{"id":598237,"date":"2026-09-12T16:02:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/598237\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T16:02:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:02:12","slug":"springboks-v-all-blacks-siya-kolisi-reveals-mindset-ahead-of-final-clash-while-coach-assesses-richie-mounga-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/598237\/","title":{"rendered":"Springboks v All Blacks: Siya Kolisi reveals mindset ahead of final clash while coach assesses Richie Mo’unga threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Springboks<\/a> and the All Blacks will take to the field in just a few hours, as they compete in the fourth and final Test of Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry.<\/p>\n

This will be the first match of the series to take place outside of South Africa, as the two teams look each other in the eye in Baltimore, USA.<\/p>\n

World Cup holders South Africa<\/a> currently lead the series 2-1 after winning in Johannesburg last weekend, but there\u2019s no denying that the fourth Test could go either way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to draw the series. We want to win the series, so that\u2019s our mindset coming this week,\u201d captain Siya Kolisi<\/a> told the press on Friday.<\/p>\n

After winning the last two Tests, the Springboks should feel confident heading into the final match in front of an expectant US crowd.<\/p>\n

Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick is wary about the return of Richie Mo\u2019unga<\/a>, however, in what will be his first Test start for the All Blacks since the 2023 World Cup final.<\/p>\n

\u201cRichie Mo\u2019unga, we know him well. He was world-class. I think as a coaching staff, we did expect that selection,\u201d Stick told the media at the team hotel.<\/p>\n

\u201cRuben Love, the way he\u2019s been playing as one of the young upcoming stars in that team, he\u2019s been doing great for that team, but we did expect Richie Mo\u2019unga to get an opportunity in this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justin Marshall: All Blacks would be \u2018kidding themselves\u2019 if they didn\u2019t acknowledge Springboks \u2018inevitability\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done our own work\u201d<\/p>\n

Mo\u2019unga\u2019s return to the All Blacks matchday squad changes the dynamic of the team, bringing new challenges to a Springbok side that did well to somewhat muzzle Love in the last two matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re going to be even more bold tomorrow when it comes to keeping the ball alive and trying to use the space in the wider channels. And we know how dangerous it is, but we\u2019ve played against them many times,\u201d Stick said.<\/p>\n

As with any modern Springboks matchday preparation, Rassie Erasmus\u2019<\/a> side are not content with sitting back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done our own work. The key thing for us is to make sure that we enforce our game on to them, make sure that physically we pitch up on the day,\u201d Stick said.<\/p>\n

Despite the aggressive approach, Stick is aware that if the series leaders are not able to replicate the form they\u2019ve shown in the past two matches, then they will be punished.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve seen the past three games we\u2019ve played against them; if you\u2019re not at your best, they\u2019ve got what it takes to punish you because of the quality of the players they\u2019ve got in that team,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a world-class team. We know they\u2019re very desperate to level up the series, but so do we. Also, we want to make sure that we keep on making our people back home proud, so we\u2019ll give our best.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0Five things Donald Trump can learn from Rassie Erasmus as US President says he\u2019s a great leader while Springboks boss demonstrates it<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Springboks and the All Blacks will take to the field in just a few hours, as they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":598238,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1463,1464,111,43,139,69,6327,213],"class_list":["post-598237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}