Already facing the daunting and challenging prospect of coming up against the All Blacks at full steam, spare a thought for the Springboks who will be facing New Zealand looking to elevate their game even further from the destruction they have left in their wake since last losing to the South Africans almost nine months ago.
While the All Blacks will be going all out to secure victory at Ellis Park they will be concentrating on improving their performance, according to eighthman Kieran Read.
The New Zealanders confirmed their world No1 ranking with a ruthless display of rugby when they rumbled over Argentina last weekend in Christchurch but for Read and his teammates that performance was not good enough.
Read is also aware that the Springboks will be a different beast to the one which lost in the dying second of the game to the Wallabies last weekend in Brisbane.
“I think we do have to take another step up. It is a different test – especially coming over here to South Africa, we know the challenge they present and they will be hurting after last week. We have to improve and we need to keep improving and can’t just rest on where we are right now. We want to go out there and win this Test match but our performance has to be upped and we have to keep doing that throughout the year,” Read said yesterday.
Read also believes that experience will be pivotal for his side in their ambition to get one over the Springboks on their home soil as they themselves face a daunting and scary prospect of running onto a sold out Ellis Park – regarded as the home of Springbok rugby.
“I think that experience does matter in big games, knowing the conditions we will be facing and the hostility we will find at the ground. I guess one has to impart that on the whole squad and it is a fun place to play as well. If you haven’t been there before you will certainly enjoy it.
“Ellis Park is different to anything in New Zealand. Playing in South Africa it’s their passionate fans and Ellis Park is their home. It is always a great game and playing over here is a big test for us. I know the crowd is certainly baying for our blood and we want to go out there and play as well as we can. Once you get on the field it pretty much becomes white noise and in some ways they could be screaming for you. It’s hard to know exactly what is being said so we just go out there to play our game. If we can play well we’ll do our bit in shutting up the crowd but we know that it is always a big test,” said Read.
In as much as the All Blacks will be primarily focused on themselves, they are not at all forsaking the need to cast an eye on what the Springboks will bring to the party.
Read is wary of the danger the Springboks’ set-pieces pose more so in the backline where the South Africans successfully dismantled the All Blacks defence last year.
“I think they’ll come at us up front and they have a pretty strong scrum and line-out so they will come at us there. They also will look to counter-attack. Last year when we played in this fixture their boys out back played really well, made a lot of breaks and I’m sure they will try to continue that.
“We want to win this week, obviously, and I’m sure they are in the same boat. I know it is going to be a tough Test match. We are the top two teams in the world,” Read said. - The Star