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All Blacks v Springboks: Everything you need to know

New Zealand captain Kieran Read

Captain Kieran Read wants New Zealand’s newcomers to follow his example against a resurgent South Africa in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.

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Following a dreadful 2016 that ended with four consecutive defeats at the hands of the All Blacks, England, Italy and Wales, the Springboks have enjoyed a much-improved 2017.

They eased to a test series win over France and claimed back-to-back victories over Argentina to start the Rugby Championship, but could only manage a 23-23 stalemate in Perth last weekend.

The All Blacks have claimed successive victories against Australia and beat Argentina 39-22, but, with injuries prompting coach Steven Hansen to call on some relatively raw talent, Read is expecting a tough challenge.

“The changes to the team force you to focus on different things each week, and you’ve got to realign yourself to make sure you’ve got the alignment between the coaches and all the players,” Read said.

“It’s a squad game now, and certainly has been this year with the amount of guys coming in and out.

“I’ve just continually tried to push myself and, in doing so, hopefully the boys can follow me.”

New Zealand will be without starting props Joe Moody and Owen Franks, with their 127 caps being replaced by just eight in the form of Kane Hames and Nepo Laulala.

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Despite Vaea Fifita’s fine performance against Argentina, Liam Squire comes in for him at blindside flanker. Aaron Smith returns at scrum-half and Ryan Crotty ousts Anton Lienert-Brown at outside centre.

Retallick and openside flanker Sam Cane are also back in the XV, along with Rieko Ioane, who takes the place of the injured Israel Dagg.

For South Africa, Ruan Dreyer is in line for his second test appearance after replacing Coenie Oosthuizen at tighthead prop because of the latter’s broken arm. Flanker Jaco Kriel is also out, opening the door for Jean-Luc du Preez.

Lock Franco Mostert joins captain Eben Etzebeth in the second row as Pieter-Steph du Toit is benched. Francois Hougaard is back in at scrum-half due to Ross Cronje’s illness.

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HEAD TO HEAD

All Blacks: 55
South Africa: 35
Draw: 3

KEY PLAYERS

Dane Coles (New Zealand): With two inexperienced props playing either side of the hooker, Coles’ experience of 51 Test matches will be pivotal if the All Blacks are to avoid a first defeat to South Africa since 2014.

Jean-Luc du Preez (South Africa): Kriel has been pivotal at the breakdown and in defence for the Springboks and Du Preez will need to replicate that contribution if his absence is not to have a telling impact.

LINE-UPS

All Blacks: Damian McKenzie, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Ryan Crotty, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; Kane Hames, Dane Coles, Nepo Laulala, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Liam Squire, Sam Cane, Kieran Read.

Replacements: Codie Taylor, Wyatt Crockett, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Scott Barrett, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Lima Sopoaga, Anton Lienert-Brown.

Springboks: Andries Coetzee, Raymond Rhule, Jesse Kriel, Jan Serfontein, Courtnall Skosan, Elton Jantjies, Francois Hougaard; Tendai Mtawarira, Malcolm Marx, Ruan Dreyer, Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi, Jean-Luc du Preez, Uzair Cassiem.

Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff, Trevor Nyakane, Lood De Jager, Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Francois Hougaard, Handre Pollard, Damian De Allende.

PRE-MATCH TALK

New Zealand captain Kieran Read: “It’s important for us to finish our year at home well. We can’t wait to do that. We want to be challenged, and we’ll certainly get that tomorrow [Saturday].”

South Africa coach Allister Coetzee: “I don’t see any weaknesses in the All Black side. I think they are vulnerable but you still have to be at your best to exploit that.”

KEY STATS

– The All Blacks have won nine of their last 10 games against the Springboks, including each of their last four and a 42-point win when they last met, which stands as the biggest win in the history of the fixture.

– South Africa are yet to be defeated away from home in 2017 (W1, D1); the last time they played more than two games away from home in a calendar year without losing was 1971 (W3).

– Jaco Kriel tops the tackles charts (38) after three rounds, however, Coenraad Oosthuizen has made more than any other player who is yet to miss one (32/32).

– Aaron Smith (5), Beauden Barrett (4), and TJ Perenara (3) are the only players this tournament to have provided more than two try assists after three rounds.

Elton Jantjies (49) has opened up a 10-point gap at the top of the point-scoring leaderboard for The Rugby Championship 2017, and is yet to miss a conversion attempt (10).

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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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