Springboks will have to dictate the mood of the Ellis Park crowd from the outset against All Blacks

The imperative of a fast Springbok start cannot be overstated ahead of Saturday's Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.

The capricious crowd, the hard, firm surface and the rope-a-dope modus operandi of the visitors compel the Springboks to vacate the blocks with purpose.

“We can't afford a slow start. In the last game we started slowly and the All Blacks got momentum,” lamented assistant coach Mzwandile Stick about their 2022 matchup the visitors won 35-23.

Apart from providing the All Blacks a foothold in the game, Stick is aware it may be in the Springboks' interest to dictate the mood of the crowd from the outset.

The Boks last beat the All Blacks at the country's most revered rugby stadium in 2014, losing the subsequent two clashes in the industrial wasteland of Doornfontein in 2015 and 2022.

“At Ellis Park the crowd is on top of you. When you are winning you will feel their energy. When things don't go well they are going to turn against you. That is how passionate we are as South Africans. A lot of people there are expecting us to do well.

“At Mbombela we feel it is a different environment. There the players express themselves freely. They just bring their best. There is something about Ellis Park, even in a good season one of those bad games can be against the All Blacks.

“There is pressure because of the nature of the game at Ellis Park.”

Stick said the Boks this week have opted not to dwell on the venue and the Boks' recent results there.

He said their focus was what happens between the four lines.

On that score they will go into the game having added layers to their game since their last encounter with the All Blacks in last year's Rugby World Cup final.

Their set pieces remain redoubtably robust, while their attack has grown in dimension since the addition of Tony Brown as an assistant coach.

Apart from having an astute attack guru, the home team can also tap into the intellectual property of a former All Black who knows how they tick.

“Tony understands their DNA. He knows what triggers them,” reminded Stick.

Starting scrumhalf Cobus Reinach also believes the Boks now have a better handle on what the Kiwis may throw their way.

Too often in the past, Reinach reminded, the Boks provided them smooth passage to the try line.

“We know what they do. We know how their heads work. How they want to catch you when you switch off. We can't give them soft moments. You have to be alert all the time. We've seen it too often — how they'll catch a ball in their 22 and run 80m to score.”

As much as the Boks will feel confident about their set pieces and attack there may be questions about their tactical kicking without Handré Pollard and Willie le Roux in their starting team.

Pollard is on the bench, allowing Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to start a third consecutive Test, while Aphelele Fassi is in the last line of defence.

In the drawn series against Ireland the Boks found the going tough in the second Test when they were robbed of Le Roux's tactical nous after just two minutes.

“We have to find solutions to make different contestables. Maybe kick from wider,” said Reinach about making gains in the aerial contest.

Though the Boks, with just two defeats in their last 17 Tests and four wins from their last six against New Zealand, have reason to emerge from the tunnel chests out, the institutional quality that is hard wired in the All Blacks team precludes the hosts of getting ahead of themselves.

Another Bok win would amplify the growing perception that they now have a stranglehold over their bitter rivals.

Bok captain Siya Kolisi however diffused the notion.

“We only focus on tomorrow (Saturday) and see it as a step closer to the Freedom Cup.”

Teams

South Africa — Aphelele Fassi; Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach; Jasper Wiese, Ben-Jason Dixon, Siya Kolisi (captain); Ruan Nortje, Pieter-Steph du Toit; Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche

Substitutes: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith; Grant Williams, Handré Pollard.

New Zealand — Beauden Barrett; Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke; Damian McKenzie, TJ Perenara; Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Ethan Blackadder; Tupou Vaa’i, Scott Barrett (captain); Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Tamaiti Williams.

Substitutes: Asafo Aumua, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Fletcher Newell, Sam Darry, Samipeni Finau; Cortez Ratima, Anton Lienert-Brown, Mark Tele’a

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia)

TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Kickoff: 5pm