Boks target ‘good start’ against All Blacks — Daan Human

Springbok assistant coach Daan Human says the Boks want to get off to a good start in their Rugby World Cup final against the All Blacks on Saturday, something they haven’t always done.

The Boks have been guilty this season of getting off to slow starts in a number of games, allowing the opposition to get the upper hand before battling back late in the game and they will be weary of doing that against the All Blacks.

ALSO READ: Boks freshen up to be ‘best we can be’ for All Blacks final – Davids

In their semifinal against England over the past weekend the Boks were able to fight back from a dreadful start to snatch victory at the death.

But as seen in their loss against the All Blacks in Auckland earlier this year, where the hosts took an early 17-0 lead before the Boks fought back, they were unable to reel in that deficit as they went down 35-20 in the end.

Record win

The Boks will rather want to put in a performance similar to the one they did in their record 35-7 win over the All Blacks at Twickenham, where they crucially kept the New Zealanders scoreless in the first half.

“A good start is always a good thing, but it’s important to finish well too. Rugby matches are won over 80 minutes, but we know the All Blacks like a fast start, and we’ll work on that,” explained Human.

“In our first game against them this year they built up a 17-0 lead in the first 20 minutes, and we managed to change things in the second match (at Twickenham), but we are now six or seven games down the line, and they’ve improved a lot since then.”

The All Blacks have been in terrific form since losing their World Cup opener against France and head into the match off a thumping 44-6 win over Argentina in the semis, but as has been shown often between these two sides, form counts for nothing in rugby’s biggest rivalry.

“There’s a great vibe in the team and everyone is excited. There are also a lot of families around, which makes the players more excited. We are all very pleased to be in the final and there is a lot of energy in the group,” said Human.