Talking time over as Boks and All Blacks reveal powerful lineups for first Test

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Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted he was nervous for Saturdayâs first Test against the All Blacks. He looked nervous compared with earlier in the week when he defended the Boksâ tactics after the All Blacksâ âslowing the gameâ jibe.

Sitting next to Jaco Peyper on Monday, Erasmus had that mischievous glint in his eye and smiled his way through jousting with the media.

On Thursday, when revealing a familiar, strong team, which included centre Damian de Allende, who will play his 100th Test, and flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Erasmus was far less relaxed.

The scale of the challenge is monumental and although both teams had known it was coming, now that the preparation is done and the teams revealed, there isnât much else to do but pre-play the game over and over, waiting for 5:10pm on Saturday.

At the unveiling of his team to face the All Blacks at Ellis Park, Erasmus said neither he nor New Zealand counterpart Dave Rennie could confidently predict a winner.

And the stats underline that, as usual, Erasmus is correct.

For much of the 105-year rivalry, it has been the case. In 110 clashes, the Boks have 43 wins and the All Blacks 63, with four draws.

Even with a superior win rate in the match-up, the All Blacks still only boast a 57% winning ratio against the Boks compared with their historic 76% winning ratio across all Tests.

In South Africa, that drops to a respectable 46% with 25 wins in 54 Tests. At Ellis Park, the All Blacksâ winning ratio against the Boks is 37.5% with six wins in 16 Tests.

Those are impressive stats and way better than any other nation. But they are hardly odds that youâd bet your house on â hence Erasmusâ nerves.

âFor me personally, this is one of the most enjoyable and nerve-wracking games,â Erasmus said.

âAs Iâm sitting here, Iâm nervous. Iâm not going to pretend Iâm not. The team is nervous. I guess the supporters are nervous. But Iâm pretty sure itâs the same on the other side too.â

Experienced core

If Erasmus needs anything to calm his nerves, he can look at the experience he has built over the years â a combined 850 Test caps in the starting lineup, and 1,043 in total.

The All Blacks have 684 caps in the starting lineup and 879 in total. Itâs an edge, and at this level any edge is significant.

The return of loosehead Ox Nché is a boost. The great prop will start for the first time since injuring a knee against England in July. The unsung but superb Gerhard Steenekamp is on the bench.

And even though Jan-Hendrik Wessels is the official hooker reserve behind current World Player of the Year Malcolm Marx, he can also play loosehead.

In the event Nché only lasts 10 minutes, Erasmus has two loosehead options for the remaining 70 minutes; with utility forward Marco van Staden also among the reserves, he has additional hooker cover.

André Esterhuizen is also in the reserves, meaning Erasmus has either a five/three split between forwards and backs, or a six/two split, depending on whether Esterhuizen is used as a flank or centre.

Flank Pieter-Steph du Toit will captain the Boks in the absence of the injured Siya Kolisi, whose tender hamstring wonât be risked this week.

âItâs a pity for Siya, and he could have played at a push, but we decided to give him another week,â Erasmus said.

That means a start for the impressive Paul de Villiers. The Stormers openside is a terrier at the breakdown and a strong ball carrier, which will help what Erasmus predicted would be a âbrutalâ clash for the ball on the deck.

No 8 Jasper Wiese will carry powerfully into contact all day and do his share of the work over the ball while Eben Etzebeth and Ruan Nortjé make for the form second row partnership at the moment.

Etzebeth delivered a strong 80 minutes against Argentina a fortnight ago, while Nortjé has been a tower of strength for the past year.

With Grant Williams and Feinberg-Mngomezulu starting at halfback, the Boks certainly have the personnel in place to produce a high-octane, multi-phase game if they choose, despite the narrative that has been coming from New Zealand.

With Manie Libbok and Cobus Reinach on the bench, there is plenty of pace and vision to keep asking tough questions of New Zealand for the entire 80 minutes of the contest.

Wings Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse will combine with fullback Damian Willemse in an experienced and gifted back three.

De Allende and Kriel complete a formidable-looking backline as they combine in the midfield for a record-extending 45th time.

There are no obvious weaknesses in the Bok lineup, although the All Blacks will have been searching deeply to find some chinks.

The game is being billed as a clash of styles, and Erasmus expects the All Blacks will play with tempo from quick ruck ball if they can get it.

âTheyâve probably doubled the breakdowns and doubled the passes that they had in Razorâs (former coach Scott Robertson) era,â Erasmus said. âThatâs the way they want to play. They want to run you off your feet and make sure that they win their breakdown ball lightning quick. Theyâll do whatever it takes at that breakdown.â

Big pack for All Blacks

Rennie opted to go for a massive pack to counter the Boksâ big men, with Fabian Holland, the 2.04m, 125kg lock, getting the nod alongside the giant Josh Lord.

With Tupou Vaaâi, who can play lock, chosen on the flank, the All Blacks will put pressure on the Boksâ lineout.

Experienced props Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax make up a formidable front row with veteran hooker Codie Taylor.

In the back row, captain Ardie Savea slots in at No 8, having joined the tour late, with Luke Jacobson completing the loose forwards.

Scrumhalf Cam Roigard has overcome a calf injury which forced him out of all three tour matches so far, while Ruben Love, as expected, starts at flyhalf.

Wing Will Jordan, another who has missed every tour match so far with a back injury, was also chosen to start while fullback Damian McKenzie has apparently overcome an ankle injury sustained against the Sharks.

Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea are at centre, and inexperienced wing Josh Moorby completes the backline.

âThere have been a lot of guys in good form, and massive competition for places. Thereâs a handful of spots that took a fair bit of discussion,â Rennie said.

âWe wanted to get some decent footy into him (Holland), so he played the first and third tour games against the Stormers and Bulls, and has been really good.

âHeâs got a big engine as well, and to get through as much footy as he did last week at altitude was great. We believe heâs ready to go â a big man who will have an impact on the game.

âArdie has come back full of beans. It was good to get his head out of footy for a few days; he spent a bit of time at home with his family, and heâs trained really hard. He came back in and connected quickly, and has been in for almost a week-and-a-half.â DM

Reporting originally appeared via Daily Maverick. Read the full source for additional context.