RUGBY NEWS - Springbok coach Allister Coetzee says that winning the gain-line and blunting the All Black momentum will be crucial to his team’s chances of winning what he has described their “toughest ever test match”.
The Boks were disappointed to draw against Australia in Perth last weekend but the result still means they are able to get to Albany, which is just north of the Auckland harbour bridge, unbeaten after six matches this year.
That is better than every other top team on the planet, including New Zealand, who lost to the British and Irish Lions in the second test of the recent iconic series.
Coetzee says that the Boks have learned from the qualified success – they didn’t win the series, they just drew it – of the Lions, and he says gain-line dominance and defence will have to be massive ingredients if the Boks are to prevail in Saturday's must-win fourth round Castle Lager Rugby Championship fixture.
“The Lions were very strong on defence and they showed the importance of stopping the All Black momentum,” Coetzee said at the squad’s arrival press conference in Auckland.
“You have to win the gain-line battle and get an advantage there if you hope to beat the All Blacks. If you let the All Blacks get momentum, then it is eventually three against two, or two against one, and try time, and the series against the Lions emphasised that.
“The All Blacks run hard at you and you have to stop the momentum because if they get behind you they will eventually score.”
The Kiwis scored a lot against the Boks last year, Coetzee’s first season in charge. They won 41-13 on home soil and then went on a try scoring rampage in the second half of the Durban test last October to win 57-15, with the Boks being frankly fortunate to get 15. That translated to a whopping 98 points against 28 in New Zealand’s favour across the two test matches played in 2016.
