
All Blacks: Donald wins points for keeping cool
Stephen Donald certainly has the backing of assistant coach Wayne Smith.
Stephen Donald certainly has the backing of assistant coach Wayne Smith.
Props are not supposed to be in a hurry, but new All Black Owen Franks is a bolt from the blue.
His dismay at being dropped last week behind him, All Blacks halfback Jimmy Cowan is braced for a physical battering from the Springboks.
South Africa have shown their hand - they will kick the leather off the ball in this weekend's Tri-Nations rugby test.
The All Blacks have always targeted this weekend in Durban as the winnable fixture on their two-test tour of South Africa, according to Springboks coach Peter de Villiers.
The All Blacks are set to persist with width in the Tri-Nations rematch against South Africa in Durban on Sunday morning.
The All Blacks' two pack enforcers agree the forwards should have done more at the coalface to prevent the Springboks clamping control of the Tri-Nations test yesterday.
For a gauge on how South African media responded to the Springboks' 28-19 defeat of the All Blacks yesterday, readers needed to look no further than a headline in Afrikaan newspaper Rapport.
The All Blacks' reputation will be at stake this weekend as they try to avoid their worst season in Graham Henry's coaching tenure.
A couple of Springboks named Fourie have the All Blacks sweating ahead of Sunday morning's Tri-Nations test.