springboks inbound tour 2023

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Springboks to parade the Rugby World Cup trophy in Pretoria, Joburg, Cape Town, Durban, East London

Following their victory at the 2023 Rugby World Cup over the past weekend at Stade de France in Paris, the Springboks are preparing to embark on a nationwide tour, where they will be parading the Webb Ellis Cup to their fans, beginning this week.

The Springboks are scheduled to return to South Africa on Tuesday, 31 October 2023, at 10:55 AM, landing at OR Tambo International Airport.

Their four-day tour will kick off on Thursday, November 2, 2023.

See the dates below:

• Thursday, 02 November 2023 – Pretoria, Johannesburg– concluding at FNB Stadium
• Friday, 03 November 2023 – Cape Town
• Saturday, 04 November 2023 – Durban
• Sunday, 05 November 2023 – Eastern Cape (East London)

Check out the times and routes of the parade below:

Thursday, 02 November – Pretoria – 08:30-11:15 – 14km 07h15 Transfer to closed bus to Southern Sun Pretoria to transfer team into open-air bus • 09h30 Parade starts in an easterly direction down Stanza Bopape Street • Right into End Street • Right into Pretorius Street in a westerly direction • Left into Gordon Street (which becomes Jan Shoba Street) • Right into Burnett Street • Left into Park Street • Left into Kirkness Street, past Loftus Versfeld • Right into Jorissen Street (becomes Kotze Street, A Reyeng route into Nana Sita • Right into Paul Kruger Street and around Church Square • Right into Madiba Street • 10h30 to 1100 stop at Tshwane House and then depart to Johannesburg • Players transfer in closed bus for transfer to MTN • 12h00 – 13h00 Lunch at MTN • 13h00 – 13h00 closed bus to Helpmekaar Kollege, team swap into open-air bus

Thursday, 02 November – Johannesburg & Soweto – 14:00-16:15 – 33km 14h00: Parade starts at • 1 Jan Smuts Avenue in Braamfontein to Metro Centre and across the Nelson Mandela Bridge • Onto FNB Bank City in Simmonds Street – FNB CEO to speech from Springbok Bus Roof • Onto Nasrec Road past Riverley and to the FNB Stadium • South to Ben Naude Street • Left into Immink Road • Right into Chris Hani Street past Maponya Mall • Right into Klipspruit Valley Road • Left into Kumalo Main Road and left into Vilakazi Street and onto the Hector Pieterson Memorial • From approximately 15h45 to 16h15: past Orlando Stadium to FNB Stadium • N 1 Highway – 16h30 – Arrival Fireblade Aviation 17h10

Friday, 03 November – Cape Town – 10:00-16:15 – 33km • 07h00 Bomb Sweep • 10h00 Bruch/Grand parade speeches • 11h:00 Tour starts at City Hall and bus departs along Darling Street • Left onto Adderley Street • Right onto Wale Street • Left onto Long Street • Right onto Buitensingel • Right onto Loop Street • Right onto Strand Street • Left onto Adderley Street • Left onto Hans Strijdom Ave onto Helen Suzman • To DHL Stadium

Saturday, 4 November – KwaZulu-Natal – 09:15-14:00 – 49km • 06h30 Bomb Sweep • 08h00 Premier to meet Coach / Captain (Khaya) – Plan to leave earlier • 08h30: Start at Garden Court Aurora Drive – Plan to leave no later than 08h30 • Left into Centenary Blvd • Right into Umhlanga Rocks Drive over M41 • Right into Kennith Kaunda Drive • Take Kennith Kaunda Drive that becomes Blackburn Road • Right into Chris Hani R102 • Left onto N2 • Right onto Queen Nandi Drive • Left on Malendela Road • Approximately 09h30: drive past KwaMashu Station • On Malendela Road onto Inanda Road • Right onto N2 for 800m and Left onto Umgeni Road • Left into R102 Chris Hani Road around Roadhouse Cresent • Right Onto Riverside Road towards the M4 Ruth First Highway • South onto the M4 Ruth First Highway and onto Stalwart Simelane Street, which becomes Florence Nzama Street • Right onto Anton Lambede Street • Approximately 10h30: Mayoral visit stop at Durban City Hall This is 20Km from KwaMashu Station … Timing Feasible • 11h30: Depart City Hall via Anton Lambede Street • Right onto Brooke Road • Right onto Dr Pixley Kaseme Street to OR Tambo Parade and turn left • North via Battery Beach Road • 12h30 Moses Mahbida Stadium for private lunch with the Premier Press conference with selected players

