September 3, 2026 • 11 mins
Elliot Smith of Newstalk ZB looks ahead to the next All Blacks v Springboks Test which is being held in Soweto.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
This is the muster on Hakanui. Before we wrap up
on a Friday, we're catching up with Elliot Smith out
of Newstalk ZB. You can hear his commentaries starting about 3.05,
3.10am on Sunday morning. Doing a fantastic job. And just
following the All Blacks around on this epic tour, the
greatest rivalry it's been called. Elliot, good afternoon slash good morning,
(00:29):
whatever it is where you are. It's been a pretty
full-on tour. And as far as the spectacle, I think
this week is going to be the biggest game yet.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I think so, too. Yep, 90-odd thousand in FNB Stadium
in Soweto. The stage is perfectly set, isn't it, for
what should be a magnificent game. We've won all in
the series. There's a feeling, perhaps not officially, from the
NZR and South African channels, but certainly there's a feeling
that this is a quasi-series decider in many ways, even
(01:01):
if the losing team could... draw it next week in Baltimore.
The fact that this is the final test match being
played on South African soil adds plenty to it. And
as I say, the stage is set perfectly. You know,
the All Blacks have shown real signs of life over
the last couple of test matches, winning that first one,
clawing their way back to get within seven points of
(01:24):
last week. So, you know, I think there's plenty to
look at and go, we should have another humdinger between
these two sides on Sunday morning.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
What's the biggest improvement you've seen in this All Blacks
side compared to last year? What stuck out for you?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Well, the main one I think is attacking structure. And,
you know, towards the end of last year, or even
most of Scott Robertson's reign, we sort of didn't really
know what the attacking structure was. They were still scoring points,
but it was hard to see the overall game plan.
What I think we've seen now from Dave Rennie is
a clear, and decisive game plan that they want to
(02:03):
use their speed, they want to play at pace, and
they want to stretch the edges and use the opposition's
fitness and perhaps defensive frailties to score points there. So
having that in place and having buy-in from the players
I think is really, really important. So that's a positive
to see, and we can see where the All Blacks
(02:24):
want to go to, and they're playing in the way
of their DNA. Look, there have been plenty of other changes,
but I think overall having an attacking game plan in mind,
I think, really sets them apart.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Asafa Al Moua being picked at Hokia, I'm surprised by this.
He's great, he's dynamic, but his line-out throwing needs work.
Would that be the case?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, I think it does. Yeah, I think it does
need work and needs the improvements there. But I think
they also want to try and get over the game
line against the Springboks early. And that's certainly what he's
capable of. And they probably could have, you know, maybe
moved Cody Taylor to the bench. But I think Sam
(03:08):
Missoni gives them that impact off the bench as well.
But one thing's clear, the line-out has to be the
throwing has to be top-notch. And that's a question for
both of those players. And look, Cody Taylor has had
his issues from time to time on the line-out throwing
front as well. But it's a key part. It's their
core job. So it's got to be right on Sunday morning.
(03:29):
If they can get it right, then they're both quality players.
So I want to see that first and foremost being
the main part of their game. And look, anything they
can do with ball in hand is a bonus for
me so it's a big call and I also like
what Amu has been doing off the bench apart from
the line out throwing his carrying against tired spring box
(03:51):
bodies has been really effective so I think you do
lose a bit by moving him into the starting side
but I think it's also a big opportunity for both
of those players we haven't seen Semi so much at
all this year look if he can take his opportunity
then It does present some really interesting questions for the
All Blacks selectors for the rest of the year. The
blood is low in the end of year tour.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Peter Larkeye going to blindside. He's going to need a
big physical presence.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
He is, absolutely. And look, this is another change at blindside.
Third straight blindside change the All Blacks have made in
this test series so far. We had Tupo Vai in
the first game. We had Simon Parker last week, obviously.
And now we've got Peter Larkeye starting for the All Blacks.
And I guess there were other changes as well in July.
(04:40):
We saw Wallace Atisi get a chance there. We saw
other players have opportunities, but none have nailed down that juicy.
