The All Blacks and Springboks collide at Eden Park for the first time in 12 years this weekend, in what is probably the most spoken about fixture since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.
Not only does the match pit the two top-ranked teams against one another, but it also sees rugby’s greatest rivalry return to New Zealand’s spiritual home – a rare occurrence in the modern era.
In fact, it will be just the fifth time that the Auckland ground has hosted the fierce rivalry since the game went professional, with the All Blacks nearly flawless, winning three and drawing one of the meetings.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks have gone 50 games unbeaten in all international matches at Eden Park following a defeat to France back in 1994 and will be eager to defend that record.
Ahead of the epic showdown between rugby’s most successful international outfits, we take a look at what experts and legendary figures of the game have had to say in the build-up.
Over the past 12 years, there has been a suggestion that the All Blacks have been shielding the record from South Africa, hosting the Springboks at other venues around the country like Dunedin, Wellington, Christchurch and so on.
All Blacks shielding the record
Shortly after the official confirmation of the Test earlier this year, ex-England fly-half and popular pundit Andy Goode added weight to the debate, suggesting that the sentiment was in fact true.
“I have heard that New Zealand don’t like or don’t want to play South Africa at Eden Park,” Goode told The Rugby Pod.
The panel scoffed at the suggestion, but Goode replied, “Have a look over history when the last time the Springboks played there was.
“I think the All Blacks choose who the play, where they play, when they play. It’s the first time, I’m telling you now, it’s the first time in a long time that the Springboks have got the invite to play at Eden Park.
“They [South Africa] could do it, they could end it. It’s got to end at some point, doesn’t it?”
More recently, Springboks legend Victor Matfield reflected on the last time he played at the venue. South Africa entered that fixture in 2010 as favourites after knocking over the All Blacks on three occasions the year prior.
However, it all went pear-shaped for Matfield and co. while the former lock also stated that South Africa were ‘screwed’ over during the 2012 match after Bismarck du Plessis was red-carded.
“I’ve arrived once at Eden Park as favourites, after we won three games in a row and New Zealand smashed us,” Matfield said on the Rivals podcast.
“You never arrive in New Zealand as favourites. The All Blacks are always favourites, especially when you play at Eden Park – it’s going to be a massive Test match.
“There’s going to be a nice build-up, it’s one for the history books. I think the previous time, we were there, we should have won and then they gave Bismarck du Plessis a red card for one of the greatest tackles ever in world rugby on Dan Carter, and that screwed us a little bit.”
Over in New Zealand, former scrum-half Justin Marshall believes that the need to defend the Eden Park unbeaten run won’t weigh heavily on Scott Robertson’s side. However, he sees the match as an opportunity for the Springboks to add another gong to their armoury after winning two Rugby World Cups, a British and Irish Lions Series and two Rugby Championships since Rassie Erasmus’ return to the set-up.
“I don’t think it will weigh on them. Look, they’ll be aware of it because you can’t hide from it. Everybody reminds you during the week about that record, and so that’s just part of prep,” he said on the Breakdown show.
“But they’re better than that. I feel it’s probably more motivational for Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks because it’s the one box that an international team hasn’t been able to tick in a very long time.
“They’ve achieved everything. Back-to-back World Cup champions, number one team in the world, up until a couple of weeks ago, there aren’t many things in the game they haven’t been able to do.
“He would love to have that in his trophy cabinet. We were the team that finally broke the All Blacks down at Eden Park.”
All Blacks legends and Rugby World Cup winners
Sean Fitzpatrick, a legend of the black jersey and the last All Blacks captain to taste defeat at Eden Park, says that both teams will be desperate for a result but feels that the visitors are looking a bit sluggish.
“The South Africans have got their backs to the wall, they’re looking a bit tired, but I’m sure at Eden Park, we’ll see two teams that are desperate for a win,” he told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.
Rugby World Cup-winning All Blacks coach, Sir Graham Henry, also raised doubts about South Africa, who he believes to have gone backwards over the last 12 months.
“I think that the South Africans have gone backwards from last year, but they will be hugely motivated for the All Blacks to,” he told Newstalk ZB.
“Eden Park will be a massive Test. They have got the ability, there is no doubt about that, they have got more depth than anybody in the world right now – depth and talent.”
Later in the week, he added, “The All Blacks will be hurting, and a hurting All Blacks side usually responds in the next Test. I’m expecting something special.”
Sir Graham Henry slams ‘ridiculous’ notion that the All Blacks are the ‘dumbest and dirtiest’ team
A fellow former World Cup-winning coach also weighed in on the fixture, with ex-Springboks boss Jake White writing that the All Blacks should be worried heading into the fixture.
He believes that the side has lost its aura after losing to Argentina yet again and that they should be worried that the story of this Rugby Championship has been one of records being broken.
“Justin Marshall was bemoaning the loss to Argentina. He said all the blood, sweat and tears expended maintaining that 35-year unbroken winning record over Los Pumas has disappeared in just five years,” White wrote in his Rugby Pass column.
“They’ve now lost home and way. That’s taking nothing away from Argentina who have been quite magnificent now they’ve been bedded into the old Tri-Nations since 2012, but the All Blacks aura has disappeared.”
He added that the fixture is make or break for the All Blacks.
“Sometimes you have to stop the bus and reboot. This is where I think New Zealand rugby are now. This is make or break for them. They weren’t happy when they were No 1 in the world between World Cups, but the narrative is that they’re building depth and building for the World Cup. That’s a very different mindset to the continued excellence they espoused a decade ago and prompted James Kerr’s iconic Legacy book.”
