The All Blacks prepare for a Rugby World Cup final showdown with the Springboks. The Herald’s Chereè Kinnear and Liam Napier take a look at what to expect and what it’ll take to pull off one of the greatest-ever redemption stories in rugby history. Video / NZ Herald, Photosport
Handre Pollard was the key man when South Africa won the last World Cup, kicking six penalty goals in the final in Yokohama. Combating him is easy tosay, but very hard to do: Don’t give away penalties anywhere in your own half. The All Blacks must avoid brain explosions, especially on defence.
And the more they can get on song with referee Wayne Barnes the better. Fortunately, Sam Cane is not a captain like Owen Farrell. Unlike Farrell, yelling and harassing a referee to make a point has never been Cane’s style.
If Cane can gently nudge Barnes into cutting down the lace-tying, pre-lineout meetings, and mystery injury time-wasting the beefy, aerobically challenged, Boks are usually so keen on, the better for New Zealand.
Defuse the bombs
In the semifinal last weekend, England’s terrific fullback, Freddie Steward, was impeccable under the barrage of high balls the Springboks launched.
With Faf de Klerk the only halfback named in the South African squad for the final, and Pollard at first-five, bet the farm on the Boks’ running the tactical gamut from A to B, kicking at every opportunity.
Two things could upset that tedious, but, with wet weather expected in Paris, potentially successful approach. One is down to the All Blacks. If the South African kicking is a little too long for their chasers, the counter-attacking potential of Beauden Barrett, Will Jordan, Mark Telea, and Richie Mo’unga is huge.
The second, grimmer, prospect for the Boks, would be an injury to de Klerk. Willie le Roux, the only back reserve, is a very good player who can cover every position from first-five to fullback. But a test-level halfback? Not in this lifetime.
Attack the breakdown
In Sam Cane and Ardie Savea we have a breakdown duo who have come into their own in the past few weeks. The Springboks really have only one man, Kwagga Smith, sporting a pancake nose that reflects his fearlessness in the dark places, whose forte is stealing away the ball at a pile-up. He won’t even be on the field in the first half.
There’s so much talent in the All Black backline, that winning the ball when the Boks are expecting it would be pure gold.
Sam Cane, captain of New Zealand. Photo / Photosport
Attack the lineout too
It was startling to see how unsettled the South African lineout was against England. Long before Tom Curry complained about hooker and lineout thrower Bongi Nbonambi swearing at him, the Boks’ lineout was messy. Brodie Retallick is an expert at stealing the ball, and with his vast experience can hopefully rattle the groen kant (green side).
And the scrums
While the ground may shake when the two massive packs engage in the final, there’s no need for Kiwi fans to feel uneasy about what might happen in the scrums.
We now have a scrum that is as solid as any at the tournament. The perfect timing of the return from injury of Tyrel Lomax, and from suspension for Ethan de Groot, means there’s no need to fear the bomb squad, seven forward, reserve bench that the Boks have decided to rely on.
Tyrel Lomax of New Zealand. Photo / Photosport
Clear thinking
Nobody, if the All Blacks win the Cup, could blame Ian Foster if he allowed himself some public payback against New Zealand Rugby, considering the turmoil last year over the coaching position.
So it’s a slightly weird, but impressive, turn of events that Foster and the All Blacks have not only set aside upsetting off-field history from 2022, but have obviously cleared the mental decks of on-field discomforts from the past too.
There wasn’t a hint of a lack of belief in their 28-24 quarter-final victory over Ireland, and you sense the surreal hiding they got at Twickenham against the Boks nine weeks ago is now so far in the rear-view mirror, it’s barely a dot on the distant horizon.
As they say, revenge is a dish best served cold, and a victory on Sunday morning is most likely to be earned not in a red mist rage, but with calculating, grim determination.
Treating history as bunk
The last time New Zealand and South Africa met in a Cup final was 1995, and scars from that 15-12 loss ran deep for the All Blacks involved.
But will any of the current All Blacks have that defeat lurking in their minds? It seems highly unlikely. Ten of the 23 match-day squad in Paris hadn’t been born when the 95 final was played. Only Aaron Smith and Sam Whitelock had started primary school. They were both 6 years old.