Sunday, 5 November – East London – 09:15-14:00 – 26.7km • Starting at the Garden Court Hotel • Left into Moore Stree • Left into John Bailie Road • Continue along John Bailie Road • Left into Glen Eagles Road • Right into Old Transkei Road • Left into Devereaux Avenue • Left into Western Avenue • Right into Amalinda Main Road • Left into Woolwash Road • Left onto Mdantsane Access Road • Right into Alphen Road • Right into John Nash Road • Left into Dunnoon Road • Right into Douglas Smith Highway • Right into Windyridge Road • Into St Peters Road • Right into Oxford Street • Down Oxford Street Stopping at The City Hall • Depart City Hall down Oxford Street • Left into Fleet Street • Right into Currie Street • Along the Esplanade • Finish at the Garden Court Hotel

The locations have been selected for population size in the first three instances and because of the Eastern Cape’s rugby significance in the fourth. Tours to places like Bloemfontein and Nelson Mandela Bay via satellite will be planned for 2024.

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Details for Springboks’ trophy tour announced

South Africans… get ready to be a part of yet another victory tour with the 2023 Rugby World Cup champs, the Springboks! The four-time record-breaking, winning team are set to embark on a four-day trophy tour starting this Thursday.

In what one can call an intense, nail-biting match, the Springboks beat New Zealand’s All Blacks 12-11.

According to the South African Rugby Union (also known as SA Rugby), the champs attended the gala World Rugby Awards ceremony in Paris on Sunday evening before heading for SA on Monday morning. “The Boks arrive back in South Africa on Tuesday (10h55) at OR Tambo International Airport and will commence the tour 48 hours later,” shares SA Rugby.

Below are the dates and locations as explained by the above-mentioned organisation:

• Thursday, 2 November – Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto (concluding at FNB Stadium)
• Friday, 3 November – Cape Town
• Saturday, 4 November – Durban
• Sunday, 5 November – East London

“The locations have been selected for population size in the first three instances and because of the Eastern Cape’s rugby significance in the fourth,” notes SA Rugby. “The route for each tour has been prepared in consultation with the respective local authorities and the South African Police Service.”

Bloemfontein, Nelson Mandela Bay and other centres will have satellite tours that will be scheduled for next year, as such tours following the Springboks’ 2019 victory were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Springboks to embark on a four-day trophy tour

South Africans will get an opportunity see the 2023 Rugby World Cup trophy when the Springboks rugby team tour the country this week.

The world champions will embark on a four-day Trophy Tour to major regional population centres from Thursday. The team arrives back in South Africa on Tuesday (10:55am) at OR Tambo International Airport and will commence the tour 48 hours later.

This as the national side triumphed over New Zealand in the final match of the tournament, beating New Zealand 12-11 on Saturday to lift the Webb Ellis trophy.

The tour will start in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto – concluding at FNB Stadium – on Thursday, 2 November. It will then continue in Cape Town (Friday, 3 November) and Durban (Saturday, 4 November) before concluding in the Eastern Cape (East London) on Sunday, 5 November.

“The locations have been selected for population size in the first three instances and because of the Eastern Cape’s rugby significance in the fourth. Satellite tours to Bloemfontein, Nelson Mandela Bay and other centres will be scheduled for 2024. Such tours following the 2019 victory had to be abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The route for each tour has been prepared in consultation with the respective local authorities and the South African Police Service,” SA Rugby said on Sunday.

Route maps and timings will be published at www.springboks.rugby, on SA Rugby’s social media channels and by local authorities in due course. – SAnews.gov.za

Springbok trophy tour: Where to see the world champs

Updated Nov. 2, 2023, 6:07 a.m. | By Cliff Shiko

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The Springboks are set to parade the Webb Ellis trophy in major cities countrywide.

The Boks arrived at the OR Tambo International airport on Tuesday morning to thousands of fans from all across South Africa.

 Their six day tour will start in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and East London.

South Africa beat New Zealand 12-11 in a thrilling final in Paris over the weekend.

