Bruce Reihana, who played two Tests for the All Blacks and wore the iconic No.11 jersey that Jonah Lomu made famous, believes the Springboks are peaking at the right time ahead of the World Cup in France. He says New Zealand will have to be on high alert in Auckland on Saturday when the teams lock horns in their huge Rugby Championship clash at Mount Smart Stadium.
The All Blacks head into the 104th clash between the traditional rivals having beaten the Springboks 35-23 at Ellis Park last time out in August 2022 — a result that went a long way to preserving embattled New Zealand coach Ian Foster’s job. However, Reihana believes that the Springboks have added more strings to their bow in attack and begun to develop a more rounded game style, evident from the South Africans on last season’s end-of-year European tour.
“If the Springboks can continue to adapt their game and get the mix of defensive and attacking play right, they will be on another level,” Reihana told TimesLIVE Premium from France, where he is enjoying a final week of off-season downtime before he gets back to business as Montpellier’s skills coach. “If the Boks manage to find that balance to their game, they’ll be really tough to beat at the World Cup.”
Saturday’s clash is a genuine form barometer for World Cup from September 8 to October 28. New Zealand’s tribulations under Foster, and then upturn in form, and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and coach Jacques Nienaber’s meticulous rebuilding, also maintaining a core, of the Boks since their 2019 World Cup win in Japan, at times eschewing results for that cause, means the teams’ form of the past few years might be deceptive.
With the World Cup two months away, the two giants and bitter foes will start to flex their muscles. Both had excellent starts in the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks beating Argentina 41-12 away and a mixed-strength Boks — an arguably stronger combination meets the All Blacks — running rampant in a 43-12 romp against Eddie Jones’s Wallabies at Loftus.
The All Blacks have won three of the last five Tests between the two nations, but with the match scheduled for the lesser-known, compact Mount Smart Stadium, some in New Zealand have suggested it’s almost a neutral ground that could offer the Boks a mental boost. Eden Park, a venue where the All Blacks haven’t lost in 48 Tests, has historically been a fortress for the men in black and Reihana doesn’t favour breaking with tradition.
“I would have played at Eden Park and I don’t know why they changed it,” said 47-year-old, Reihana, who was a stalwart for the Waikato Chiefs during his Super Rugby career before playing in the northern hemisphere. “Normally with things like this it comes down to money. Whether that’s the case or not, I’m not sure, but either way the All Blacks are back home and they need to get the crowd on their side and get the flow of the game.”
Nienaber has selected a physically-imposing starting XV and what Reihana describes as a “monster bench that goes from big to bigger”, with a six-two split in favour of the forwards. Despite being a former backline player with an eye for the line, Reihana readily admits the battle in the oval-shaped game is “always won upfront” and whoever dominates the collisions and gets quick ball will gain ascendancy.
“Looking back to last year, the All Blacks got caught [in their first-Test defeat of the 2022 series] by trying to play a bit too much, especially in their own quarter and the Springboks just suffocated them,” says the man, who coached Cobus Reinach and Handré Pollard at Montpellier last year. “Super Rugby Pacific is quite flamboyant in terms of playing style and teams generally run the ball from everywhere, but when it comes to Test rugby you have to be so much smarter.”
If you want to try things and explore, I think now is the time because before you know it the World Cup will be knocking on your door. All Black-Springbok matches have always been huge battles and I really can’t see either side holding anything back.
— Bruce Reihana
Reihana says what he’s most interested to see is if the All Blacks have learnt from their mistakes from the first Test last year, where the Boks prevailed 26-10 in Mbombela, in terms of playing from their own 22 and whether they have developed a better exit strategy.
“The All Blacks prosper when playing a quick style of game. They look dynamic when they are in possession and, for me, the first man to the ruck is crucial because if he can hit that first clean-out well it normally allows for quick ball, which frees up the outside backs.”
Damian McKenzie, who starred against Argentina, has been jettisoned from the All Blacks’ XV, with a 10-12-15 axis of Richie Mo’unga, Jordie Barrett and Beauden Barrett to front the Springboks in Auckland. Reihana predicts it will be a great battle against the triumvirate of Damian Willemse, Damian de Allende and Willie le Roux. He says both teams will be looking to win the kicking battle and then throw the ball around.
“The Boks beat the All Blacks when they get into their faces and win the one-on-one physical battles. If you’re caught behind the advantage line, it’s a lot harder to play. Whenever we have been beaten, South Africa have won those huge physical contests.”
While Reihana is in awe of the Boks’ hulking forwards, he says that wing/fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse’s rise to the top underlines that it takes all shapes and sizes to make up the game. Arendse, who scored a hat-trick against the Wallabies, is not in the match-day 23 this time, but Reihana is confident he’s a shoo-in for World Cup selection. “It just shows you don’t have to be as big as we think wingers need to be these days. If you are sleight of foot and you have got a heart of steel, you can beat anyone.”
With Cheslin Kolbe and Makazole Mapimpi winging it against the All Blacks, and Arendse and Canan Moodie having impressed against Australia, Reihana is impressed at the depth the Boks have built depth in that position. He said the defending world champions also have speed to burn and strength in their backline.
“With the World Cup in mind, teams will be looking to develop their games physically and tactically. A win will be nice, but ideally it’s about putting the building blocks in place for the big dance.”
Reihana believes now is the ideal time to experiment from a tactical point of view and, as such, he wouldn’t advise teams to hold back with the World Cup in mind.
“If you want to try things and explore, I think now is the time because before you know it the World Cup will be knocking on your door. All Black-Springbok matches have always been huge battles and I really can’t see either side holding anything back.”
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