Matfield targets Cane as the mind games begin

Springboks great Victor Matfield has heaped more pressure on struggling All Blacks skipper Sam Cane, questioning whether the flanker ‘‘is up to it’’.

Cane leads a desperate All Blacks team looking to change its fortunes with the toughest of assignments – back to back tests in South Africa.

Matfield felt Ireland’s historic series win in New Zealand had emphasised the sluggish All Blacks’ defence and saw Cane as a culprit.

‘‘They are still struggling to decide on their best loose-forward combination. Sam Cane is the captain, but I’m not sure he’s up to it at the moment – in terms of getting over the ball, stealing the ball, slowing it down,’’ Matfield, a World Cup-winning lock who played 127 tests for South Africa, told BokSquad.

‘‘All of that contributes to a team’s defence. They are not really stopping the opposition from getting quick ball. They are allowing the opposition to get a quick recycle at the ruck and to launch a multiphase attack.’’

Cane was substituted late in the decisive third test against Ireland as the All Blacks lost but has kept the faith of his coach Ian Foster, who is also under immense pressure.

The hits keep coming though and doubts on the New Zealand skipper were always likely to surface in South Africa where mind games are part of their rugby psyche.

Matfield felt the Springboks had an advantage in this key defensive area that they needed to maximise to set up attacking options in the opening Rugby Championship clash at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

‘‘The New Zealand defence has been one of the slowest in terms of coming off the line. That is what gave the Ireland attack a lot of opportunity over the course of that series,’’ he said.

‘‘If South Africa was playing against Ireland, for example, they would come off the line a lot quicker to shut down the options. Ireland would probably struggle to get more than one or two passes away. As a result, Ireland would probably be forced to kick a lot more.

‘‘New Zealand don’t have the best defence at the moment. The Boks can run at them – and I’m not talking about running from deep within our own half. If we get into their half, we can build through our forwards, and we can come round the corner.

‘‘Once we set the platform, we can play a few options. That is how you can build momentum against them.’’

Matfield’s former team-mate and skipper Jean de Villiers felt things were conspiring against the All Blacks and wouldn’t be surprised if the Springboks won both tests with the second in Johannesburg next week.

‘‘The Boks put teams under pressure by playing the game they play – a strong, solid first phase, big defence and a good kicking game – but if they can get the balance right in terms of attack, and keep ball in hand when the opportunity is there, then they can definitely win both games against the All Blacks,’’ de Villiers told BokSquad.

‘‘The All Blacks have been poor results-wise and will want to rectify that in South Africa. They are struggling with certain areas of their game, which the Boks will want to exploit.’’