Johannesburg — “Maniacs they are!”
That’s the lasting memory former All Blacks captain Kieran Read has of the traditionally hostile Ellis Park crowd.
Read played 22 Tests overall against the Springboks, and five at the former 1995 World Cup final venue, and intimately knows the challenge the beleaguered All Blacks Class of 2022 will face on Saturday against the world champions.
In an interview with All Blacks.com, Read recollects arguably his toughest Test against the Springboks at Ellis Park back in 2013.
Read was named Player of the Match in an eight-try thriller that the All Blacks won 38 – 27 earning them a second successive Rugby Championship title.
“You never go to South Africa and win an easy game there, but probably the hardest game I played there was in 2013 at Ellis Park. It was just one of those epic Test matches where both teams wanted to play with the ball, so you’re doing lots of running and lots of tackling.” Read said.
“And then you chuck the crowd of Ellis Park on top of that … maniacs they are … in terms of their support and the altitude. It just drains you. You can’t really prepare for it, unless you spend time at altitude. It’s all a mental game when you hit the field.”
Read remembers a vivid picture after Welsh referee Nigel Owens blew his whistle to signal the end of the game that embodies the Bok-All Blacks rivalry.
“There is an awesome image, at the end of the game, where the ball is kicked out or there’s a knock on, and the ref signals the game’s done,” he said.
“Everyone in shot is on the ground, South Africans and us, either on the knee or on their backs. Fully exhausted. It is just one of those games that epitomises the whole rivalry in Test matches and how tough they are.”
Former Bok flyer Bryan Habana echoed Read’s comments that the 2013 Ellis Park Test was one of the highlights of his career. The pre-match festivities had also echoed the 1995 Rugby World Cup final between the same teams when a SAA Boeing flew over the stadium.
“It will definitely go down as one of the best I’ve ever played. I think with so much on the line for both teams at a stadium that has become renowned for uplifting Springbok performances, going back to 1995, and that Rugby World Cup final, over the course of the 20-odd years re-admission,” Habana told SuperSport.
“So, to be in that environment. There was a one where I needed a bit of self-individual contribution towards. But Duane Vermeulen’s break for that first try, one of the greatest the game of rugby has seen, and then Francois Louw’s off-load for the second was magical.
“When you get to play in these environments with that calibre of player, and you can contribute, but not because of what I’m doing, but because of what the players around me are doing is absolutely exceptional.”
Habana, who scored two tries in the first half, unfortunately did not finish the Test as he limped off just before half-time with a hamstring injury.
“I would have loved to contribute a little bit more against the No 1 team in the world. So, for the next 40 minutes I was like every other Springbok supporter, not only in the stadium and around the world, sitting on the edge of my seat hoping to see the Springboks do something incredible.”
It was not just the players that had left everything out on the Ellis Park turf, but also referee Owens.
“To be honest with you, when I blew the final whistle, I knew I was mentally and physically drained. I thought to myself, I’ve never felt like this ever before,” Owens told Sky Sports.
“But I didn’t realise how great the game was until people started sending messages saying, ‘my God, what an unbelievable game of rugby.”
*This article is sponsored by The Capital Hotels and Apartments.
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