Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen expects a fired-up Stormers to bring the fight to New Zealand in Cape Town on Friday night.
John Dobson’s side will be without several Springboks but still boast enough depth to provide a stern examination in the opening match of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour.
Hansen believes the tourists have been warned what to expect.
“One thing about the midweek games you don’t fully understand until you’ve been involved is their job is to beat the s**t out [of the All Blacks],” he said on the Rugby Unity podcast.
“They may not be Test players yet but they want to be, so they’re going out to prove, ‘Hey, I’m good enough to be in your team, Rassie [Erasmus]’.
“It makes it difficult because you don’t really know them that well, but they’ve got a mindset they want to rip your head off and if you don’t turn up with the right attitude and right mindset yourself, it becomes a difficult afternoon.”
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The All Blacks have brought a 44-man squad to South Africa, with coach Dave Rennie expected to rotate his resources across the fixtures against the Stormers, Sharks and Vodacom Bulls before the first Test against the Springboks at Ellis Park.
Hansen backed the make-up of the touring squad, saying there were few selection surprises.
“I don’t think anyone was unfairly missed out,” he said. “Everyone else has earned the right to be there. I don’t think there are too many people who have missed out. I think it’s a pretty soundly selected side.”
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Hansen admitted openside flank Du’Plessis Kirifi was unfortunate not to be in South A, but said Rennie had opted for different combinations.
“Selecting a team sometimes involves more than just picking out-and-out specialists,” he said.
“I’ve got no doubt if they lost a specialist seven [openside], they would pick up the phone and bring him.”
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Photo: Joe Allison/Getty Images
The post ‘Stormers’ job is to beat the s**t out of All Blacks’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen expects a fired-up Stormers to bring the fight to New Zealand in Cape Town on Friday night.
The post ‘Stormers’ job is to beat the s**t out of All Blacks’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
