By DUNCAN JOHNSTONE in Wellington - RugbyHeaven | Friday, 04 July 2008
Test preview: It's an enormous step into the unknown. And it's not just about the new ELVs that make their debut in the Tri-Nations opener on Saturday night. This is more to do with how eight young All Blacks front up to the Springboks for the first time.
Andy Ellis, Ma'a Nonu, Rudi Wulf, Jerome Kaino and Adam Thomson will be there at Wellington's Westpac Stadium from kickoff for a match that will involve more fury than anything they have experienced.
Stephen Donald, Anthony Boric and Sione Lauaki will sit on the bench waiting for their introduction, wondering whether they will be needed to try to protect a 29-match home winning streak against the world champions.
Yes, there is a core of experience running through the team – all fingers will be crossed that Ali Williams makes it to the start – but this is a completely new level for many of the players involved.
It's one thing to see off an ordinary English team, it's another matter to front the Boks who have earned their tag the hard way as New Zealand rugby's greatest rival.
Graham Henry has labelled this match as the biggest of his five-year reign with the All Blacks. Are his side at their most vulnerable in that time as they square off against a confident Springboks team that are on a 14-match winning streak of their own? Remember, nestled in the midst of that was a World Cup final win.
"I think we are into the unknown to some extent. There are a large number of players in the 26 who haven't had long careers in the All Blacks and could well have," said Henry, suggesting this was their "acid test".
He added: "It's just a matter of how these fellows are going to handle the demands of playing South Africa. That's the challenge and it will be interesting to see how that challenge is met.
"They have trained well and they are very focused. It's just how they handle the big test match. The one thing they will do, is they will do their best."
Then there are the ELVs. They get their first taste of test action and Henry and his fellow coaches get their first chance to show their innovations after watching them played during the Super 14.
But, again, there is an unknown factor here with the new lineout law of unlimited numbers and the decision to allow mauls to be sacked.
All of this adds to pressures as the new-look All Blacks face their most significant test in nine months since you know when.
"Again it's a wee bit of an unknown," Henry says of the lineouts. "You're not quite sure how the opposition is going to work in that area. A lot of it is going to be how you respond on the track.
"It's a totally different situation, that none of us have ever experienced before. So to be able to react on the hoof in the heat of the battle is going to be very important.
"Our coolness of head and being able to react under those circumstances is going to be very important."
What we can expect is for the All Blacks to try to maximise the quick throw-ins that are now on offer again. The less lineouts they have to front up against Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha, the better for an area of New Zealand's came that has been shaky over the opening three tests of the year.
So the ball will be thrown in quickly by whoever is there and to whomever is available.
The All Blacks will be out to play a quick game. Of that there is no doubt. They will see the new rules as helping their more adventurous approach compared to the Springboks' more methodical style of play.
They weren't willing to buy into that theory on Friday though. "We will have to see. It will be interesting to see how the two teams respond to those (the ELVs)," was all Henry would say.
The Boks have spoken much about their desire to reveal a more attacking style and there was little doubt that their Super 14 sides started to look more comfortable with the new rules the longer the tournament wore on.
Henry is a fan of the ELVs and as one of the deeper thinkers of the modern game, he will surely have a twist or two to add to what we have seen over the past few months.
But he also has an old concern: "The big thing about the ELVs is the tackle area still and the refereeing of the tackle area. If the refereeing is accurate and the team plays well at that area, I think it increases the spectacle of the game."
But Henry stressed not much had really changed with the basic requirements of the game. And test rugby doesn't get much more basic or primal than All Blacks v Springboks clashes.
They will bash heads up front, the ball will go to the air, kickable penalties will be attempted at every opportunity and when the time is right the backs will try to strike.
Every All Black who has spoken publically this week has mentioned the physical approach and toughness of the South Africans. But only those who have fronted the Boks really know the added dimensions that come with that tag.
There's also a mental toughness about them that has been New Zealand's undoing on more than one occasion.
So Henry is right – this really is a venture into the unknown, even for the Springboks who face their biggest assignment under their new coach Peter de Villiers.
Can New Zealand's scrum advantage outweigh the Springboks' superiority at lineout time?
Are the All Blacks able to get by without Richie McCaw? Does the new-look back-row have what it takes against an area of South African strength?
Can Dan Carter's sublime form move into this arena? Is Andy Ellis really our top halfback and can Ma'a Nonu do what few have done and bust through the middle of the Boks?
So many questions and so few answers and you could also throw the weather into that mix, given Friday's glorious sunshine compared to the gloomy forecast for Saturday night.
But that's what is great about this test. There is intrigue in every area, not least being the result.
NEW ZEALAND: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis; 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Rodney So'oialo (c), 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock. Reserves: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Sione Lauaki, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Leon MacDonald.
SOUTH AFRICA: 15 Conrad Jantjes,14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Ricky Januarie; 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp. Reserves: 16 Bismark du Plessis, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Luke Watson, 20, Bolla Conradie, 21Francois Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Aus).
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