Schalk Burger’s prediction
A star player under White, Schalk Burger is one of the few pundits who laid down an early prediction and for his country, it was not a positive one.
The former flanker aired his concerns over the Springboks’ back-row depth following a plethora of injuries, accompanied by the suspension of star number eight Jasper Wiese.
While he believes that Erasmus’ men will pick up a win in New Zealand, it won’t be at Eden Park.
“I think we’ll get one of them, and it’s not the first weekend. It would be nice, though,” he said on The Verdict podcast.
“Jasper Wiese is back for the second Test at number eight, and we need some reinforcements in the loose forwards.”
He continued: “This All Blacks side, when they have rhythm and they’re playing well, you’ve got to be able to score 40 points.
“So we’ll have to play right, unless with our kicking game we put them in the hurt locker and they can’t exit. But jeez, it’s a hard one to call.
“It’s so open [The Rugby Championship] because I don’t think there’s much between these sides this season.”
In June, ex-Crusaders and Wallabies head coach Robbie Deans sang the Springboks’ praises during his stint as the Barbarians coach.
He believes that the Springboks are no longer a one-dimensional outfit and said that beating the All Blacks at Eden Park would be one of their target.
“No doubt, it’ll be on their radar,” he said. “They are an experienced group and know how to win. There is a lot of footy to come before that [Eden Park], but it will just prepare them for that moment. It’s going to be a great occasion.”
He added: “They can play any way they choose, and they’ve developed the ability to do that.
“It helps over time because it takes the load off your group. Historically, they were quite one-dimensional, but good at it. Now they’re much more ambitious.
“They’ve got some talent that other nations would give anything for. Players that can unlock a game, and that makes it hard.”
King Carlos and Strannes’ view
Ex-All Blacks fly-half Carlos Spencer also weighed in on the fixture when he was in South Africa with the Black Ferns XV.
He said that Eden Park isn’t a hostile or intimidating venue for visiting team but added that history that the All Blacks have built there is always in the back of visiting teams’ minds.
Still, he believes the Boks could put that record to the test.
“I don’t think it’s intimidating — it’s just the history of Eden Park, the All Blacks not losing a Test match there (since 1994). Teams think about that a lot,” Spencer said.
“When you look at where South Africa is at the moment … if there’s a team that can break that history, it’s the Springboks. And it could happen this year.
“Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen!”
In an exclusive interview with Planet Rugby, former Springboks fly-half Joel Stransky said that the timing of the match could suit the hosts better than his former team.
“That’s a massive record,” Stransky said. “So if you think about the evolution and transition now that’s happening (with the Springboks), if it is with any of the guys that end up playing that game, I mean, it will be a tough stage. It will be tough to beat them at Eden Park, and it’s fair for everyone.
“And the timing might be better for the All Blacks than it is for us, in terms of the fact that their young team is maturing and coming to the fore.
“They’ve got some old heads there, and they have got a lot of great young players coming through. We’re in a similar situation.
“But I think the one thing that we know for sure about this Boks side, for them it doesn’t matter where they play. They just have the absolute confidence to go out between four lines and have any setting in the world, and believe they can win. And that’s important.
“Physically, obviously, it’s important to deliver, but mentally it’s so, so tough to believe. But this team believes, right? They know they can win anyway.”
Dagg and Bobby
This week, former All Blacks full-back Israel Dagg said that he believed that his former head coach Robertson made a misstep when he opened up on the fact that there will be “fear” and “pressure”, as well as nerves for the clash.
“The nerves are there. The pressure is mounting, I think this is probably the first time that Razor has felt this sort of pressure and no surprise as this is the All Blacks – it carries a whole lot of pressure and expectation when you take that role,” he said on Sport Nation’s Scotty and Izzy show.
“I saw the headline and I was thinking, ‘what’s going on here?’ I had a read, had a listen and he’s acknowledging what’s in front of him, the history that is involved with playing at Eden Park and the rivalry between South Africa and New Zealand.
“The fear is there. For me, you can acknowledge it privately within the group but it’s very important as a coach and as a leader of that group you never share that or make players and people around you feel that.
“I think it can have a flow-on effect.”
Ex-Springboks captain Bobby Skinstad also spoke of the pressure on both teams on the DSPN podcast hosted by Martin Delvin.
“It is an exceptional piece of history, how long New Zealand have gone unbeaten there but the All Blacks players will be looking at that go, ‘Well, I don’t want to be part of the team that lost the record’. But unfortunately, life is life,” he said.
“We are so human, you will think to yourself, when I go to training later or when I bowl the ball in the nets don’t mess it up or when you go for a golf put you think ‘Don’t miss, don’t miss’ and bloody miss the thing. You want the swagger. You want the confidence. And my question around the difference between the two teams is Razor, who I’ve got tremendous respect, does he have senior players who are coming through and sort of almost setting their stall out and are they in charge enough to be able to lock step with the coach? We’re good, we know what we’re doing. I don’t know if that’s quite there.
“I actually think that South Africa is not too dissimilar. We’ve got a different captain this week… With the experience of guys like Willie le Roux, he is an amazingly experienced player for a big match like this, but Fassi seems to be the guy that they’re choosing. Does that also then say to the team, well, Rassie has got a slightly different management of the group today. And that’s why I think that both teams are in a slight state of flux, and it’s just which one can come out the other end quicker.”
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