Rugby World Cup 2015: How fear factor can help the All Blacks

Richie McCaw of the All Blacks and coach Steve Hansen look on during a New Zealand All Blacks training session. Photo / Getty Images.

One of the factors behind the All Blacks' semifinal victory over Australia in 2011 - their most complete performance of the knockout stages in that tournament - was a genuine fear of losing, a fear which they must cultivate this week ahead of their clash against the Springboks.

Weeks before that match four years ago, the All Blacks had lost 25-20 to the Wallabies in Brisbane, a victory for Robbie Deans' men which handed them the then Tri Nations and an apparently big psychological advantage.

The All Blacks, therefore, started with a controlled fury which swept the Australians before them at Eden Park in a match notable for Jerome Kaino's seemingly miraculous tackle on Digby Ioane which prevented the wing from scoring, and No10 Quade Cooper's failure to respond to the pressure. (He infamously began the match by kicking the ball out on the full).

On Sunday at Twickenham that fear should again be there as they face up to their old enemy the Boks, who went very close to beating the All Blacks in Johannesburg in July, but for an inspired final few minutes and a try to skipper Richie McCaw from a lineout move - which may or may not have been strictly legal - which helped the visitors to a 27-20 win.

Reassuringly for New Zealand supporters, centre Conrad Smith feels there is a similar feeling in the camp now as there was at the same stage four years ago.

"I know preparing for the Australians in 2011 was big," he said. "They had beaten us just before the World Cup and they were very much the team in form going into the tournament. It carried some pretty high stakes and we were pretty on edge. In that way it's similar to South Africa.

"Although we beat them in our last outing I think most of us walked off that field knowing not so much that we were lucky but that certainly it could have gone the other way.

"We weren't particularly proud of the way we played and they're playing really well [now], the same as Australia were playing really well during the 2011 World Cup. There's probably a similar edge in terms of we know we are playing a very, very good rugby side and we have to be on top of our game in order to get the result."

South Africa's opening loss to Japan at this World Cup put them and coach Heyneke Meyer in a dark place, but a victory at Twickenham would redeem all. As rival coach Steve Hansen said earlier this week, there is a huge respect between the two rugby nations, but with that comes an added edge. Just as you don't want to lose to your brother or sister in anything when you are growing up, he said, so you don't want to lose to your closest rival.

Smith said the rivalry with the Boks - who have the best record of any nation against the All Blacks - became more apparent as he grew older. "I grew up during the apartheid era [when South Africa were banned from international rugby] so it was always Australia who were the traditional foe, but with South Africa coming back into it ... I became aware of what the rivalry was. For me in my time I think it got back to where it was previously in terms of they are our ultimate rival."

An advantage for Hansen's men is that they showed in their record-breaking 62-13 quarter-final victory against France in Cardiff that they can play with a freedom and confidence that belies what is at stake. They aren't afraid to express themselves and they have the skills to do that under the most extreme pressures. On the evidence of this tournament, the same can't be said of the South Africans, but they too are capable of responding to challenges and for them the All Blacks are the ultimate prize scalp.