Liam Napier: Chief Sports Writer at the Herald on the Springboks v All Blacks second test match this weekend

The Springbok’s have made changes to their side ahead of the second test in Cape Town this weekend. 

Chief Sports Writer at the Herald Liam Napier tells Heather du Plessis-Allan the All Blacks will be looking to play the game at pace. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Just like the All Blacks did. The Springbox have also
made a bunch of changes to their side ahead of
the second Test in Cape Town this weekend. According to
the South African Rugby Press, it's a more experienced and
less experimental Box lineup. Liam Napier is the chief sports
writer at The Herald with us Now, Hey, Liam, evening,
Heather that says to me that they know that after
a defeat the All Blacks bounce back hard and they're

(00:21):
prepared for it.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, Yeah, I think you're on the right track there.
It's a bit of a flip the script one because
the Springboks have recalled some of their World Cup winners
and the All Blacks conversely have gone to youth. So
it's going to be interesting to see which tactics prevail
this weekend and one of the greatest cities on Earth
in Cape Town.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Probably some of the best news for the spring Boxes
that Seacalisi has been clear to play after that facial Injuria.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
He's a massively inspirational figure throughout South Africa, not just
in the rugby context. Heather very galvanizing, uniting character who's
been a massive influencer in the Springbox winning back to
bat World Cup titles. So it was thought that he
had a facial fracture, but he's recovered swiftly inside a week,
so a big in for them.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Do you think the changes that the All Blacks have
made were smart or did they read to you as
panicking slightly?

Speaker 2 (01:16):
To me, it is a bit reactionary. Two of them
were injury enforced, with Caleb Clark and Ethan black At
are unavailable due to injuries, but the others are a
direct reaction to what happened last week and the final
quarter collapse, trying to counter the Springbox bomb squad bench
putting some experience on the All Blacks bench, and I

(01:37):
think you'll see the All Blacks look to play the
game at pace and attacked the Springbox for longer that
they did so well last week for sixty minutes and
then just blew it by kicking the ball away through
all discipline and some real inexperience on the bench. So
I think it is a real reaction to that last
quarter and basically looking over their shoulder worrying about that

(02:00):
bomb squad from the spring Box and trying to counter that.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, how relaxed are you going to be? If the
All Blacks lose. How much slack are you going to cut, Razor?

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Well, look there is an element of rebuilding for the
All Blacks, but look this is the All Blacks. It's
huge demands on the massive expectations. The All Blacks haven't
lost to the spring Box Hither four times in seventy
five years, and they have held the Freedom Cup, which
is a trophy that was brought into mark ten years
of South African democracy. They've held that cup for fifteen years.

(02:33):
So this is a significant test. Records at stake, there's
legacies on the line, and the All Blacks are expected
to win every Test. It doesn't matter if it's the
World champions in their backyard or you know, Australia in Australia.
So Razer's got a tough job. There's been big post
World Cup exits and he's still trying to find his

(02:54):
best fifteen. But we expect the All Blacks to win
every week.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
Leman, you're a tough taskmaster. I appreciate its Liam Napier,
the Herald Chief sportswriter. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen
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