The boks convoy will include three buses, ambulance, sponsor vehicles in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, East London and six buses in Cape Town.

Here are the details of the trophy parade.

Pretoria tour 02 November

• 09h30 Parade starts in an easterly direction down Stanza Bopape Street

• Right into End Street

• Right into Pretorius Street in a westerly direction

• Left into Gordon Street (which becomes Jan Shoba Street)

• Right into Burnett Street

• Left into Park Street

• Left into Kirkness Street, past Loftus Versfeld

• Right into Jorissen Street (becomes Kotze Street, A Reyeng route into Nana Sita

• Right into Paul Kruger Street and around Church Square

• Right into Madiba Street

• 10h30 to 1100 stop at Tshwane House visit with the Mayor and then depart to Johannesburg

• Players transfer in closed bus for transfer to MTN

• 12h00 – 13h00 Lunch at MTN

Johannesburg tour 02 November

14h00: Parade starts at

• 1 Jan Smuts Avenue in Braamfontein to Metro Centre and across the Nelson Mandela Bridge

• Onto FNB Bank City in Simmonds Street – FNB CEO to speech from Springbok Bus Roof

• Down Simmonds Street Right into Commisioner Street that becomes Main Reef Road

• Left Nasrec Road past Riverley and past Joburg Expo Centre

• South to Ben Naude Street

• Left into Immink Road

• Right into Chris Hani Street past Maponya Mall

• Right into Klipspruit Valley Road

• Left into Kumalo Main Road and left into Vilakazi Street and onto the Hector Pieterson Memorial

• Down Peta Street Left at Klipfontein and Right onto Soweto Highway

• Take Shaft 17 Offramp Right onto Nasrec Road into SAFA House Gate - FNB Stadium walk

around field, meet the Mayor

• Departure SAFA House on Nasrec Road Right at Randshow Road N12

Cape Town tour 03 November

12h15 Departs City Hall for CBD Parade

• Buses departs City Hall along Darling Street

• Turns left into Adderley Street

• Along Adderley Street and turns left into Bureau Street

• Turns right into Parliament Street

• Proceed to Madiba statue in front of the National

• Assembly (descends the bus for photoshoot)

• Down Parliament Street and turns left into Bureau Street

• Turns left into Adderley Street and right into Wale Street

• Along Wale Street and turns left into Long Street

• Along Long Street and turns right into Buitensingel

• Turns right into Loop Street

• Along Loop Street and turns right into Strand Street

• Along Strand Street and turns left into Adderley Street

• Along Adderley Street to Hertzog Boulevard

• Turns right into Hertzog Boulevard

• Along Hertzog Boulevard onto Nelson Mandela Boulevard

• Arrives in Bunga Avenue to Washington Drive towards Jakes Gerwel

• Cross over into Jakkelsvlei Laan

• Turns right into Valhalla Drive

• Turns right into Robert Sobukwe Drive

• Enroute to CT International Airport

Durban tour 04 November

• 09h30 : Start at Garden Court Aurora Drive

• Left into Centenary Blvd

• Right into Umhlanga Rocks Drive over M41

• Right into Kennith Kaunda Drive

• Take Kennith Kaunda Drive that becomes Blackburn Road

• Left into Chris Hani R102

• Right into Queen Nandi Drive

• Left on Malendela Road

• On Malendela Road onto Inanda Road

• Right onto N2 for 800m and Left onto Umgeni Road

• Left into R102 Chris Hani Road around Roadhouse Crescent

• Right Onto Riverside Road towards the M4 Ruth First Highway

• Left onto Athlone , Snell Parade

• Right onto Anton Lambede Street

• Right into West street

• Left turn into Mahatma Ghandhi

• Right Turn into Anton Lambede Street

• Right Turn into Russel Street

• Right Turn West Street , Stopping at City Hall

• After City Hall Continue with West str , Right Turn into Mahatma Ghandhi street

• Left Turn into Caperdown Rd

• Right Turn into Seine Road , Enter Ushaka Marine World Bus Parking for private lunch with the Premier Press conference with selected players

East London tour 05 November (Final day)

• Starting at the Garden Court Hotel

• Left into Moore Stree

• Left into John Bailie Road

• Continue along John Bailie Road

• Left into Glen Eagles Road

• Right into Old Transkei Road

• Left into Devereaux Avenue

• Left into Western Avenue

• Right into Amalinda Main Road

• Left into Woolwash Road

• Left onto Mdantsane Access Road

• Right into Alphen Road

• Right into John Nash Road

• Left into Dunnoon Road

• Right into Douglas Smith Highway

• Right into Windyridge Road

• Into St Peters Road

• Right into Oxford Street

• Down Oxford Street Stopping at The City Hall.

