Former All Black Israel Dagg has reflected on his former battles against the Springboks ahead of the upcoming Greatest Rivalry tour.
Dagg spent seven years in the All Blacks squad, becoming one of their most capped-ever outside backs, scoring 26 tries in the process – the first of which came against South Africa to secure a bonus-point victory in what was then known as the Tri Nations.
He ended his international career in 2017 after suffering yet another long-term injury, retiring fully from rugby two years later, citing continued issues with his right knee.
Many of his successes in the All Blacks shirt happened to come against the Springboks, a fact that Dagg has not forgotten.
“They were traditionally known as a team that loved to kick a lot,” Dagg told The Aftermatch with Kirst & Beav.
“That was put on us to be the bomb squad and try and defuse those bombs. And so every Test against the Springboks, we always knew you had to be up for it.
“Playing against players that were icons of world rugby; Schalk Burger, Pierre Spies, John Smit, Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers, Victor Matfield, people that you grew up [watching], and go, ‘wow, they’re just iconic when it comes to rugby’.
“Every Test match against the Boks, we had to be firing, and there’s no better place to do it, and team to do it against, than the Springboks.”
As daunting a task as that seemed, Dagg always made sure he was prepared to face the very best and “try to do what’s possible”, but he was also very aware of his team’s own talents.
“In my eyes, I felt like we were part of the greatest team of all time. So I looked around me, and I was like, ‘What am I doing here?’
“I’ve got to really nail my job, do what’s best for this team. There’s that old saying: ‘Don’t worry about anyone else’s job, just do your job at the best of your ability’. So for me, if I focus on myself, I’m doing what’s best for the team.”
Dagg was part of a double World Cup-winning outfit, consisting of the likes of Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Ben Smith, Julian Savea and many more who were simply the very best in their position in the world at that time.
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Springbok battles over the years
During his various contests against the Springboks, Dagg faced many challenging foes. Although he had many successes, getting run over by Bryan Habana and Francois Hougaard, respectively, were not among them.
Former teammate Stephen Donald – famous for his World Cup-winning penalty kick of 2011 – asked Dagg to reflect on some of his previous contests.
“Oh man, I played a lot against Zane Kirchner,” remembered 38-year-old Dagg. “He was the Springbok full-back for a while, so I got a lot of respect for Zane, and we had a lot of battles over the years.
“Morné Steyn could just kick it from anywhere. You always knew you just can’t get penalised against South Africa. You give away a penalty, that’s three points, see you back at halfway. That was always the mentality. So just don’t give anything away.”
Steyn, of course, is famous for scoring 31 points against the All Blacks in their 2009 Tri Nations encounter, in which he kicked a record eight penalties and a drop goal. His renowned boot earned him infamy in the northern hemisphere also, after sinking the penalties in 2009 and 2021 to secure two famous series victories for the Springboks against the British & Irish Lions.
Moving swiftly on, Dagg continued: “Fourie du Preez at half-back, probably the most creative, smartest nine to play the game. So as a 15, you always knew you had to be on [form], because as soon as you have a break or you stop moving, he’s gonna chip kick there; he’s gonna figure you out.
“And then Bryan Habana. Like I grew up watching him intercept everything from the outside. So for us, we knew that every time we played South Africa, during the week we’d do those little sneaky passes, and then Shag [Steve Hansen] would go, ‘Did you look where you’re passing?
“He goes, ‘Habana! He’s going under our posts if you do that!’ I was like, okay. So we always had to ensure that we had clear space to pass to our wingers.
“Francois Hougaard, too. I played him a couple of times. He played most of his time at nine, but for some reason he went on the wing [against the All Blacks]. So I had a lot of battles with Francois too.”
Hougaard later moved to England, where he demonstrated his versatility in stints at Worcester Warriors, Wasps and very briefly, Saracens.