So a big opportunity for Peter Lakai. I think they'll
want him to try and run around the South African defence,
tire them out earlier. He's such a dynamic player. We've
seen that off the bench. The last appearance he had, obviously,
(05:01):
at Cape Town, he was everywhere and into the thick
of it. But he's also got to bring that physicality,
which the South Africans do out of their flankers so well,
the Toi and Khaleesi. So it's a big challenge for
Peter Luck. Probably the biggest test of his career. To date,
we know the quality that he possesses, but it's another
step up for him. So I do like the selection,
(05:23):
but he's got to repay the faith of the selectors now.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Razia Rasmus at that press conference after the test in
Cape Town, he seemed to be under pressure from what
I just read in the situation. Would you agree with that,
with his behaviour? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Well, I think he was under pressure before the game.
And I think the comments he made afterwards were a
reflection of that. And probably, you know, the pressure valve
being released a little bit. I mean, this is a
Springboks team that hasn't lost back-to-back games in four years. And,
you know, especially, you know, protecting that world number one ranking,
(05:59):
which they lost the previous week. There was all sorts
of things going on in that. And he was obviously
very annoyed that the All Blacks had suggested that they
walk around in the scrums. And that's explosively spilled over
in the media conference and the likes of I've really
seen in a post-match media conference. Very, very frustrated. But
(06:21):
I think you're right. It's all about the pressure that
he'd been feeling the week leading up to it, because
there'd been a lot of questions around what happens if
they go 2-0 down, where's 2 from here? Well, they won,
and it takes a little bit of the pressure off,
but clearly that's still rankled a bit. His side's scrummaging
had been questioned, and he got his goat up a
(06:43):
little bit. The All Blacks, for their part, are adamant
that they're right, that Springboks are walking around in the scrums,
so I don't think that tale's over yet by any
stretch of the imagination.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Now, the All Blacks, they're going to try and play
this game at pace while the Bucks slow it down.
Is that our best chance to beat them, to get
that ball wide at every opportunity?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Look, I think it is, although I want to see
more pressure applied in the first spell and bringing fatigue
into it more. We're playing at altitude, the All Blacks,
on Sunday morning for the umpteenth time in the series,
and you think back to the first test and the
second test last week, which was back at sea level,
they haven't been able to run the string box around
(07:27):
as much as they would like in the first spell,
and that has meant that they haven't been able to
get on top until later in the game. They need
to do that better this week, and that means a
faster start, and making sure the Springboks don't score the
first points and get a roll-on out to 5, 7, 10,
or whatever it might be. So that's part one. And
(07:48):
for me, part two, I would like to see the
All Blacks build more pressure inside the Springboks 22, not
try to score off first or second phase. I get
why they try to do that a lot, because... They
think it's their best way of striking. But I think
if you build pressure, obviously there is a risk that
someone's going to knock it on at some point. But
the more tackles you ask the Springboks to make inside
their own 22, the more chance of penalties, the more
(08:11):
tackles you build up over the course of the game,
and fatigue comes into it quicker. So I just like
the All Blacks to be a little bit more patient
at times and, as I say, build some pressure there.
when they're on the attack inside the Springboks 22, if
they possibly can, because I think that's going to get
them a better chance of winning at Soweto.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
A lot of talk about this flyover last weekend. Actually,
it's gone around the world, as you would have gathered.
What did you make of it?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
I thought it was awesome. I think it's a real
shame that it's been cancelled for this third test this weekend.
I looked it in and I thought, um geez those
plans are quite low but of course that's an optical
illusion when you're looking from further away and you see
them coming close and you go okay it's close but
it's not that close um i thought it was spectacular
it was amazing as you say it's been the talk
(08:58):
of everywhere around the world and unfortunately you know they're
probably i'm not sure they contributed to it or not
but the reaction in New Zealand going on about how
unsafe it was kind of showed why we can never
do anything like that in New Zealand because we just
moaned about it. It was a lot of people from
sort of 20,000 miles away putting their opinion across rather
(09:19):
than the ones that actually saw it in the stadium.
As I say, I thought it was spectacular. I was
looking forward to it again this weekend. I think it's
a great part of the buildup of the game. Um, and, uh,
a real shame that it won't be happening this week. Cause, um, yeah,
it makes the, the hair stand up on the back
of your neck in a good way. Um, and, um,
I think has been a great, um, part of the
(09:40):
pre-match entertainment.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Just finally, what's going to Elliot, what's going to happen?
