Boks will make history at Mount Smart

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Defending world champions, the Springboks have too much class to not right the wrongs of 2022 and beat the All Blacks in Auckland on Saturday, writes MARK KEOHANE.

South Africa and New Zealand will clash at Mount Smart Stadium in the second round of the Rugby Championship, after claiming respective wins over Australia and Argentina last week.

It’s 86 years and nine Tests since the Boks last won in Auckland, where they suffered a 57-0 drubbing to New Zealand in 2017. That score remains the biggest margin in Tests between the rugby powerhouses.

Last year, the South Africans surrendered the championship title at Ellis Park, losing their killer instinct when the Kiwis were at their most vulnerable – a last-minute Scott Barrett try wrapped up a 35-22 victory for the tourists and denied the hosts a crucial losing bonus point.

In his TimesLIVE column, Keohane argues that a 16% winning return for the Boks in New Zealand is irrelevant this weekend, and what is relevant is that in 2018, they beat the All Blacks 36-34 in Wellington and a year later drew 16-all, again in Wellington.

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“History suggests the pain will belong to the Springboks, but if you delve slightly deeper history can be misleading,” he writes. “[Eben] Etzebeth and his World Cup-winning teammates have experienced winning against the All Blacks in New Zealand.

“Mentally, they have it and the history that Bok coaches Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus will lean on is that the All Blacks have not beaten their squad in New Zealand. It is one Bok win and a draw since Erasmus and Nienaber took charge.

“On Saturday, the Boks get to right the wrongs of Ellis Park and they will be filthy with themselves that they did not bury the All Blacks at Ellis Park.

“They get to change that at Mount Smart, and I believe they have too much class and quality across the match-day squad to come unstuck.

“Forget history, these Springboks will be history makers in Auckland on Saturday.”

Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix

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