The Qatar Airways Cup for one! It’s a World Cup warm-up but as
the Herald’s Liam Napier says - the All Blacks and Springboks don’t do friendlies. There will still be plenty of sore bodies on the respective flights to France over the weekend. The last time these two clashed at Twickers was the 2015 World Cup semifinal, a brutal 20-18 victory to the All Blacks. They also played on neutral territory twice in 2021, two tests in Australia, and also in pool play at the last World Cup in Japan.
It will be the 105th clash between the two nations. The All Blacks are looking to win their third straight over South Africa for the first time since 2017.
What the coaches say
“The gap between the last test and the France game is too big for us to use this game as a cotton wool exercise,” Ian Foster said of the potential five-week break for some players. “Clearly we’ve got two or three players we’re looking after from an injury perspective but it’s a great test two weeks before a World Cup. The only way to go into this is full throttle.
“My heart is not in my mouth. It’s a test match. Some things are part of the game. If you go in half-hearted and worrying about the consequences those things are almost guaranteed to happen. The same thing is going to happen in the World Cup. You don’t want injuries in any game.
“This is ideal for us. It’s the sort of build-up we need to make sure we keep climbing our performance levels.”
The weather:
Expected to be a balmy 18 degrees around kickoff in London. Mostly cloudy.
How the sides line up
All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Dane Coles, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Samuel Whitelock, 6. Luke Jacobson, 7. Sam Cane (c), 8. Ardie Savea, 9. Aaron Smith, 10. Richie Mo’unga, 11. Mark Telea, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Rieko Ioane, 14. Will Jordan, 15. Beauden Barrett. Reserves: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Fletcher Newell, 19. Tupou Vaa’i, 20. Josh Lord, 21. Dalton Papali’i, 22. Cam Roigard, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown.
Springboks: 1. Steven Kitshoff, 2. Malcolm Marx, 3. Frans Malherbe, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 5. Franco Mostert, 6. Siya Kolisi (c), 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 9. Faf de Klerk, 10. Manie Libbok, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 13. Canan Moodie, 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 15. Damian Willemse. Replacements: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Ox Nche, 18. Trevor Nyakane, 19. Jean Kleyn, 20. RG Snyman, 21. Marco van Staden, 22. Cobus Reinach, 23. Willie le Roux.
TAB odds
All Blacks: $1.45 Draw: $21 South Africa: $2.80
How to follow the action
For live commentary of All Blacks v South Africa, join Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio.
You can watch the game on Sky Sport 1 and live streaming on Sky Sport Now; an alternative commentary option from the Alternative Commentary Collective is available on iHeartRadio, Hauraki and Sky Sport 9.
You can also find live updates at nzherald.co.nz.
