Boks prepare for serious All Black backlash

After completing a 31-27 win in Johannesburg this past weekend in the first of two Rugby Championship Tests on home soil, the world champions can complete a rare double victory over their arch-rivals if they end up on the winning side at the Cape Town Stadium (kick-off 5pm).

They already have an eight-point lead over the Kiwis, and a victory could take them one step closer to claiming the Championship crown for the first time since 2019.

Assistant coach Daan Human said yesterday that they are bracing for a fightback from the All Blacks.

“They had a massive comeback after the first loss (last month) against Argentina. But you can always expect that from a quality side like them,” the scrum guru said.

“Like how they did two years ago (after losing in Mbombela against the Boks and winning the next weekend in Johannesburg). We can expect the same this weekend. They will probably try to do the same.

“But we are concentrating on ourselves and where we can get better. We can never forget that. Yes, we must consider it (that the opposition will mount a comeback) and we have to factor them in, it is important and we have a lot of respect for them. At this point, though, we can only do what we can do. We can’t control their performance.”

The Springboks will give captain Siya Kolisi enough time this week to recover from his cheekbone injury.

Kolisi took a massive knock to the face in a tackle from New Zealand flanker Sam Cane and sported a big bruise on Saturday.

It was a third win in a row for the world champions against the Kiwis including the one-pointer in last year’s World Cup final. This was also the Boks’ third straight victory in the Rugby Championship.

Human said that Kolisi has gone for scans and they were waiting for the verdict to decide on his availability. Another indication that the Boks were giving their leader every chance to be fit for Saturday’s Test was the postponement of their normal Tuesday team announcement to later in the week. Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus will now name the side on Thursday.

“They are still busy assessing Siya to see if he is available for us. We will see how he goes through the week. He is important to us, so if he is unavailable, it’s (the) next man in. He took a proper knock. But I can’t go into what the refs and the TMO saw. We’ve seen what we’ve seen. But hopefully he can recover soon, get better and be fit to play the game.”

Human hinted that there might be some changes to the matchday 23 as the Boks continue to build their player depth, looking at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. The Springboks have only selected the same team in the two-Test series against Ireland this year.

They are also in the fortunate position of being ahead of the Kiwis by two wins in the Championship and it opens the door for more experimentation.