All Blacks v Springboks: Forward changes expected for third test
The All Blacks are preparing for a critical third test match against the Springboks in Soweto following a series of intense, physical encounters. Coaches are planning to rotate the squad to manage player fatigue and address specific tactical weaknesses in the scrum and lineout.
Why it matters
This match is a pivotal moment in a high-profile international rugby rivalry, with significant implications for team depth and tactical development.
The war of words, tension, antics, and a level series. Test weeks don’t get much more captivating than this.
“This week coming is going to be big,” All Blacks scrum coach Jason Ryan said. “A World Cup is a World Cup but this one at this ground – 90-plus thousand – it’s going to be up there.”
At the halfway stage of the greatest rivalry series, the All Blacks will attempt to regroup, reset and rectify their second test failings.
Elements of their game, particularly on attack where they have scored nine tries to four across the two tests and consistently stressed the Springboks on the edge, are working well – even if the clinical finishing eluded them too often in Cape Town.
The All Blacks have also defused the notorious bomb squad to definitively win the last quarters of both tests.
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