What's the prediction for a score?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Oh, I don't know. I thought the All Blacks would
win by three in the first game. I thought they'd
win by four last week. Um, You know, I think
they'll win by two this week. I think it's going
to be close again. But, you know, I think the
All Blacks can do it. They have the game plan
to do it, but it's going to take an almighty
effort to knock these springboks off once again.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
I've got them by two in our tennis sweepstake, Elliot.
I like your thinking. Have a great call on Saturday night,
of course. People can hear it on Newstalk ZB. And
go the ABs.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Absolutely. Cheers, Andy.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Laugh out loud with Ag Proud, because life on the
land can be a laughing matter. Brought to us by
Shearwell Data, working to help the livestock farmer. Why did
the boat dock with all of the other boats?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Hair pressure.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
That's us over in Dunmouth for the week, remembering the
best of the muster is happening tomorrow morning at 5am.
I'm Andy Muir. The muster, of course, is brought to
you by Peter's Genetics. Go the Stags. Up the Waz.
Go the ABs. See you Monday.
This is the muster on Hakanui. Before we wrap up
on a Friday, we're catching up with Elliot Smith out
of Newstalk ZB. You can hear his commentaries starting about 3.05,
3.10am on Sunday morning. Doing a fantastic job. And just
following the All Blacks around on this epic tour, the
greatest rivalry it's been called. Elliot, good afternoon slash good morning,
(00:29):
whatever it is where you are. It's been a pretty
full-on tour. And as far as the spectacle, I think
this week is going to be the biggest game yet.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I think so, too. Yep, 90-odd thousand in FNB Stadium
in Soweto. The stage is perfectly set, isn't it, for
what should be a magnificent game. We've won all in
the series. There's a feeling, perhaps not officially, from the
NZR and South African channels, but certainly there's a feeling
that this is a quasi-series decider in many ways, even
(01:01):
if the losing team could... draw it next week in Baltimore.
The fact that this is the final test match being
played on South African soil adds plenty to it. And
as I say, the stage is set perfectly. You know,
the All Blacks have shown real signs of life over
the last couple of test matches, winning that first one,
clawing their way back to get within seven points of
(01:24):
last week. So, you know, I think there's plenty to
look at and go, we should have another humdinger between
these two sides on Sunday morning.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
What's the biggest improvement you've seen in this All Blacks
side compared to last year? What stuck out for you?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Well, the main one I think is attacking structure. And,
you know, towards the end of last year, or even
most of Scott Robertson's reign, we sort of didn't really
know what the attacking structure was. They were still scoring points,
but it was hard to see the overall game plan.
What I think we've seen now from Dave Rennie is
a clear, and decisive game plan that they want to
(02:03):
use their speed, they want to play at pace, and
they want to stretch the edges and use the opposition's
fitness and perhaps defensive frailties to score points there. So
having that in place and having buy-in from the players
I think is really, really important. So that's a positive
to see, and we can see where the All Blacks
(02:24):
want to go to, and they're playing in the way
of their DNA. Look, there have been plenty of other changes,
but I think overall having an attacking game plan in mind,
I think, really sets them apart.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Asafa Al Moua being picked at Hokia, I'm surprised by this.
He's great, he's dynamic, but his line-out throwing needs work.
Would that be the case?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, I think it does. Yeah, I think it does
need work and needs the improvements there. But I think
they also want to try and get over the game
line against the Springboks early. And that's certainly what he's
capable of. And they probably could have, you know, maybe
moved Cody Taylor to the bench. But I think Sam
(03:08):
Missoni gives them that impact off the bench as well.
But one thing's clear, the line-out has to be the
throwing has to be top-notch. And that's a question for
both of those players. And look, Cody Taylor has had
his issues from time to time on the line-out throwing
front as well. But it's a key part. It's their
core job. So it's got to be right on Sunday morning.
(03:29):
If they can get it right, then they're both quality players.
