By Greg Pearson
After a win, a draw and a loss to start the Rugby Championship, the Springboks will need an improved performance on Saturday to have any chance of toppling the All Blacks.
They believe playing indoors may play into their favour.
A damp training run in Auckland today was just another reason for the Springboks to look forward to Dunedin's covered stadium.
“I think it'll make it like a Highveld game, a South African game,” says Springboks assistant coach John McFarland. “It'll make it very quick. I was there with the Bulls and it was a very quick game. It's a superb, great atmosphere – perfect for Test rugby.”
The South Africans believe playing under cover will suit their game plan.
“I think with the amount of kicking we do that it'll be more beneficial to us,” says Springboks first-five Pat Lambie. “We don't have to worry about the kind of conditions that New Zealand did in Wellington on the weekend.”
With a win and a draw against Argentina, and a loss to the Wallabies through the first-half of the Rugby Championship, the Springboks have been far from their best, with a two-week suspension to lock Eben Eztebeth for head-butting not helping their cause.
“The feeling is we've almost got nothing to lose this weekend,” says Lambie. “No one is expecting much from us it seems. We've been written off already maybe.”
But with home games against the All Blacks and Wallabies still to come, the ‘Boks are only looking forward.
“Saturday's a fresh game,” says McFarland. “What happened before has no relevance. It's what happens on Saturday that counts.”
A decision on a replacement for Eztebeth is yet to be made, with veteran ‘Bakkies both on standby in the republic.
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