Confidence is normally a word that is associated with showdowns between the world’s top two rugby sides, but this weekend ahead of their meeting at the All Black fortress, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus described the biggest game of the year as a “nervous” one for both sides.
The Castle Lager Rugby Championship hasn’t gone to plan for both the Boks and All Blacks thus far. And while the Eden Park showdown is the biggest of the year, both sides are grasping with losses in the first two weeks of the tournament that they didn’t expect. Australia stunned the Boks at Ellis Park while the Pumas did the same to the All Blacks in Buenos Aires.
And with the third week of the Championship set to hit new heights, the Boks and All Blacks have to be content that the other game means just as much now when it comes to the log positions and that this heavyweight clash isn’t the only show around at the moment.
Erasmus addressed it at the team’s first press conference when he said it is an open Championship after the first two rounds’ results.
“It's only one game for all four teams. So, I guess it's pretty open,” Erasmus smiled at the team hotel in Auckland.
“Last year, it wasn't the same. We're playing New Zealand away from home. That's obviously a massive challenge. We would have loved to have won the first two games against Australia but we only achieved it in one. And we're currently third on the table.
“I guess Australia's tail is a little bit up. And Argentina obviously feel good about themselves because they're really playing well. But yeah, I think us and New Zealand, neither of us are really hitting our straps currently.
“They had a loss and we had one loss. We are big rivals. We've been coming here a long time and the games have been really, really close in the last few years - even in the World Cup final.”
Erasmus said the All Blacks unbeaten record at Eden Park was a significant factor in the build-up and that brought about nerves from the World Champions.
“For us, history is obviously a big thing. There's a big thing made about Eden Park and so on. For us, no, it's a nervous week. We're confident that we can do well. But I guess in New Zealand we'll be under the pressure that I can see that people put on them.
“We're experiencing very much the same. We are two teams that have a lot of respect for each other. But then also internally, I think both teams believe they can win the match.”
Erasmus said the only difference in playing in Auckland was the Boks were in front of All Black fans, otherwise the contest would be the same.
“We're just away from our South African supporters, which we love to be in front of. So, there's a couple of supporters here. In these two weeks the only difference is there's less South African supporters here.
“I've been touring here since 1994 in New Zealand as a player. And it's never easy here. I don’t think I won as a player here. We've won one and drawn one since I've been involved in the coaching team. So it's always a tough and nerve-wracking week. And I guess it's the same for New Zealand.”
The Boks will name their side for the clash on Thursday.