Crunch time for Foster's All Blacks as eager Boks lie in wait

It’s all about to kick off at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit as, for the first time in four years, the All Blacks will do battle on South African soil against the Boks. 

 

The hype around the fixture has boomed with steady pace since the All Blacks fell to a powerful Irish side, giving rise to calls for change a both coaching and captaincy level. Heads did roll at the top, with assistant coaches John Plumtree and Brad Mooar being shown the door while Ian Foster retained his role as Head Coach.  

 

Foster, who took over from World Cup winning coach Steve Hansen, faces a nervous fortnight in South Africa as many back in New Zealand say that anything less than two consecutive victories against the Boks will not be good enough for him to remain at the helm.  

 

In light of the tumultuous situation in New Zealand Rugby, the Boks will take the field with a spring in their step, eager to kick their campaign off with a win while pulling one over the old enemy with Ellis Park looming in the near future.  

 

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber made three changes to his starting team that ran out for their final Test against Wales. It will be a particularly special evening for Malcolm Marx who reaches his 50th cap in the green & gold. 

 

Marx will run out at hooker in place of Bongi Mbonambi, while Faf de Klerk comes in at scrumhalf in a rotational switch with Jaden Hendrikse. The only injury-enforced change is on the right wing, where Kurt-Lee Arendse will earn his second Test cap in place of Cheslin Kolbe, who is recovering from a broken jaw. 

  

  

Both Mbonambi and Hendrikse will play off the replacements bench, where the only other change is the inclusion of Salmaan Moerat (lock) in the place of Elrigh Louw (loose forward). 

 

 

 

Foster has chosen a strong squad to do battle with the Boks, with flanker Sam Cane handed the captain’s responsibilities once again.  

 

 

 

“What a great way to start this year’s Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship. It’s always an exciting tournament to be part of,” Foster said. “This year’s draw means we have a massive challenge of two games here in the South Africa. 

  

“We have settled in well in Mbombela and are preparing for what is always an intense game against our old foe. 

  

“Many of our squad are here in South Africa for the first time. This gives us another opportunity to add new experiences and grow our game.” 

 

This will mark the 102nd Test between these two great rugby nations. The most recent clash took place during last year’s Rugby Championship on the Gold Coast, and saw the Boks emerge victorious: 

 

 

 

A noteworthy selection for the ABs on the wing is Caleb Clarke. The now 23 year-old burst onto the international scene in 2020 with fantastic performances against Australia and Argentina and seemed destined for great things in the All Black jersey. However, when 2021 rolled around, Clarke decided to concentrate on the 7s format of the game – a venture which yielded less than desirable results as he failed to make the Olympic squad and was unutilised as a reserve in Tokyo. 

 

Misfortune struck again in the latter part of last year as Clarke was preparing to fight his way back into the All Black side when Auckland’s NPC campaign was dealt a heavy blow as the city was forced into lockdown, stifling the youngster’s chances. He is finally back, however, and eager for action. In a recent in-house interview, Clarke opened up about his 2021. 

 

 “It was really tough. It wasn’t tough because I wasn’t playing rugby, it was tough because a lot of off-field things weren’t going right,” Clarke explained. 

 

“Starting with the Olympics, I didn’t make the squad and I think that’s when I first got a taste of the media and people really thinking they had the right to say who I was as a person. 

 

“I didn’t mind if people talked about rugby or talked about me as a player, but when they started attacking me as a person I think that’s when it started getting to me. 

 

“Going through that and getting stuck in Japan in a hotel for two weeks, couldn’t leave, doing the same thing every day, then coming home to the excitement that I could play again and I played a bit for Auckland. 

 

“I remember being in quarantine and Fozzy rang me saying, ‘You’ll play a bit for Auckland and then we’ll bring you for the northern tour.’ Then Auckland went into lockdown as soon as I got out of quarantine. That put another dampener on the spirits 

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“It just felt like so many things were going wrong around that time. It was tough.” 

 

After not taking part in the Ireland series due to hamstring issues, things are now looking up for Clarke. 

 

“I’m just waking up each day so happy, getting to be in a group where they just accept me for who I am,” he said. “I’m a bit of a joker and a bit of a high energy person, all the boys accept that. 

 

“I think if I can be myself that’s when I.. not shine, but I’m just happy to express myself. Everyone accepts me for who I am and there’s not a lot of environments in the world where it’s like this in a team. I’m just real grateful to be here.” 

 

Meanwhile, Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard is relishing the prospect of hosting the All Blacks once more. 

 

“It’s always great to play against the All Blacks,” he told the Springboks’ website. 

 

“We had a great week of preparation, so we have to make sure we pitch up for 80 minutes and that as individuals we all do our jobs and also as a team.” 

 

Against the backdrop of many rugby pundits once again throwing out the notion that Boks subscribe to a ‘boring’ brand of rugby, Pollard said: 

 

“We have a way of kicking and playing and we believe in that plan. We’ll stick to our plan this weekend and see how things go after 20 minutes and if we have to adapt, we will. If the opportunities are there, we will certainly try to take them.” 

 

Turning attention towards his opponents in the flyhalf channel on Saturday, Pollard shared his thoughts. 

 

“Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett both have the X-factor, and they are experienced players,” he said. 

 

“They are a threat with their footwork and with ball in hand, so we’ll try to contain them as much as we can and do our best as a team on the day as well. 

 

“It’s going to be a massive battle. You don’t want to give the All Blacks broken field play, so the kicking game will be important, but it will come down to execution, and we’ll do the best we can to counter that.” 

 

Springbok hard man Pieter-Steph du Toit said the pride of their fans is close to the team’s heart. 

 

“Playing against the All Blacks is always a good opportunity, and it is great to play here in Nelspruit,” he said. 

 

“It’s a good opportunity to show our supporters where we are now after 2019 (when the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup). Obviously, time has moved on and we have to adapt, but we are excited about the challenge. 

 

“We last won against the All Blacks at home in 2014, so it is an honour to play for the Boks against them, we really want to make our supporters proud. 

 

“For us, the main objective is to play the way we train,” he added. 

 

“The last time I played against them (at the Rugby World Cup in 2019), we lost, and it is a big focus point for us to make sure that it doesn’t happen again this time.”