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All Blacks beware: Springboks returning to happy hunting ground in Wellington

The Springboks tasted victory last time they played the All Blacks in Wellington in 2018. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

There is no certainty over the outcome of this weekend’s All Blacks-Springboks test in Wellington.

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That is not just because the likes of Handre Pollard and Malcolm Marx are about to slot back into the visitors’ ranks, or that there was a lack of cohesion and accuracy in the All Blacks’ defeat of the Pumas in BA.

History suggests that, of all the New Zealand cities, the Springboks perform best in the capital, whether it was at the good old Athletic Park or, since 2002, at Westpac Stadium.

Certainly, Wellington holds no fear for the Boks, compared to, say, Auckland. Not since Danie Craven’s class of 1937, known in some circles as the greatest team to ever leave New Zealand shores, have they lowered the All Blacks at the Garden of Eden.

I wasn’t there, but in 1921, on a dreadful capital day, by all accounts, the two teams fought to a 0-0 stalemate, the first of just two scoreless draws in New Zealand test match history. That also squared the series at 1-1.

In 1937, the All Blacks won the first test 13-7 in Wellington but lost the rubber 2-1, their sole series loss to the Boks on Kiwi shores.

In 1956, the tour to end all tours, the only joy the tourists found in the test series came in the second test in Wellington, which they won 8-3 off the back of tries to flanker Daan Retief and lock ‘Salty’ du Rand. Funnily enough, just 18 days later, the Boks came a cropper at the hands of New Zealand Universities. But the test defeat forced the All Blacks selectors to overhaul their tactics and personnel, introducing the likes of Don Clarke and Kevin Skinner, among others.

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In 1965, the All Blacks squeaked home 6-3 via tries to Bill Birtwistle and Kel Tremain.

A 16-year hiatus was broken on the fractured 1981 tour. The under siege Boks, growing tight as a squad due to often having to sleep at venues due to security concerns, tipped over the All Blacks 24-12. The home side was at sixes and sevens with its selections, but that should not detract from the fact that the Boks pack and the unerring boot of Naas Botha, who collected 20 points, was on top throughout. Wing Gerrie Germishuys scored the match’s only try.

The 1994 Boks may have stolen the win at Athletic Park had it not been for the brilliance of Zinzan Brooke in the infamous Johan Le Roux biting match. The final score read 13-9.

You could argue that the 1998 All Blacks would have beaten the Boks on the same ground if Carlos Spencer had not left his kicking boots in the decrepit old changing rooms. You could argue that, but the Boks, under the canny coaching of Nick Mallett, were the better side and were well on the way to winning the Tri Nations after this 13-3 victory which featured a superbly executed scrum move, finished by wing Pieter Rossouw.

There was little further cause for Springbok celebration in Wellington until 2018 when the Boks, unexpectedly and shockingly to many New Zealanders, engineered a remarkable 36-34 triumph, despite scoring less tries than the All Blacks. They took their chances and the home side had a couple of costly brain explosions, notably from Jordie Barrett. His brother Beauden was in the gun for converting just two of the six All Blacks tries.

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Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus know his history. He knows his side can put the wind up the All Blacks, in this city and at this ground.

Let the All Blacks beware.

Watch – Michael Chieka fronts media in Brisbane:

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Tom 7 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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