By Steve McMorran, AP01 Oct 2021 01:22
There volition beryllium nary surprises erstwhile New Zealand and South Africa conscionable contiguous (8.05pm AEST) successful the last lucifer of the Rugby Championship connected the Gold Coast.
Both teams already person made their absorption clear: aforesaid arsenic past week, lone better.
The All Blacks bushed the Springboks 19-17 — with a past infinitesimal punishment — successful the 100th lucifer betwixt the teams past play to clinch the title title.
There were already fewer secrets betwixt the teams up of past week's match.
South Africa sent up a barrage of precocious kicks, adjacent successful the attacking half, and New Zealand did its champion to defuse them.
Both teams accidental the look for winning contiguous is simply playing those parts better, and the All Blacks person adjusted their backline to adhd much aerial skill.
But the predictability of the tactics and invariability of South Africa's kicking crippled made dull what should person been a milestone lucifer successful 1 of rugby's top rivalries.
South Africa's statement that it is simply a winning benignant has been undermined by their 3 losses successful consecutive weeks — 2 to Australia — which person seen it topple from archetypal spot successful satellite rankings.
"When it comes to the aerial contest, we deliberation we are the champion successful the satellite and that is thing we enactment hard on," flyhalf Handre Pollard said.
Pollard, on with scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, has the work of putting the kicking crippled into operation.
"I deliberation we volition support doing it due to the fact that we spot our process and we spot our plan," Pollard said.
"It is simply a spot unorthodox I guess, but we judge successful it."
Pollard says that content has survived its bid of losses.
"You would deliberation losing a mates connected the roadworthy volition dent your confidence," helium said.
"But we conscionable person truthful overmuch content successful the process and we get assurance from mentation and we get assurance from each other."
All Blacks manager Ian Foster has tweaked his backmost 3 to header amended with the precocious shot barrage, bringing successful Sevu Reece connected the close helping and moving Rieko Ioane to the left.
Foster refused to criticise the Springboks kicking crippled and went further, saying immoderate disapproval had gone excessively far.
"I deliberation it's gone implicit the apical a small bit," helium said.
"I deliberation (we've) got to beryllium cautious erstwhile it borders connected disrespect for a team. They've chosen a benignant to play and it's been precise effectual for them. It was precise effectual backmost successful 2009 erstwhile they hailed bombs connected the All Blacks and we mislaid 3 oregon 4 successful a enactment to them. So it's not similar this is new.
"The past happening I deliberation we should beryllium doing, oregon the past happening we volition bash arsenic an All Black squad is walk judgement connected that, due to the fact that past week we saw however effectual and bully they are astatine it. We've conscionable got to beryllium arsenic bully astatine our game."
The All Blacks apt volition marque immoderate insignificant changes to their approach, trying to onslaught much efficaciously disconnected fetched kicks.
Brad Weber, who replaces TJ Perenara astatine scrumhalf, brings an attacking menace astir the fringes.
New Zealand volition besides effort to assistance the tempo and summation the continuity of the lucifer to trial a Springboks squad they fishy lacks fittingness erstwhile forced to play astatine pace.
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