I believe the All Blacks will win this weekend.
Nothing to do with type, clearly. On this season’s performances, South Africa is by far the higher aspect.
I simply suppose a siege mentality can be adequate to see the All Blacks rise to the type of degree we’ve seen so sometimes in current occasions.
Playing in South Africa, rather than at home, should aid this rather flakey side.
This strikes me as a group with big tickets on itself. A group who can’t understand why their every deed isn’t greeted with universal approval.
They are the All Blacks, after all. They’re entitled to reverential treatment from all and sundry.
At least that’s the vibe they give off.
Only, that’s the sort of stuff that’s reserved for the great All Blacks teams. Teams that enjoy sustained success over a period of years, teams whose worst performance isn’t too far from their best.
These guys are nowhere near that, yet still appear to want to be loved and adored like serial winners are.
I think they’re low on confidence, on the whole, and wounded by even the merest criticism.
That’s why I reckon South Africa suits them. They’re away from the pockets of negativity at home and in a country where they’re well aware everyone’s against them.
While many of us back here are still wondering what the hell happened with Leon MacDonald, I doubt the players have even given it a second thought.
Some might even be delighted he’s not on the coaching staff anymore.
If they were playing at home, MacDonald’s sudden – largely unexplained – departure would be a distraction or ‘outside noise’ that no-one within the hallowed walls of the team hotel wanted to deal with.
It can basically be ignored for the next couple of weeks – or shut off entirely – should the team deign to play well.
And I say deign because this does strike me as a lazy side. One happy to take soft or low-percentage options, rather than do the difficult things well.
Trying brilliant things gives the illusion of being expansive or positive, but actually it’s just weak..
You never know. Day time kickoff in Johannesburg, they might con the Springboks into an end-to-end shootout. Last man standing wins 36-33 or something like that.
I hope South Africa keeps things conservative. I hope they kick, tackle and try and dominate through their set pieces.
I want to see how many All Blacks are actually prepared to take a bruise, rather simply being content to shovel the ball to someone else.
They have it in them and if Scott Robertson really does have any coaching chops, then he’ll hopefully be hammering home the message that these players need to compete physically.
Never mind going around the Springboks, this is an occasion when they have to go through them.
I don’t want to be too melodramatic here, but I’d be telling the players their manhood was on the line. I’d be laying it on thick with messages about and images of the great All Black teams that have conquered South Africa before.
Anything and everything to convince the team it has a battle to fight and win.
I’ll be the first in line to congratulate them when they do.