• Depart City Hall down Oxford Street

• Left into Fleet Street

• Right into Currie Street

• Along the Esplanade

• Finish at the Garden Court Hotel

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Home » Springboks’ end of year tour fixtures CONFIRMED by World Rugby

Springboks’ end of year tour fixtures CONFIRMED by World Rugby

World Rugby on Tuesday confirmed all fixtures for the upcoming November end of year tour of Europe by a number of southern hemisphere sides.

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The Springboks will play THREE matches to wrap up what will end up being a 13-Test calendar season.

Jacques Nienaber’s men started with a win over Georgia before going on to beat the British & Irish Lions 2-1 in their three-Test series.

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The Springboks beat Argentina (twice), lost to the Wallabies (twice) and ‘shared’ their two matches against the All Blacks one apiece in the recent Rugby Championship.

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The Springboks thus boast a 6-4 win-loss record to date in 2021.

The world champion Springboks, who regained the No 1 world ranking after their most recent victory over the All Blacks last weekend, will play Wales (6 November), Scotland (13 November) and England (20 November) on their tour of the United Kingdom.

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SPRINGBOKS’ END OF YEAR TOUR ITINERARY

All kick-off times are UK

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Springboks’ 2023 RWC dates and venues revealed

The Springboks will kick off the defence of their 2023 Rugby World Cup crown on Sunday, 10 September 2023 against Scotland in the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, it was confirmed when World Rugby officially revealed the dates and venues during a live online event in Paris on Friday.

The defending Rugby World Cup-champion Springboks were drawn in pool B for the next edition of the four-yearly global showpiece, to be hosted in France – where the South Africans lifted their second world crown in 2007.

A week after their opening 2023 RWC match, the Springboks will line up for their second pool match on Sunday, 17 September against a yet to be determined opponent from Europe (Europe 2) at the Stade de Bordeaux.

And another six days later, on 23 September, the Boks and Ireland will clash for the first time ever at a RWC when they meet at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris, the scene of South Africa’s memorable triumph over England in the 2007 final.

The Boks then return to Marseille for their last group match against an Asian-Pacific 1 qualifier in the Stade Velodrome on 1 October.

???? 2023: Marseille > Bordeaux > Paris > Marseille ?? Schedule for Boks' RWC title defence announced ??? "We can kick on with planning around our logistic operations" ?? Full story here: https://t.co/Ev6ZVFeiPj @rugbyworldcup @France2023 #RWC2023 #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/Bkmk6RqaI7 — Springboks (@Springboks) February 26, 2021

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber welcomed the confirmation of the 2023 RWC match dates and venues and said it will now give more direction in their advance planning for France.

“Friday's announcement is a very important milestone in our planning phase for the 2023 Rugby World Cup,” explained Nienaber.

“With the match dates and venues now confirmed, the coaching and management staff have a very clear idea of the overall squad preparations and logistics. For instance, the schedule gives clarity on the number of turnaround days between matches, which in turn will influence our player welfare strategy for the squad.

“And because the game venues have been allocated, it means we can kick on with more intense planning around our logistic operations for items such as team base camps, ” added Nienaber.

In Scotland and Ireland, the Springboks face two of world rugby's most formidable teams in the space of 13 days in the group phase, however, Nienaber cautioned that every match will be vital in the preliminary stage.

“Like I said at the time of the draw, to be in the same pool as Ireland and Scotland will be a massive challenge, but to win the tournament, you have to be able to beat all the teams and we will be properly tested in the pool phases,” said the Springbok coach.

“The margin for error at any stage of the RWC is very small, so we will plan for every scenario, including a very tough last pools game against an Asian-Pacific qualifier which might be one of Samoa or Tonga.”

