Africa-Press – South-Africa. In Mbombela
The All Blacks may be at their lowest ebb since 2009, but Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids has no room to be complacent ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test at the Mbombela Stadium.
The All Blacks go into the first of three Tests against their bitter rivals on the back of four losses in five Tests.
That includes a historic 2-1 series loss against Ireland that put All Black coach Ian Foster on the back foot to a point where two members of the coaching staff in John Plumtree and Brad Mooar were jettisoned.
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Davids didn’t want to entertain the fact that the All Blacks were at their most vulnerable since 2009 when the Boks beat them in all three Tests they played that year.
“There’s never a Test where we underestimate the opposition, nor do we generalise the opinions of others,” Davids told reporters on Monday.
“It’s important that we be at our best for every Test and history will tell you that Tests against New Zealand are closely contested.
“We understand that as a team, they’re desperate to put up better performances, but we’re also in the same position to improve our game.
“Our preparation [and] attitude towards this game hasn’t changed. It’s about us being the best we can be.”
The Springboks had perfect imperfections in their 2-1 series win against Wales, with a slow start in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld last month nearly catching up with them.
There was a raft of changes in the second Test that answered a number of depth questions despite the Boks losing to Wales at home for the first time.
In the third Test, the Boks were dominant in most aspects, but weren’t able to convert all of the numerous opportunities that came their way.
The All Blacks may be in a spot of bother, but they remain world rugby’s most efficient team when it comes to converting opportunities, especially from turnover ball.
Davids admitted that they were still a work in progress and they still need to sharpen up in some departments for Saturday’s Test.
“We are very honest in terms of where we think we are in other departments and how we can improve,” Davids said.
“It’s always a challenge for us to take things from a game by game and tournament by tournament perspective towards the bigger picture.
“We’re realistic about the big challenge that lies ahead of us in terms of New Zealand and we need to be much better in terms of where we were against Wales.”
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