JOHANNESBURG // South Africa must overcome a mental block they have against New Zealand if they are to triumph in Saturday’s final-round Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park, captain Jean de Villiers said on Friday.
The Springboks have won one of their past 10 meetings with the All Blacks and are seeking to end a 22-game unbeaten run by the New Zealanders in Johannesburg.
“I truly believe we are good enough to beat them,” De Villiers said. “Playing at home in front of a packed Ellis Park, it’s a great stadium to play at with the crowd behind you. We need to get over that mental barrier we have built up around playing them.” The fact New Zealand take an unassailable six-point southern hemisphere championship lead into the final-round fixture will not reduce its intensity.
South Africa initially held a slight advantage in the rivalry but have been unable to consistently match New Zealand since emerging from apartheid-induced isolation 22 years ago.
Richie McCaw will overtake Colin Meads by making a record 134th appearance for his national side, all but one of them in Tests.
McCaw prefers doing his talking on the field rather than off it, so it was left to All Blacks coach Steve Hansen to praise his captain.
“On behalf of myself and the team, I would like to congratulate Richie on the achievement,” Hansen said. “He is a special player who has played each and every one of those games with a huge amount of commitment, passion and mental fortitude.
“This is reflected in his unwavering will to win and shown by the fact that he has won an incredible 89 per cent of all his matches.”
Heyneke Meyer, the Springboks coach, has enjoyed success except against the All Blacks, who have beaten his teams five times.
A taut 14-10 defeat at Wellington last month was the closest Meyer has come to ending a hoodoo that has seen New Zealand triumph at Dunedin, Soweto, Auckland and Johannesburg.
The 38-27 Ellis Park defeat last year rankles as the Springboks scored four tries and led by three points entering the closing stages, only to concede two tries. “For us it will be all about execution, discipline, not having ‘soft’ moments and using every opportunity,” Meyer said.
South Africa will leave a decision on No 8 Duane Vermeulen, who has a rib injury, until the last minute with Schalk Burger on standby.
At Mendoza, Argentina, Australia hope to end a troubled week by stretching a record winning streak against Argentina to 10 matches today.
The trouble includes a dust up between Kurtley Beale and a member of staff, a 24-hour journey from Cape Town to Argentina, and lost luggage.
“It is always disappointing when you have distractions that are not rugby related,” Australia coach Ewen McKenzie said.
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