Ex-All Blacks skipper Taine Randell feels Saturday’s third Greatest Rivalry clash in Soweto will be “the biggest Test that a lot of these players have played in their careers”.
The series is currently deadlocked at 1-1 after New Zealand clinched a 33-16 victory in the opening Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg before South Africa bounced back with a 33-26 win in their second encounter in Cape Town this past weekend.
The All Blacks and Springboks are the most successful nations in the history of Test rugby, with the men in black having a 76% winning record and the Boks are second best with 64%.
However, South Africa have won the most Rugby World Cup titles (four) while New Zealand are next best with three triumphs at the global showpiece.
With such impressive records and after two thrilling encounters – with Saturday’s clash at the FNB Stadium and the fourth Test at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, USA still to come – the Greatest Rivalry series is evenly poised.
And with so much at stake, Randell, who made 51 Test appearances for New Zealand as a loose forward between 1997 and 2001, believes both teams will be determined to secure victory this weekend.
‘We all thought there was going to be a huge Springboks response’
“Well, this is what makes this game so interesting,” he told The Platform NZ podcast. “With the first game, we won, and I think, again, against a lot of people’s predictions, we all thought there was going to be a huge Springboks response.
“There was, but on the scoreline, it wasn’t really. There was only one try in it, and we scored more tries than they did. That’s what makes this third game so compelling. There’s going to be no change in styles.
“It’s just going to be a change of will and determination. Well, not a change; it’s going to be whose will and determination.”
Randell also highlighted the fact that both the All Blacks and Springboks have stuck largely with a core group of players so far during the Test series despite both camps having more than enough cover in their extended squads to chop and change personnel.
That brings him to the conclusion that the players who are going to be involved in this Saturday’s showdown are set for a unique Test experience.
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“Another interesting aspect in this day of professional rugby, ex-All Blacks coach Graham Henry started (it), you rotated players to keep everyone fresh, and we had two squads who we thought could have beaten anyone in the world,” said Randell.
‘There was so much depth’
“It caused a lot of controversy at the time, people coming in and out of the All Blacks. Well, the (current) Springboks have been doing that, right? They’ve had 40-odd players play over the last, well, this season. Just think there was so much depth.
“But the reality is that with these games, both coaches have played their best teams. There’s been no (or little) rotation, and that’s been unprecedented for a long time. So, it’s going to be interesting.
“The two games have been brutal physically and mentally.
“So, this third game in Soweto, FNB Stadium, is going to be, I think, the biggest Test that a lot of these players have played in their careers, because physically and mentally they would not have had three Tests of this intensity in their careers in three weeks.”
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