All Blacks legend Sean Fitzpatrick believes the rivalry between the All Blacks and Springboks is stronger than ever as they prepare to clash in the 105th Test at Twickenham on Friday in the pair’s final World Cup warm-up.
The All Blacks and Springboks hold the distinction of being the only two sides to have won the Rugby World Cup on three occasions. Jacques Nienaber’s men head to France to defend their title — a feat only been achieved by the All Blacks in 2015, having won their home World Cup in 2011. The final dress rehearsal before the World Cup pits two rivals who are equally intent on claiming a statement win.
“I think the rivalry is still as strong as ever,” Fitzpatrick, 60, a huge figure as captain of the All Blacks who lost to the Springboks in the 1995 World Cup final and who played 92 Tests from 1986 to 1997, told TimesLIVE Premium from London. He was attending an event where the likes of Bob Skinstad, John Smit, John Kirwan and Justin Marshall assembled to discuss a World Cup rivalry that dated back almost three decades. “To go offshore and fill a stadium like Twickenham shows how powerful the rivalry and heritage is in terms of both countries.”
While hosts, France, and world No.1 Ireland, are the bookmakers’ favourites — something Fitzpatrick agrees with — the Laureus Foundation chair believes such a title could work in the All Blacks’ and Springboks’ favour.
“I think both teams have snuck under the radar ahead of the World Cup with France and Ireland favourites. South Africa are the defending champions and have been playing really well lately after an up and down cycle. They have got experience, depth and some world-class players.”
Fitzpatrick said the Springboks have clarity in their game plan but are far from being one-dimensional, as they demonstrated at the last World Cup. “You can’t think they are just going to bash it up and not go wide. If they do go wide, you will get shown up as England were in the final.”
Fitzpatrick, who captained the All Blacks 51 times, cautioned it will take a monumental effort to earn consecutive titles as the Springboks have an extremely challenging pool draw, plus they are set to face either France or New Zealand in the quarterfinals.
“Defending your World Cup title is always a challenge. When the All Blacks did it in 2011 and 2015 they had real depth and hunger. I look at the All Blacks in 2015 as the most complete World Cup-winning team. They had 31 players who could have started that final and they wouldn’t have had a drop-off in performance. Depth of squad is one of the keys to a successful campaign.”
Before their domestic World Cup win in 2011, the All Blacks went 24 long years without attaining the holy grail and in some quarters the New Zealanders were accused of choking. The perception was that the All Blacks tended to peak before the World Cup and then implode at the showpiece under the weight of a country’s expectations.
Marx does the ball-stealing as an extra loose forward very well but line-out throwing and ball-carrying ability is still the key to a good hooker. It’s something Samisoni Taukei’aho is fantastic at and his metres made after contact have been phenomenal.
— Former All Blacks captain,
Sean Fitzpatrick
“Of course it hurt,” says Fitzpatrick in reference to the All Blacks’ 15-12 defeat to the Springboks in the 1995 World Cup final at Ellis Park. “It wasn’t our day and maybe the Boks winning was meant to be, but I still would have liked to have won it.
“The 1995 final was a special day and hugely significant. It was one of the great sporting moments to see Nelson Mandela walk onto the field and have his power fill the stadium.”
Since playing his final Test for the All Blacks in 1997 the modern game has advanced with hookers often serving as an auxiliary loose forward due to their ball-stealing ability. Fitzpatrick credits Bok hooker Malcolm Marx in that regard but believes the hooking berth still rests on the fundamentals of the game.
“Marx does the ball-stealing as an extra loose forward very well but line-out throwing and ball-carrying ability is still the key to a good hooker. It’s something Samisoni Taukei’aho is fantastic at and his metres made after contact have been phenomenal.”
Fitzpatrick says he rates Marx “pretty highly” but is reluctant to bestow him with the title of the best hooker in the world as he says he hasn’t watched much of him lately because he hasn’t been starting. Marx, 29, will get the opportunity to start against the All Blacks and go toe-to-toe with Dane Coles, a veteran of 82 Tests. While Fitzpatrick is eagerly awaiting that battle, he expects the bench impact to prove pivotal.
Both sides have opted for a 6-2 bench split in favour of the forwards, which suggests that an attritional, physically-gruelling contest is on offer for the 82,000 fans at Twickenham. Fitzpatrick says he’s even hearing whispers ahead of the World Cup of the Boks opting for a 7-1 bench split, which would take the Bomb Squad a step further.
“The impact of the bench is paramount,” Fitzpatrick stresses. “We all know what the Springboks did with their Bomb Squad in 2019. You need to deliver off the bench and that’s where the All Blacks are also very developed at the moment. There is some real talent off the bench which is going to give us a huge impact in the last 20-odd minutes.”
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