NZ believe Boks will retain tight game plan

IF the Springboks, after weighing up the perils of a wildly expansive game plan in tomorrow’s Rugby Championship clash, were still undecided about it, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen provided some sage advice yesterday.

The Boks’ rush is understandable. They need to win, score four tries and deny the World Cup champions and number one-ranked team a bonus point to claim the championship. That seems a lot on the plate of a developing side.

“If you change your game too much just because you are searching for four tries, then you get yourselves into trouble,” Hansen said.

“I think they’ll be too smart for that. I think they will stick to what their strengths are and try and wear us down.”

After all, the All Blacks possess test rugby’s best honed counter-attacking game and were the Boks to over-commit in attack they would simply allow the visitors to sit back, conserve their energy in the stifling heat and pounce when presented with the opportunity.

“I don’t expect them to take too many shots at goal. They’ll be kicking it into the corner and try and drive over,” Hansen said of the Boks.

Hansen is not buying the belligerence of fourtry talk. Bellicose talk, maybe.

“They will play their way into the game and will be physical. Are we preparing for them to be physical? Yip. We know we can be just as physical and we proved that in Auckland and in other test matches in recent times.”

It will be in the Springboks’ interest to test the All Blacks’ mettle in the tight exchanges before exploring the width of the field. The Bok scrum has packed more grunt since the introduction of the new engagement laws, while the All Blacks were unconvincing in the set pieces against Argentina last week.

In fact, they will be without highly rated tighthead prop Owen Franks, who has had to yield to a groin injury he sustained last weekend. Charlie Faumuina takes his place and although he acquitted himself well from the bench last week he will have the unenviable prospect of packing down into Beast Mtawarira’s warm embrace on the occasion of the Bok loosehead’s 50th test.

A solid set piece and an appreciation of field position will stand the Boks in good stead and although the hosts have to make the running Hansen is not advocating his team hold back.

“This is one of the big occasions on the rugby calendar. They see the South Africans as the best side in the competition and they want to play really well against them.”

It was a sentiment shared by the intuitively brilliant outside centre Conrad Smith. “It will be a pretty hollow feeling if we win the Rugby Championship and not the test,” Smith said.