Springboks need a spark of energy against All Blacks, says Am

Lukhanyo Am has a sense of gravitas in his bearing and is the defensive organiser of the Springbok backline, but one gets the feeling that inside his sturdy 98kg frame there is a playful youngster who just wants to throw the ball around and show his considerable skills.

But Test rugby is serious business and Am reiterated the statements of other members of the Springbok camp this week when he said they had to avoid falling into the trap of trying to play too much rugby against the All Blacks on Saturday, while also ensuring they were full of energy on defence.

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“We are fully focused on bouncing back and rectifying the mistakes of the previous two Tests,” said 27-year-old Am.

“If we stick to our processes then hopefully we will get the result. Defence is also one of our strengths, but last weekend we lacked a bit of energy.

“We don’t need to change anything in our plan. The missed tackles were just individual errors and not the system’s fault.”

The outside centre scored South Africa’s only try against Australia last week, getting on the end of scrumhalf Faf de Klerk’s neat grubber in the 42nd minute. It gave the Springboks the lead (17-15) for the first time in the match, but they were the last points the visitors would score in Brisbane.

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Saturday’s Townsville Test promises a really interesting midfield battle.

Rieko Ioane first broke through at international level on the wing and David Havili played most of his rugby at fullback for the Canterbury Crusaders. They have been fill-ins at centre for the likes of Jack Goodhue and Anton Lienert-Brown, but have certainly put themselves in the mix to continue together as New Zealand prepare for the 2023 World Cup.

Am and De Allende have built a formidable partnership through winning the Rugby Championship and the World Cup in 2019, and beating the British and Irish Lions earlier this year. They were regarded as the leading combination in world rugby, but their mediocre showings over the last two weekends suddenly saw former All Blacks coach Laurie Mains describe them as being “simply not up to Test level”.

Really?! Either the 75-year-old Mains has not watched any other Springbok games over the last two years or dementia might be setting in.