The 2023 RWC showpiece starts on Friday, 8 September and the final is scheduled for Saturday, 28 October 2023 in the French capital of Paris.

2023 RWC POOLS SCHEDULE (kick-off times TBC):

Sunday 10 September - Springboks vs Scotland Stade Vélodrome, Marseille

Sunday 17 September - Springboks vs Europe 2 Stade de Bordeaux , Bordeaux Saturday 23 September - Springboks vs Ireland Stade de France , Saint-Denis Sunday 1 October - Springboks vs Asia-Pacific 1 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille TOURNAMENT FORMAT

Pool phase:

The pool phase will consist of a round-robin in which each team shall play each other within the pool once. There will be 10 matches played in each pool, for a total of 40 matches in the pool phase of the tournament.

Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals will take place in Stade Velodrome in Marseille and Stade de France in Paris on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 October. Stade Velodrome will host QF1 and QF3, while Stade de France will host QF2 and QF4.

The sequence of play is as follows:

QF 1 - Winner Pool C v Runner up Pool D QF 2 - Winner Pool B v Runner up Pool A QF 3 - Winner Pool D v Runner up Pool C QF 4 - Winner Pool A v Runner up Pool B

Teams winning quarterfinal matches qualify for the semi-finals and teams losing quarterfinal matches will be eliminated from the tournament.

The semifinal matches will be contested by knock-out matches in Stade de France on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 October, as follows:

SF 1 - Winner QF1 v Winner QF2 SF 2 - Winner QF3 v Winner QF4

The winners of the semifinal matches qualify for the Final, and the losers of the semifinal matches will contest the Bronze Final.

The Bronze Final and Final will be played at Stade de France on Friday 27 October and Saturday 28 October, respectively.

Boks' Trophy Tour dates announced

NEWS: The world champion Springbok rugby team will embark on a four-day Trophy Tour to major regional population centres from Thursday, SA Rugby announced on Sunday.

The team will attend the gala World Rugby Awards ceremony in Paris on Sunday night before leaving France for South Africa on Monday morning.

The Boks arrive back in South Africa on Tuesday (10.55) at OR Tambo International Airport and will commence the tour 48 hours later.

The tour will start in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto – concluding at FNB Stadium – on Thursday, November 2, and take in Cape Town (Friday, November 3) and Durban (Saturday, November 4) before concluding in the Eastern Cape (East London) on Sunday, November 5.

The locations have been selected for population size in the first three instances and because of the Eastern Cape’s rugby significance in the fourth.

Satellite tours to Bloemfontein, Nelson Mandela Bay and other centres will be scheduled for 2024. Such tours following the 2019 victory had to be abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The route for each tour has been prepared in consultation with the respective local authorities and the South African Police Service.

Route maps and timings will be published at www.springboks.rugby, on SA Rugby’s social media channels and by local authorities in due course.

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All Blacks v South Africa: Ellis Park legacy on the line for Scott Robertson’s men – Liam Napier

THREE KEY FACTS

• The All Blacks play South Africa Sunday 3am NZT
• It’s the first time the two sides have met since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final
• New Zealand has a 6-9 record at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Liam Napier has been a sports journalist since 2010 , and his work has taken him to World Cups in rugby, netball and cricket, boxing world title fights and Commonwealth Games.

Love affair with Africa

The altitude, hostile atmosphere, and the reigning world champions. The Springboks in South Africa is rugby’s greatest test. With its towering stands and proximity to the field, no venue in world rugby quite compares to Ellis Park, which only enhances the All Blacks recent record there.

Two years ago the upset triumph that saved Ian Foster’s job was the second win on the bounce for the All Blacks, and their third victory from their last four tests, at Ellis Park. In that stretch, the 27-25 loss in 2014 is the All Blacks’ sole defeat at the 1995 World Cup final venue.

Scott Robertson has fond memories at the Boks’ spiritual home, too, after leading the Crusaders to their Super Rugby title in 2017 with a comeback victory over the Lions that broke an eight-year drought and marked the start of the red-and-black’s unrivalled seven-year championship run.

With five successes from their last six tests, there is something undeniably special about South Africa that traditionally inspires the best from the pro-era All Blacks.

It wasn’t always this way, though.

The All Blacks played their maiden test in South Africa in 1928, losing 0-17 in Durban – and didn’t savour their first breakthrough series success until 1996. These days the All Blacks have held the Freedom Cup for the past 15 years.

