By Adnaan Mohamed
History stands on the tryline. The Springboks return to Eden Park on Saturday, the All Blacks’ impenetrable fortress since 1994, chasing a first victory in Auckland since 1937.
“Facing New Zealand away from home is always a challenge, and playing at Eden Park will make both teams equally desperate,” said coach Rassie Erasmus.
“There’s no doubt the players will throw everything out there on Saturday. There is a massive rivalry between the sides, and the history between us is tremendous.”
The Boks’ two lone wins at Eden Park came in 1921 and 1937. Since then, seven defeats and one draw have left the ground a graveyard of green-and-gold dreams.
Now Erasmus’ men, back-to-back World Champions and reigning Rugby Championship holders, want to flip the script.
“Playing against New Zealand in their backyard… is special, and we don’t need more motivation than that. It’s going to be a nervy week for both teams,” he admitted.
Erasmus brushed off talk of Eden Park being an impossible fortress:
“People are making a big deal of the Eden Park record and, of course, it adds pressure. But if one looks back a few weeks ago, we lost against Australia at Ellis Park, and it’s now history.
For us, it’s a huge honour to get the chance to play at Eden Park, and it’s a great opportunity for us.”
And when asked if this was the biggest Test since the World Cup Final? His answer was blunt:
“It would be a slap in the face to Australia and Argentina for us to say this is the biggest game since then.”
With both sides ranked one and two in the world, Saturday’s Test match will be a collision of legacies and settle the argument for now as to who can claim the bragging rights of being the best rugby team on the planet.
