All Black coach Graham Henry and captain Richie McCaw talked about Saturday’s test against the Springboks in a press conference on the eve of the big clash.
Graham ‘Smiley’ Henry was decidedly upbeat.
“What a beautiful day!” he chirped. “Middle of winter and 26 degrees. City and country in huge anticipation of a great rugby game, two top teams in the world playing each other in the most demanding competition in world rugby. we are all looking forward to it.”
He talked about the late withdrawal of Pierre Spies and his replacement by Bobby Skinstad.
“Skinstad and Spies are different players physically aren’t they. Skinstad is more of a ball-runner than a carrier, so I think that might change things for them a bit.
“But I haven’t really given the changes a great deal of thought to be frank. Loose forward is an area of huge strength in SA rugby, I watched Super 14 and was very impressed with the quality of loose forwards. They can play all sorts of different combinations and not lose potency.
“We expect them to take us on up front. More of the same. They always look to get physical domination and they will do so tomorrow, and that starts up front.”
He then talked about injuries and reconditioning.
“The benefits of reconditioning are for later in the year – we are hoping to peak later in the year. We have injuries as well with Ali Williams and Keith Robinson’s calf muscle.
“Injuries are just part and parcel of the international game. Depth in the squad is important, it is something we have tried to develop over the last three or four years and it is something the Springboks have developed as well.
“When it comes to World Cup time, the side with that depth is going to come through, because you are going to get injuries, it is the nature of the game.
“The Boks have played a lot of football on end – remember they played the semi-finals and final of the Super 14 as well, and then three Test matches. There will be wear and tear. It is how you handle it at the time that is important.”
All Black captain Richie McCaw is expecting the usual physical battering from the Boks.
“They take you hard – perhaps not directly on the ball, but at the breakdown.
“It was important in the last three weeks to get us all back together as a unit, but there is a sense of it being here and now where it really starts.
“It doesn’t get too much bigger than tomorrow, and everything has gone up a level this week. Hopefully we can do that with the performance tomorrow as well.
“I guess Danie Roussouw is a big man, and they were pretty smart as it is, so we have to make sure we try and pour some pressure on them, and make sure it doesn’t change what we try to achieve on our own ball.
“There’s no extra training – well… there’s always big line-out training! But that’s always been the case, it won’t be any different to what we have already experienced.”