In an excerpt from his autobiography, former Springbok captain John Smit describes what will be awaiting the All Blacks when they head to Johannesburg for a rematch at Ellis Park.
The All Blacks have arrived in Johannesburg on the back of their latest defeat: a 26-10 loss to the Springboks in Nelspruit. That was South Africa’s first win on home soil over New Zealand since 2014 and it was by a record margin in the professional era.
While Ian Foster and his charges will be desperate to turn around a record of five losses in their past six Test matches, they may find that difficult to do at one of the historic grounds of South African rugby.
Ellis Park has hosted some classic Tests between the Springboks and All Blacks, including the famous Bok victory in 2014 and the 1995 World Cup final.
New Zealand have faced South Africa 14 times at Ellis Park since 1928. The Springboks won nine of those Tests, but New Zealand did win the most recent clash at the stadium – a 27-20 victory in 2015.
In an excerpt from his autobiography, Captain in the Cauldron, former Bok skipper Smit described the hostilities that will be awaiting the All Blacks on Saturday.
“Ellis Park is such a special place for the Boks and hell on earth for the visiting teams. It’s no secret that they feel like they are stepping into a lost valley in hillbilly country.
“Opponents have told us over a beer how they get a sinking feeling as the bus gets further away from the comfort of their Sandton hotel and passes through the dodgy, run-down areas surrounding the stadium. We’ve heard of fans spitting and banging on their bus as it enters the ground.
“Inside, the stadium is so well designed that the crowd sits on top of you and gets totally involved in the game. The fans really let rip and at the risk of sounding snobbish, there’s something scary about a lot of them. The Aussies reckon Ellis Park is straight out of The Jerry Springer Show and that the fans look almost capable of murder.”
Smit famously led the Springboks to a 40-26 win over New Zealand in 2004, courtesy of Marius Joubert’s hat-trick of tries, which stood as the biggest victory over the All Blacks since 1928 until the result at Mbombela Stadium.
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