All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan believes his side will have a “big crack” at the franchises before the test series and is preparing his forwards to take on the South African scrums head on.
Ryan, in a call with New Zealand media, spoke about the excitement now that the team are in South Africa, preparing for Friday night’s Greatest Rivalry Tour opener against the DHL Stormers at Cape Town Stadium.
But knowing the scrumming power of the Stormers, even though they have players at the Springboks, Ryan knows the only way to try and counter the strong South African setpiece is to take it head-on.
“Well, it is (a strength). And you respect it, but you've got to take it head on,” Ryan said.
“You know, you've got to do your job to enhance the jersey every day and try to be the best in the world every day.
“And when you come over here, I guess, especially, the depth of your question there around as a forwards coach, well, there's nothing better to test yourself against the Springboks and South Africa. I'm really excited by it. I know that we've got a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I'm sure that over the next five to six weeks, we will grow together.”
The forwards coach believes that his side need to get a lot out of the clash, and start working towards their final product when they face the Boks in two weeks' time to be ready to try and take down the World Champions.
“I think it's really important we start with a bit of confidence and we get into our game with 10 guys involved that have come into the group. A few debutantes that have never been into the environment before so making sure we set them up is really important firstly.
“And then we want to play some footy and Renz (Head coach Dave Rennie) has been pretty clear that we really want to give a crack in these few games. That's what the tour is about. So we've been hidden from that and that's the opportunity. But I think we're starting well getting to know the Stormers which we've done some good preparation on and preparing accordingly for each game”
Ryan was clear where he rated the Boks, and that they are currently the best in the world, but added that is the challenge for his side.
“Yeah, definitely it is. Massive respect. They're the best in the world. They're a big pack. They know clearly what their identity is around their scrum and their maul. So having genuine preparation around that is important but also the opportunity to think a little bit differently - and I guess learn from a couple of tough old lessons that we've had in the past against playing the box. You definitely do. It is a different contest from what we've had in three tests at home. But really excited by that and the boys are in a good space.”
Much of the All Blacks’ chances will be determined by how well their pack performs against the Boks, and they know that, which makes the clash even more mouth-watering.