give the Springboks a bit of edge, we have to hone that in and keep them quiet.” “For us as players, it’s about doing that and it’s one thing talking about it in the week and it’s a different thing actioning it.” “We’ve been working on that the last couple of weeks [in training] to give ourselves opportunities where we can showcase that and put us in the right areas of the field.

Ian Foster's All Blacks are on their worst run of form since 1998 and lost a Test series to Ireland on home soil for the first time last month.

Moreover, this is a Springboks side who lost to Wales – themselves a team in need of narrative and momentum – for the first time in South Africa last month, though admittedly with a much-rotated XV. Nevertheless, they are not insurmountable opponents without weaknesses. “There are definitely some tweaks in the attack area that we are working on but some of them are just highlighting some focus points within our game that I just don’t think we got right in the last series,” Foster said. With a gameplan predicated on smothering every slightest hint of breathing space, the Springboks are less than ideal opponents for a rickety All Blacks side short of confidence.

LIVE scoring and interactive commentary on the Rugby Championship Test between South Africa and New Zealand at Mbombela Stadium.