Justin Marshall says the Springboks have earned the right to strut, but reckons it’s the All Blacks who head into Saturday’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry opener better prepared.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: Australia & New Zealand podcast, Marshall, who is currently in South Africa covering the series and tour, responded to host Andy Rowe on the confidence he’s picked up from Bok fans and pundits.
“They’ve earned that arrogance with their success as back-to-back world champions, and equally they’ve had the measure of us over the past few encounters,” the ex-All Blacks scrumhalf said. “They’re on the right side of the ledger to have that arrogance.
“That’s the chat over here: it’s been one of excitement about the Test series that’s coming up. Equally, in terms of how they see the All Blacks, the success they’ve had against us recently has given them the ability to say that they feel they deserve to be the favourites.
“A lot of the chat, with a slight tinge of arrogance about it as well, has been very much around: if the All Blacks could draw the series, then that would be a result for the All Blacks. So, they are rubbing it in a little bit.”
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Marshall also addressed the build-ups to this week’s clash, the Kiwis having won three tour matches while the Boks last played a fortnight ago in a narrow win over Los Pumas, a Test in which Rassie Erasmus reintroduced several players in need of game time.
“The one advantage we have over the Springboks at the moment … is that the chat here is that we are better prepped than the Springboks,” he said.
“They had that Argentinian game where 100% they went out there with a game plan to show absolutely nothing to the All Blacks. If they play like that against us, we’d smash them by 30 points.
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“The fact that they kicked so much ball away, a lot of it reasonably aimlessly, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was playing his first game back – there was a reluctance to attack.
“They were playing that game under instruction to give players like him, who will be in and around the Test side but definitely won’t be in the starting side and possibly in the reserves, just some minutes,” 81-cap Marshall added.
“It was a bit of a rope-a-dope from South Africa and Rassie. They definitely won’t play like that.
“Eben Etzebeth and Feinberg-Mngomezulu, in particular, will feature in the Test. They are undercooked compared to us.”
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Photo: Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images
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Justin Marshall says the Springboks have earned the right to strut, but reckons it’s the All Blacks who head into Saturday’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry opener better prepared.
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