Key Battles: All Blacks vs Springboks
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Key Battles: All Blacks vs Springboks
The opening game of round 4 of the Rugby Championship sees the table topping All Blacks face off against the undefeated Springboks in Albany.
The Springboks will be looking to stay unbeaten and win their first game in New Zealand since 2009, while the All Blacks will be hoping they can extend their lead on the log.
Front row Fiasco
Both sides will head into this fixture feeling a bit underweight with the All Blacks missing both of their first choice props in Owen Franks and Joe Moody.
The Springboks, on the other hand, have been dealt yet another blow at tighthead with Coenie Oosthuizen ruled out with a broken arm. Oosthuizen is the third tighthead to be ruled out for the Boks with Julien Redelinghuys still recovering from his neck injury last year and Frans Malherbe also falling victim a neck injury himself.
Both sides have been relatively strong up front in the competition with New Zealand let to concede a tighthead.
South Africa will hope they can disrupt the All Blacks set pieces with head coach Allister Coetzee highlighting the breakdown and set pieces as key areas they will attack the All Blacks.
Packing down with the best of them
Brodie Retallick & Sam Whitelock vs Eben Etzebeth & Franco Mostert
Two of the best lock pairings will be facing off on Saturday with the Springboks boasting the menacing presence of Eben Etzebeth and the tireless Franco Mostert, The All Blacks, on the other hand, have the ever present Brodie Retallick and Mr. Consistent Sam Whitelock.
A truly incising battle that will keep forward fanatics will be on the edge of their seats for the entire match.
Mostert will be hoping Etzebeth will help get the better of Sam Whitelock this weekend after the Crusaders man disrupted his lineout ball the of the Super Rugby Final, which ultimately won the men from Canterbury the title.
The Backline Bosses
Beauden Barrett vs Elton Jantjies
This fixture has been decided time and time again throughout its history by a man wearing a 10 jersey, with the likes of Dan Carter and Morne Steyn playing roles in their side wins.
Barrett has had his say before when he came off the bench to score a match winner against the Springboks in 2015, as well as putting in a try saving tackle on Willie Le Roux (in 2013).
Jantjies could make his own little piece of history in this match if he is able to guide the Springboks to victory, while the Boks have Handre Pollard waiting patiently on the bench.
The Speedsters
Ioane, Milner-Skudder & McKenzie vs Skosan, Rhule & Coetzee
The All Blacks have been dealt a blow from their last match with the experienced Israel Dagg joining Ben Smith on the absent list.
The hot stepper Nehe Milner-Skudder and Damian McKenzie will be joined by Rieko Ioane in the back three. The Springboks have gone with more of the same with their back three playing in their 6th consecutive test together.
The biggest concern for the Springboks is the defensive ability of their back three with the All Blacks possessing 3 players who are exceptionally quick and have the ability to carve just about in any defence in half.
Despite missing the last game Reiko Ioane has beaten the most defenders (13) of the 6 players, he also has the most running metres and has scored the most tries (3).
