If there was any doubt at all, the Springboks want to go out in Auckland on Saturday and honour their teammate and captain Eben Etzebeth.
Etzebeth has chosen to stay on with the side after his father passed away this week, after the team gave him the option to decide whether he wanted to return home or not. On Friday Etzebeth sat in the middle of the team photograph to see through his decision to lead out the Springboks in Saturday’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against the All Blacks.
While Etzebeth missed the traditional Friday captain’s press conference, and his replacement - hooker Bongi Mbonambi declined to speak about the decision - assistant coach Mzwandile Stick did confirm that the side wanted to go out and play well to honour Etzebeth’s father.
Stick confirmed the side saw the loss of a teammate’s family member as a personal loss for the entire side and wanted to be there for their teammate and captain.
"We want to be there for Eben," Stick said.
"He decided to play and I'd like to think it will be in honour of his dad. We are a family, and his loss is a loss for us as a family too. I'd like to offer my condolences to his family. We will try to perform the best we can. We are always there for each other through tough times.
"I know the focus is about him and his dad this week, but we also lost Jaden's [Hendrikse] dad just before we left South Africa. That's one thing I must be honest about as a team, we always support the guys.”
Stick added that the team had rallied around Etzebeth and supported his decision to stay and honour his father by playing in the game. That, according to Stick, would serve as motivation for the Boks on Saturday.
"Eben's loss is very very sad, and like Bongi said he doesn't want to go too deep into it. But we just want to be there for Eben, whatever decision he makes.
"The gentleman made a decision and he wants to play, and probably honour his dad with this game. You can't ask for any other game playing against the All Blacks.
"It will be very special with what he's going through. We are going to make sure we perform the best we possibly can."
While Stick was peppered with questions about whether the Boks miss Super Rugby and if the All Blacks were still their greatest rivals, the assistant coach fielded others that suggested they might not reveal their hand so close to the Rugby World Cup.
It was a bemused Stick that answered this honestly.
“I am not sure what that means, because when you play against the All Blacks, you want to win and you have to be at your best, irrespective of showing your plans towards the World Cup,” Stick explained.
“The main thing for us is to prepare as well as possible, so when we pitch up tomorrow, we perform at our best. We aren’t going to hold back on anything. We will just make sure that we will do everything in our power to win. It will be tough, but we’ve done everything we can to make sure we win tomorrow.”
The match kicks off at 9.05am and is live on SuperSport