All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock says the Springboks will test New Zealand mentally and physically when the two rivals clash at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

The bitter rivals will cross paths in Nelspruit in the first of two Rugby Championship Tests between the sides in the Republic, the second match set to kick off a week later at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

Jason Ryan from the Crusaders was brought in as new All Blacks forwards boss before the trip and, while Whitelock is ready for a battle up front against the Boks, the veteran lock expects the world champions to pose a threat to the Kiwis in every facet of the game.

“We do know there’s some areas where we need to be better at, and conceding a couple of maul tries [against Ireland last month] is an obvious one, so that’s a key area. Individually, as a tight-five forward, it’s something I’m focusing on, and it’s also the main thing we’ve talked about as a team,” he said.

“The Springboks will definitely play to their strengths, as they always do, but in saying that you can go out there and think you have their gameplan in your head but they’ve got a number of smart guys who play around the world so they’ve got a number styles they can go to.

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“We just need to make sure that we can stop their plan A and if they change that, we can stop that as well.

“But that’s the cool thing about playing South Africa – the old foe as such.” 

The current All Blacks team has travelled to South Africa in a pressured position, after a first home series loss to Ireland which has put head coach Ian Foster under the pump and cost assistant coaches John Plumtree and Brad Mooar their jobs.

Foster has been backed to right the ship despite a modest record in charge of the All Blacks – 16 wins from 24 Tests, including four defeats from his past five.

“The pressure cooker is still on and when I say that, it’s us putting pressure on ourselves,” Whitelock said.

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“It’s good for us at the moment, being over here and together as a team. It’s a time to work on what we need to work on.

“The main thing is it falls on us as players and we need to go out there and perform; so it doesn’t matter who’s coaching us, it comes down to how we perform on the field and we need to perform for 80-plus minutes.

“It needs to be about being consistent and that’s right across the board … set piece, breakdown, defence etc, and we must drive that as players.

“It’s two games back to back, don’t have to adjust to the time zones in the middle and we play against world-class opposition … they’re world champions at the moment, so what better place to be for us as players and I know that’s exciting me.”

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