There is nothing that gets the blood flowing in rugby more than a Springboks vs All Blacks clash.
The two heavyweights of the oval ball game will lock horns in Auckland on Saturday morning (9.05am SA time) in the Rugby Championship, with the Boks having beaten Australia last weekend, while New Zealand got the better of Argentina.
The fact that there is a Rugby World Cup on the horizon – starting in September in France – makes Saturday’s encounter at the Mount Smart Stadium even more enticing.
Yes, the World Cup champions won’t be decided just yet, but the match will show coaches Jacques Nienaber and Ian Foster exactly where their respective teams stand at the moment.
The Boks were outstanding at times in last week’s 43-12 win over the Wallabies in Pretoria, where they played some excellent attacking rugby by bringing their backs into the game, with Kurt-Lee Arendse scoring a hattrick of tries.
But it will be a much sterner test against the usually exciting All Blacks, who would want to lay down a marker before the World Cup.
Both teams, though, will be wary of showing their hand too much, as they need to hold their fire for France later in the year.
The Boks will have extra motivation, though, after stand-in captain Eben Etzebeth’s father Harry died this week.
At the time of writing, it had not yet been decided whether the No 4 lock would play or not, but either way his teammates will look to put in a special effort for the Bok enforcer.
And on Thursday, the SA Rugby Union launched its #BokFriday campaign, where they urge fans to wear green and gold in support of the team.
“It’d be lekker to see the country come together, wearing green and gold with pride every Friday, and to show the players and the world how united we are as a nation,” said Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus.
“We’d love it if everyone could join the #BokFriday movement. We believe in bringing hope to the country, and it’d be great if the country could give us extra inspiration and motivation. Please, just wear it!”
Cape Times