How Springboks flyer expects All Blacks to respond after painful loss

Winger Cheslin Kolbe is expecting another “war” on Saturday evening when the Springboks take on their arch-rivals the All Blacks for the second weekend in a row. Last time out in Johannesburg, the Boks claimed a memorable 31-27 comeback win at Emirates Airline Park.

Tries to Codie Taylor and Caleb Clarke saw the All Blacks take a slight lead into the sheds at half-time, but the visitors took control of the contest in the second term. Jordie Barrett scored about a minute into the half and Clarke was on the scoresheet again shortly after.

The All Blacks led 27-17 with less than 15 minutes to play but the Springboks didn’t panic. After a yellow card to Ofa Tu’ungafasi, the Boks made the most of their one-man advantage as replacements Kwagga Smith and Grant Williams scored one try each.

When the full-time whistle sounded, most of the 60,000 in attendance began to celebrate another famous Springboks win over the All Blacks. Against the odds, South Africa had clawed their way back to sink their fierce rivals in an all-time classic contest.

South Africa and New Zealand will clash on the rugby field again this weekend in a Freedom Cup decider at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium. The All Blacks showed earlier in The Rugby Championship against Argentina that they can be lethal after a loss, and the Boks expect nothing less.

“I think for us as well, we’ve been struggling in the past with having two consecutive games against teams. Obviously, Ireland early on in the year and Australia which we’ve done quite well,” Kolbe told reporters on Wednesday.

“We try and improve and get that consistency whenever we do play teams twice. It just depends on how the team and the players are.

“We know South Africa-New Zealand, it’s always a war and this coming week is not going to be anything different, they’re going to come out firing. For us, we just need to make sure we prepare as well as we can and put ourselves in positions where we think they might try out different things.

“I think it’s just staying on task and just (trying) not to think too much about it because if we train well, we put in the hard work, then hopefully everything will pay off this coming Saturday hopefully.

“We have a great support base up in Cape Town and all over South Africa so hopefully we’ve won over a lot more supporters than them. It keeps the game interesting at the end of the day as well.”

The Springboks haven’t held the Freedom Cup since 2009 but they’ll need to rewrite some history to win that prestigious piece of silverware back. New Zealand have come out on top in the last two meetings between the sides in Cape Town.

In 2017, New Zealand won a nail-biter 25-24 at Newlands Stadium. That was the All Blacks’ first match at the venue in almost a decade, with their last clash with the Boks in Cape Town taking place on August 16, 2008 – the Kiwis winning 19-nil.

South Africa haven’t actually beaten New Zealand in Cape Town since 2005. Whenever the All Blacks play a Test in ‘The Mother City’ it’s nigh on impossible to look past the incredible support the visitors receive in South Africa.

At the All Blacks’ team hotel on Tuesday, there were security guards taking pictures with members of the squad including playmaker Damian McKenzie. The New Zealanders were also greeted by fans after flying into the city earlier this week.

But Kolbe is confident the Springboks will have most of the crowd in their corner.

“We definitely have a lot of supporters,” Kolbe explained.

“The only thing we can do is continue to win and hopefully we will gain more supporters and respect… that’s the only way forward, to be honest.

“Yes, the All Blacks have a good support base in Cape Town as well. For us, that’s a challenge as well.

“Whoever is playing this weekend, it’s going to be a good one to see but I’m sure there’ll be a majority of Springboks supporters in the stadium.”