All Blacks still a major force – Boks boss Jacques Nienaber

The All Blacks are still a major force in world rugby and Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber believes they are in for a typically close battle when the two sides clash in their Rugby Championship encounter over the coming weekend.

Over the past two seasons the All Blacks had a serious dip in form that almost saw the back of coach Ian Foster, after they went on a run of five losses in six games, which included a defeat against the Boks in Mbombela in August last year.

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However, a bounce back win against the Boks at Ellis Park a week later saw Foster survive by the skin of his teeth, while that result also sparked a revival of sorts with the All Blacks winning eight, losing one and drawing one of their next 10 matches.

Argentina thumping

This included their 41-12 thumping of Argentina in Mendoza over the past weekend and Nienaber believes they are back to their best.

“I remember when it was written in the press that when New Zealand lose two games or their win percentage drops below 80% it’s a crisis, which a lot of teams in the world are striving for. A crisis from my perspective is subjective,” explained Nienaber.

“They had a bad run over the last couple of seasons. But they are definitely back in form now and they have got their confidence back.

“After that win (at Ellis Park) they have been on a pretty good run. They won the Rugby Championship, they were in great form on the end-of-year-tour and they had a very good performance against Argentina (over the past weekend).

“We know how tough it is to go to Mendoza and perform there. So we know we are going to get a proper Test match against them (this weekend).”

Lost aura

Asked by a New Zealand journalist at the Bok team announcement presser on Tuesday whether the All Blacks had lost their aura and if the clash between the two sides wasn’t as big as it once was, Nienaber intensely disagreed.

“This will always be one of the biggest Test matches in the world, for all of us I think. This rivalry has spanned over a hundred years and a hundred Test matches, so it is a massive rivalry for us,” said Nienaber.

“I don’t believe that New Zealand has lost their aura. They are still a formidable side and that is why they are consistently ranked high in the world.”

This will be the Boks’ first game back in New Zealand since 2019, with the previous five matches played between the teams played in Japan, at the World Cup, Australia, due to the Covid pandemic, and last year in South Africa.

“Just to be back here (in New Zealand) is phenomenal. To play against New Zealand in New Zealand is usually something that we took for granted. When it went away for four years it was a bit of a shock, so it’s just nice to be back,” said Nienaber.