With the Rugby Championship and Freedom Cup at stake, the Springboks and All Blacks clash in Cape Town today. Expect a thrilling encounter.
There’s a lot at stake today in Cape Town when the Springboks line up against the All Blacks: the Freedom Cup, the Rugby Championship and a possible record-setting fourth successive win against the New Zealanders.
Perhaps that’s why coach Rassie Erasmus has pulled old faithfuls Willie le Roux and Handre Pollard back into the starting line-up, in the belief that there is no substitute for experience.
Up to now, Erasmus has been throwing comparatively inexperienced players into the fray… and they haven’t let him down.
The All Blacks will be out to prove a point, too – mainly that the Boks had luck on their side in the win last weekend at Ellis Park in Joburg.
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That was an encounter for the ages between sides who know what it’s like to be best in the world.
An indication of the importance of this match and the commitment of our players is that captain Siya Kolisi has put off having surgery on his broken nose to play in Cape Town.
And he didn’t get a soft pass into that, either, having had to prove himself in a brutal training session first.
With that sort of “do-or-die” attitude, we are in for a treat.
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