Boks and All Blacks feel the heat ahead of Auckland Test, says Rassie

SA and New Zealand will both be feeling plenty of nerves and the pressure to win ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash in Auckland, according to Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus.

The Boks have not been victorious at Eden Park since 1937, and this Test has been billed as the biggest for both sides since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, where the Springboks triumphed 12-11 in Paris.

Erasmus has moved his team announcement from its regular Tuesday slot to Thursday, admitting it is because they are unsure of the composition of New Zealand’s side and do not want to give their hosts extra time to analyse their selections.

“The honest answer is we think we will have a bit more of a benefit by only naming our team on Thursday, just because [New Zealand’s selection] is a bit of an unknown,” Erasmus said on Monday. “Most other teams, we could have more or less guessed what the team will look like. We see this as such a big game that maybe the best thing is for New Zealand also not to be able to analyse us that much.”

With all four teams in this year’s Rugby Championship, which also includes Australia and Argentina, having a single win from the opening two rounds, both teams are already in must-win territory.

“Between us and New Zealand, neither of us are really hitting our straps currently,” Erasmus said. “History is a big thing, so for us it is a nervous week.

“We are confident we can do well and New Zealand will have the pressure that I can see people put them under. But we are experiencing very much the same. The two teams have a lot of respect for each other, but internally I think both teams believe they can win the match.”

Erasmus called on experienced scrumhalf Faf de Klerk as cover for Morné van den Berg, who had a slight ankle injury concern but trained on Monday.

Hooker Bongi Mbonambi has stayed in SA with an illness in his family but may join up with the squad for the second Test of their tour in Wellington on September 13.

Centre Leicester Fainga’anuku has been called up to the New Zealand squad for the first time since the 2023 World Cup in the lead-up to Saturday’s blockbuster Test. Fainga’anuku returned to New Zealand midyear after a stint with French powerhouse Toulon but was not expected to be available for the All Blacks until the season-ending tour of the northern hemisphere for eligibility reasons.

However, All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said the New Zealand Rugby board had approved Fainga’anuku’s selection after his return to provincial side Tasman in August. “He’s good to go,” Robertson said on Monday. “We’re really pleased that’s he come straight back into the fold and performed at the highest level.”

A prolific, try-scoring winger under Robertson at the Crusaders, Fainga’anuku reinvented himself as a centre at Toulon and even had the odd cameo as a loose forward.

The seven-Test All Black was back on the wing for Tasman, though, scoring two tries on his return to the National Provincial Championship in August.

Robertson will name his match-day squad on Thursday and would not be drawn on whether he would throw Fainga’anuku straight into battle against SA.

Fainga’anuku replaces two-Test centre Timoci Tavatavanawai, who is out of the Rugby Championship with a broken arm.

Experienced centre Anton Lienert-Brown is another midfield option. He missed New Zealand’s first Test defeat to the Pumas in Argentina following a head-on-head clash in the opening Test in Cordoba for which he earned a yellow card. Lienert-Brown is available again after completing concussion protocols.

New Zealand lead the Rugby Championship on six points after the opening two Tests, one point ahead of Australia. SA are third on four points following their 30-22 win over Australia in Cape Town.

Under pressure after the Buenos Aires setback, Robertson’s biggest positional headache may be at scrumhalf, with Cortez Ratima in doubt after sustaining a rib fracture in Buenos Aires.

Reuters