All Blacks Test: Five key areas where Boks will have to be on point

The Springboks take on the All Blacks in the final match of the 2021 Rugby Championship at the Cbus  Super Stadium on the Gold Coast in Queensland on Saturday.

It is a dead rubber match with the All Blacks already confirmed as champions, however, neither of the two old rivals will want to end their tournament on a loss.

Here are five focal points that the Boks will need to have locked down if they are to emerge from the encounter with a win.

The Breakdown

This year the Boks have had a tough time at the breakdown, with them struggling to turn over ball and being counter rucked on a number of occasions.

Against the Wallabies, their captain Michael Hooper showed how important a brilliant fetcher can be, disrupting the Boks at the breakdown continuously, while stealing the ball on a number of occasions.

Duane Vermeulen’s return to the side has improved things, while captain Siya Kolisi does a lot of the grunt work, but a better showing will still be needed if the Boks are to get one over the All Blacks.

Kicking Game

An inconsistent kicking game has been costly for the Boks in their three matches Down Under, particularly against the Wallabies, where they were unable to assert their dominance in the air, allowing them to dictate play during the two surprising losses.

An improved showing against the All Blacks contributed to a much better performance, but a number of pointless kicks during the match, including in the closing minutes, ended any chance of what could have been a famous win in the 100^th Test between the two teams.

If the Boks are to end their Rugby Championship on a high, their kicking game will have to be fully on point this weekend.

Physicality

Physicality has been a major strength of the Boks and is fully part of their DNA. Dominating teams physically comes hand in hand with their winning formula, however, a soft showing against the Wallabies in their two matches contributed to two surprising defeats.

The team as expected put in a much more physical performance against the All Blacks last week, which led to them having an uncharacteristically error strewn game and the Boks will need to up the ante again on Saturday if they are to disrupt the All Blacks game plan even further and get the win.

Set Pieces

Set piece dominance is the cornerstone of the Bok game plan and although the scrum has been firing on all cylinders during the Rugby Championship, the lineouts and mauls have not been as impregnable as usual.

In the second match against the Wallabies in particular the Boks maul was completely negated, while a number of lineouts have gone astray over the three matches Down Under.

If the Bok scrum can be backed up by improved performances in the lineout and at mauls, it will give them a great chance of ending their Rugby Championship on a high with a win.

Defence

An impregnable defence will be key if the Boks are to get one over the All Blacks in their final match of the 2021 Rugby Championship in Queensland, Australia.

The usually sturdy Bok defence has become creaky during their spell Down Under, with the Wallabies running in a number of tries over their two games, as well as seeing an unusually high number of missed tackles.

A much improved showing by the defence against the All Blacks led to a much tighter game, but an early lapse in the defence led to the opening try, which could have been avoided.

Another top performance by the defence will be needed if the Boks are to claim a confidence boosting win.