The Springboks made an excellent start to the season by thrashing the Wallabies, but know it won’t be as easy when they take on the high-flying All Blacks in Auckland on Saturday.
Assistant coach Deon Davids said that he expects a far more physical grind against the All Blacks as a second contingent of players and coaches continued to make their way to New Zealand on Monday.
Davids was among the contingent that departed Johannesburg on Sunday night, ready to join the group of Springboks who have been preparing in New Zealand since last week.
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While he was pleased with the Springboks’ performance in their 43-12 victory against Australia in Pretoria, Davids was wary of the battle ahead against an All Blacks team that defeated the Pumas 41-12 in Argentina.
“I thought it was quite an impressive start by the All Blacks,” said Davids.
“They delivered quite a physical and intense performance, and the fact that they led 31-0 at the break shows what they can do when they get opportunities. For us, it’s going to be very important to look after our possession.
“We’re expecting a very tough, physical game from them. It’s never easy going down there, and with the crowd behind them, they’ll be an even tougher opponent.”
Davids was confident that the second travelling contingent will acclimatise to their new surroundings and time zone before Saturday’s match-up, despite only arriving in New Zealand late on Monday night.
“That process started on Sunday with medical screening,” he said. It’s all about recovery now and slotting into the training sessions in New Zealand as quickly as possible.
“There are players in Auckland already who have acclimatised, so it will be a matter of aligning in terms of our plans going into this game against a very tough opponent.”
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The Springboks are expected to name their matchday squad to face the All Blacks on Tuesday.
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