Victor Matfield says the Springboks must target the passive All Blacks defence led by a sub-par Sam Cane when the two teams lock horns in Nelspruit on Saturday.
Matfield, who was part of the John Smit-led Bok team that won back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks in 2009, says Jacques Nienaber’s troops must replicate how Ireland punched holes through the Kiwi defence in their 2-1 series win in New Zealand.
“The New Zealand defence has been one of the slowest in terms of coming off the line,” Matfield told BokSquad. “That’s what gave the Ireland attack a lot of opportunity over the course of that series.
“They’re still struggling to decide on their best loose-forward combination,” he added. “Sam Cane is the captain, but I’m not sure he’s up to it at the moment – in terms of getting over the ball, stealing the ball, slowing it down … all of that contributes to a team’s defence.
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“If South Africa was playing against Ireland, for example, they would come off the line a lot quicker to shut down the options. Ireland would probably struggle to get more than one or two passes away. As a result, Ireland would probably be forced to kick a lot more.
“New Zealand don’t have the best defence at the moment. The Boks can run at them – and I’m not talking about running from deep within our own half.
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“If we get into their half, we can build through our forwards and we can come around the corner. Once we set the platform, we can play a few options. That’s how you can build momentum against them.
“They’re not really stopping the opposition from getting quick ball. They’re allowing the opposition to get a quick recycle at the ruck and to launch a multi-phase attack.”
The world champion Boks face the embattled All Blacks at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday in the first of two Rugby Championship Tests, the second at Ellis Park a week later.
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Photo: Marty Melville/AFP
