The man who kept the Springboks in the game when they ultimately fell short of backing up the comprehensive win in Nelspruit in 2022, is hoping that the hosts can be smarter in Saturday’s return Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash with the All Blacks in Cape Town.
Which player gets sent out to do the media duties in the build-up to a big game doesn’t always tell us who is going to play at the weekend. If Lukhanyo Am, who joined Cheslin Kolbe in fronting the members of the Fourth Estate, is not in the team to be announced by coach Rassie Erasmus on Thursday morning, it won’t be the first time this has happened.
However, it is usually a good indication, and with Jesse Kriel having been one of the busiest Boks in terms of game time this season, it would certainly make sense if Am, the creator of the first try scored by a South African in a World Cup final in Yokohama in 2019, took the No 13 jersey at the DHL Stadium.
The Springbok team to face the All Blacks in Cape Town will be announced on Thursday 🚨
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 3, 2024
💭 If you were coach Rassie, would you make any changes? pic.twitter.com/Lf95TNCQ72
He played alongside Kriel as an inside centre in one of the Australian games and was asked to cover both positions when he started against Portugal before that and Andre Esterhuizen was red-carded early in the game. But Am has tormented the Kiwis when wearing the No 13 jersey before and, with Kriel deserving a rest, this is probably a good time to reacquaint him with that number on his back.
It was his world-class dazzle on attack that kept the Boks in the game, something he did almost singlehandedly with some brilliant individualistic runs in the unfamiliar position of wing, a position he switched to after an early injury to Kriel, who lined up there on that August afternoon on the highveld two years ago.
BETTER DECISION-MAKING
But like Kriel, Am is the pivotal man in the defensive system when he does play, and he agrees that is an area that needs improving if the Boks are going to do what they didn’t do in 2022 by backing up the opening win seven days later.
“New Zealand are an incredibly skillful side, from No 1 through to No 15, so we need to be smarter with our defence than we were in Johannesburg, particularly when the defensive system is forced to become unstructured,” said Am.
What Am was referring to was better decision making, with some individual errors, such as players coming out of line, contributing to the All Blacks putting four tries past a team that seldom concedes anything like that many.
“At times we are being challenged when we don’t have the right personnel in the defensive line. We just have to make better decisions when it comes to that,” he said.
“On the flip side, our defence has been pretty amazing this season, as well as in recent years. It’s given us a lot of turnover opportunities from putting teams under pressure. So we don’t need to change much, we will stick to what we are good at. Hopefully we just make better decisions.”
The Springboks will need to turn their form around in Cape Town if they want to lift the Freedom Cup this weekend 🇿🇦🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/YpifE4FcSq
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 4, 2024
One thing is clear, and that is that Am has played against New Zealand often enough not to be underestimating them, and he admits that playing back to back games against the same team does make it harder.
“They are a quality side and we know this game will be even tougher (than the one in Johannesburg. Playing teams back to back can be even harder as you get a few pictures (from the first game) so you know what’s coming. So it will definitely be more intense, but we back the preparation we’ve been doing this week, and we will go out there and accept the challenge.”
The Bok team for Saturday’s game, which will effectively clinch the Boks their second Rugby Championship title if they win it, will be announced on Thursday morning. The All Black team for the return fixture will be named on the same day, two hours before the Boks make their announcement.