Strike force
Savea and Smith back to face Boks
Ben Smith and Julian Savea, two strike weapons who experienced wildly differing emotions in their last match, are set to be reunited on All Black duty against the Springboks.
Highlanders co-captain and fullback Smith, who held aloft the Super Rugby trophy in Wellington after his side defeated Savea’s Hurricanes, is, with wing Savea, one of the first names on the All Blacks starting sheet for important tests.
“It was something I will remember for the rest of my life,” Smith told the media in Johannesburg of the Highlanders’ post-match celebrations.
Savea, however, will want to forget the final quickly. Not only did his side lose after going into the match as favourites, but he dropped a pass with the line open in the latter stages when a try would have put enormous pressure on the visitors.
It was a rare miss for a man with an uncanny instinct for getting across the line.
Savea has scored 30 tries in 33 tests, but like the blockbusting No 11 Jonah Lomu he is often compared with, he has never scored against the Springboks. Savea has played the Boks five times.
Smith, Mr Reliable who might start on the right wing — just as he did in this match last year to accommodate Israel Dagg at fullback — also has a good overall strike rate.
He has scored 16 tries in 38 tests, but has scored 14 in his last 25 and two against South Africa in four tests.
The pair are likely to be two of several changes to Steve Hansen’s team this week, with Aaron Smith likely to start at halfback, Beauden Barrett at first-five and Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith in the midfield. Dagg could be the only survivor from last weekend’s win over the Pumas.
Aaron Smith, another probably still on a high after the Highlanders’ success, will add instant spark at the back of the scrum, but it is Ben Smith and Savea who could pose the biggest problems for South Africa’s defence.
Kieran Read has spoken of the need for a good start to quieten the crowd of 62,000 at Ellis Park, many of whom will be attending in the expectation of a Springbok win.
“I know the crowd is certainly
I know the crowd is certainly baying for our blood and we want to get
out there as soon as we can. Once you get on the
field it pretty much becomes white noise. In some ways they could be screaming for you.
Kieran Read
baying for our blood and we want to get out there as soon as we can,” Read said. “Once you get on the field it pretty much becomes white noise. In some ways they could be screaming for you.
“It’s hard to know what’s being said but if we can go out there and play our game and play well, it can do a bit in shutting up the crowd but we know it’s a big test.”
With the little and large combination of Ben Smith and Savea, the All Blacks could have the perfect men to do just that.