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Ex-England flyhalf says All Blacks scared of playing Springboks at Eden Park
By Ben Smith
Former England flyhalf Andy Goode has suggested that the All Blacks have deliberately avoided playing the Springboks at Eden Park to preserve their unbeaten streak.
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The record will go on the line in 2025 as the Springboks head to New Zealand for two Tests, one at Eden Park in Auckland and one at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
“I have heard that New Zealand don’t like or don’t want to play South Africa at Eden Park,” Goode told The Rugby Pod.
The panel scoffed at the suggested but Goode replied “have a look over history when the last time the Springboks played there was.”
“I think the All Blacks choose who the play, where they play, when they play. It’s the first time, I’m telling you now, it’s the first time in a long time that the Springboks have got the invite to play at Eden Park.”
“They [South Africa] could do it, they could end it. It’s got to end at some point, doesn’t it?”
The last time the Springboks played at Eden Park was 2013, with the All Black coming away with a 29-15 win.
Since then there have been six fixtures played on New Zealand soil, with one draw, four wins to the All Blacks and one win to the Springboks.
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The two sides played at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland in 2023, with Eden Park unavailable due to the Women’s Football World Cup. The All Blacks ran out 35-23 winners.
That fixture is the only game played on New Zealand out of the last 10 outings between the two rivals, with four in South Africa and five on neutral grounds.
Ex-Welsh flyhalf Dan Biggar rated the All Blacks a chance of defending their record due to their historical success over the Springboks.
South Africa have won just 10 times in New Zealand over 46 Tests spanning back to 1921.
“They could beat it, but I actually think the All Blacks have played really well against the Springboks in the Rugby Championship this year [2024], and have always done alright against them.”
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Tripe. When have the ABs or the Boks ever been scared of playing each other. If the Eden Park record gets broken then this would be the team I'd want to lose it to. Crikey that's going to be a great game.
Pretty accurate imo. I remember a couple years ago when I bought a set of boks v AB tickets for the Eden Park match but it was cancelled because Auckland went into a covid lockdown for about 3 months. If I remember accurately, the real reason the lockdown happened was to protect the ABs unbeaten record by cancelling that game.
😂
Had to laugh at this one. The All Blacks record at home speaks volumes. Any sane Bok fan will know that a mammoth task awaits the team . Sorry Boks, can't see us winning this one.
What a load of bovine excrement!! On their own territory the ABs fear no one. Ditto for anywhere, any place, anytime. The bigger the challenge the more switched on they will be.
yawn...
The team don't make the schedule; the NZR administrators do. They may well be scared, a loss would damage the marketing narrative. I'm sure the team will be embracing the big match up.
Fuck up yoh idiot pommy cunt
Once again the heading is misleading. There is no such thing as an AB team, or Bok team for that matter, being scared of playing another international team at any venue. The ABs are the most difficult team to beat at the best of times and certainly well nigh impossible in NZ. Stats speak for themselves. Bok supporter
"Who is Andy Goode?"
Good on him for making a bold statement, 👍 but as An All Black's supporter I Sincerely Hope That He's Prediction is wrong!
Andy Goode said before The Summer Series that England should have beaten The All Blacks in New Zealand 🇳🇿, but they lost, then he lost again when His Beloved England 🏴 lost again, giving the All Blacks A Clean Sweep Triple Head Victory ✌️ 👏 👍 😉
Someone who's well-known for speaking out his ass and making stuff up, that's who.
Considering that the Springboks have only played once in NZ in the last 5 years, it’s not the All Blacks that appear to be afraid of anything. That one match, by the way, was in Mt. Smart Stadium (Auckland) because there were FIFA World Cup fixtures at Eden Park at the time. The All Blacks won the match 35-20, in case anybody had forgotten.
AB's not scared of the Boks at all. They know they can beat them anywhere in country. They will also know that the Springboks will be the biggest threat to their record. The Boks will also know that many of their players will be 1 year older this year. Will Frans Malherbe, De Allende, Kolisi, Etzebeth and several others still be as good as they were last year. Time will tell
Does the all blacks not age? Won't they be a year older too?
Done alright against them? The ABs hold a significant head to head historical win loss record against the Springboks.
Don't count the Boks overall record count the one under the Rassie administration then give your view.
Or against any other international side for that matter.
Impressive record indeed but rugby from yesteryear is touch rugby compared to today, though some rule changes might suggest otherwise. Point being, the game is so fast these days, you blink you'll definitely miss a tackle.
Looking forward to seeing who will adapt best to modern day rugby, and this will come down to who has the best coach.
Dan who
I agree what a load of crap! The ABs are elite sportsmen and ALL sportsmen want to challenge themselves against the best. And where better than Eden Park - some say that is our fortress. Well the ABs will relish the chance to build on that notion I am sure.
What a crock of crap. Every Rugby team relishes the opportunity to go up against serious competition with something on the line. Besides, it's always easier to exaggerate Rugby stats when you ignore the gap between matches at locations. The fact that only 6 out of the last 21 matches against the Springboks were played in NZ says a lot. Suddenly that "scared" narrative doesn't really hold up anymore.
This isn't exactly presenting the full picture.
The past 23 matches have been:
6 in NZ
10 in SA
5 Neutral (EU and WCs)
2 Australia (Covid)
The 2 in Australia were due to covid, messing up the rotation cycle, these games likely to be played in NZ looking at prior scheduling. That would've made it 8-10 in NZ vs South Africa, presently, with the 2 this year, to make it 10-10, in NZ and South Africa.
Nobody scared of anybody in SA-NZ rivalry in my book.