Prepare for a blackout

Posted in Springboks, Tri Nations | www.keo.co.za by Simon Borchardt

The only way the Springboks will beat the All Blacks in New Zealand this year is if the home side wears grey jerseys.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry has been talking the Boks up all week, but that’s because he knows he’ll be sacked if his side loses one of their next two matches against the world champions. Henry privately acknowledges the All Blacks will start as favourites in Wellington, as they will in Dunedin a week later – not surprising considering the Boks haven’t won in New Zealand since 1998.

The tag ‘world champions’ has been thrown around a lot in New Zealand this week, but it won’t take long for the All Blacks to realise that this Springbok team does not have the aura of the one that won the World Cup final against England. Fourie du Preez – the world’s best scrumhalf in 2007 – is not in New Zealand and neither is Jaque Fourie, so crucial at No 13. Percy Montgomery, the safety net of Jake White’s Bok backline, is expected to warm the bench.

The Boks, despite claims to the contrary, also don’t believe – really believe – that they can beat the All Blacks in New Zealand.

On paper, this Bok squad should comfortably beat the All Blacks by 10 points on Saturday. But they won’t. When the Boks are in New Zealand, and they see the steam rising from those black jerseys, the self-doubt creeps back. Maybe the Boks should introduce a very, very dark green jersey, so that the All Blacks have to play in grey at home – the same strip they wore at the World Cup (and which surely played a part in France’s quarter-final win). The Boks definitely wouldn’t lose to a team in grey.

Unfortunately though, the All Blacks will be in black. The Boks will lose the first Test by seven points or less, and will suffer an even bigger defeat a week later at the House of Pain (where South Africa have never won).

Peter de Villiers’s side will, however, beat the All Blacks at Newlands on 16 August. At home, and with the support of 50,000 fans, the Boks truly believe they can beat anyone. On the road though, it’s a different story.