That leaves this team with a legacy to uphold as rugby’s greatest rivalry reignites.

Robertson’s All Blacks start rank underdogs this weekend – it’s difficult to recall a time when they were as wide as the $2.90 with local bookies earlier this week – but with the Springboks missing four locks and starting a green first five-eighth and fullback, there are openings to exploit.

Tony Brown inside oil

At a time when departing assistants from the All Blacks and England are the talk of the rugby world, Tony Brown’s presence looms into full view.

Brown is the one who got away from New Zealand rugby.

As far back as 2019, Ian Foster and Scott Robertson attempted to lure Brown to join their respective All Blacks coaching teams as they contested the right to succeed Steve Hansen. Both missed out on Brown, as he remained loyal to his long-time association with Jamie Joseph to instead link with Japan for four years.

Last year Joseph, with Brown as his running mate, went head-to-head with Robertson as New Zealand Rugby made the unprecedented move of appointing the next All Blacks head coach prior to the World Cup.

With Robertson anointed to replace Foster this year, and Joseph settling back in Dunedin with the Highlanders, Brown jetted off to join, and significantly improve, Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks.

It should not surprise that, with Brown now ensconced in his management team, Erasmus has the confidence to back 22-year-old first five-eighth Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and 26-year-old fullback Aphelele Fassi, who share 12 tests between them, to start over the experienced Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux against the All Blacks this weekend.

While they will forever embrace their traditional set piece, maul and forward-led power strengths, the Springboks have evolved their game to harness vastly more attacking endeavour compared to their knife-edge World Cup campaign that featured three successive one-point knockout wins.

From his favoured bag of kicking tricks to the depth of the backline and other set plays, Brown’s innovations have been clear in the Springboks’ evolution for all rugby observers, including the All Blacks.

“He’s had, from what I believe and what we’ve seen, an instant impact on how they’re playing,” All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan said this week. “There’s a few shorter lineouts and that sort of thing and some more variation. He’s made an impact on them for sure.”

Springboks centre Jesse Kriel added of Brown: “He’s brought a great energy and a great way of seeing attack. I think he’s got the guys in the room really excited. He’s got us playing a really exciting brand of rugby. It’s really important to get on the field and be excited about how you want to play. I think you can see a bit of change. But you keep the core of what you’ve built on for the last couple of years.”

While Brown has enhanced the Springboks his inside knowledge of the All Blacks could be equally telling. Brown coached, and despite the Highlanders’ limited resources, had some success against the All Blacks-laden Robertson-Scott Hansen-Ryan Crusaders.

Brown knows New Zealand’s players and game intimately. In terms of intellectual property, the All Blacks could rue his deflection.

MacDonald bust-up

Leon MacDonald’s abrupt exit casts a lingering shadow over Robertson’s first tour as All Blacks head coach. Two tests in the Republic were always going to be an early litmus test of Robertson’s tenure but the sudden breakdown that sparked MacDonald’s immediate departure intensifies the spotlight.

The fallout, hefty financial compensation and team disruptions, sit squarely at Robertson’s feet after assembling his coaching team 18 months ago, only for MacDonald to depart after five tests due to unresolvable differences.

Maybe the All Blacks will shake off the reshuffled coaching portfolios that involve Hansen assuming responsibility for the attack alongside Jason Holland, and Tamati Ellison significantly upgraded from part-time contact coach to owning the defence.

A 1-1 return against the Springboks in South Africa would be acceptable but if the All Blacks don’t click in their African cauldron, serious questions will be asked as to how and why Robertson didn’t identify issues with MacDonald from the outset.

Robust debates are healthy within a coaching team but, clearly, this split could not be mended. With three of Robertson’s four assistants now from the Crusaders, there should be no such challenges with clarity.

World Cup final rematch

It won’t be front of mind as such, more a nagging frustration, but the hurt of losing the World Cup final by one point will linger for many of the All Blacks. While this is a new coaching crew, 20 players from last year’s World Cup remain in the All Blacks touring squad. Nothing will ever replace the Webb Ellis Cup. The All Blacks present that night in Paris will never get over coming so close, within one missed kick, but defeating the Springboks at home would help the healing.

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