So I want to see that first and foremost being
the main part of their game. And look, anything they
can do with ball in hand is a bonus for
me so it's a big call and I also like
what Amu has been doing off the bench apart from
the line out throwing his carrying against tired spring box
(03:51):
bodies has been really effective so I think you do
lose a bit by moving him into the starting side
but I think it's also a big opportunity for both
of those players we haven't seen Semi so much at
all this year look if he can take his opportunity
then It does present some really interesting questions for the
All Blacks selectors for the rest of the year. The
blood is low in the end of year tour.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Peter Larkeye going to blindside. He's going to need a
big physical presence.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
He is, absolutely. And look, this is another change at blindside.
Third straight blindside change the All Blacks have made in
this test series so far. We had Tupo Vai in
the first game. We had Simon Parker last week, obviously.
And now we've got Peter Larkeye starting for the All Blacks.
And I guess there were other changes as well in July.
(04:40):
We saw Wallace Atisi get a chance there. We saw
other players have opportunities, but none have nailed down that juicy.
So a big opportunity for Peter Lakai. I think they'll
want him to try and run around the South African defence,
tire them out earlier. He's such a dynamic player. We've
seen that off the bench. The last appearance he had, obviously,
(05:01):
at Cape Town, he was everywhere and into the thick
of it. But he's also got to bring that physicality,
which the South Africans do out of their flankers so well,
the Toi and Khaleesi. So it's a big challenge for
Peter Luck. Probably the biggest test of his career. To date,
we know the quality that he possesses, but it's another
step up for him. So I do like the selection,
(05:23):
but he's got to repay the faith of the selectors now.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Razia Rasmus at that press conference after the test in
Cape Town, he seemed to be under pressure from what
I just read in the situation. Would you agree with that,
with his behaviour? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Well, I think he was under pressure before the game.
And I think the comments he made afterwards were a
reflection of that. And probably, you know, the pressure valve
being released a little bit. I mean, this is a
Springboks team that hasn't lost back-to-back games in four years. And,
you know, especially, you know, protecting that world number one ranking,
(05:59):
which they lost the previous week. There was all sorts
of things going on in that. And he was obviously
very annoyed that the All Blacks had suggested that they
walk around in the scrums. And that's explosively spilled over
in the media conference and the likes of I've really
seen in a post-match media conference. Very, very frustrated. But
(06:21):
I think you're right. It's all about the pressure that
he'd been feeling the week leading up to it, because
there'd been a lot of questions around what happens if
they go 2-0 down, where's 2 from here? Well, they won,
and it takes a little bit of the pressure off,
but clearly that's still rankled a bit. His side's scrummaging
had been questioned, and he got his goat up a
(06:43):
little bit. The All Blacks, for their part, are adamant
that they're right, that Springboks are walking around in the scrums,
so I don't think that tale's over yet by any
stretch of the imagination.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Now, the All Blacks, they're going to try and play
this game at pace while the Bucks slow it down.
Is that our best chance to beat them, to get
that ball wide at every opportunity?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Look, I think it is, although I want to see
more pressure applied in the first spell and bringing fatigue
into it more. We're playing at altitude, the All Blacks,
on Sunday morning for the umpteenth time in the series,
and you think back to the first test and the
second test last week, which was back at sea level,
they haven't been able to run the string box around
(07:27):
as much as they would like in the first spell,
and that has meant that they haven't been able to
get on top until later in the game. They need
to do that better this week, and that means a
faster start, and making sure the Springboks don't score the
first points and get a roll-on out to 5, 7, 10,
or whatever it might be. So that's part one. And
(07:48):
for me, part two, I would like to see the
All Blacks build more pressure inside the Springboks 22, not
try to score off first or second phase. I get
why they try to do that a lot, because... They
think it's their best way of striking. But I think
if you build pressure, obviously there is a risk that
someone's going to knock it on at some point. But
the more tackles you ask the Springboks to make inside
their own 22, the more chance of penalties, the more
(08:11):
tackles you build up over the course of the game,
and fatigue comes into it quicker. So I just like
the All Blacks to be a little bit more patient
at times and, as I say, build some pressure there.
when they're on the attack inside the Springboks 22, if
they possibly can, because I think that's going to get
them a better chance of winning at Soweto.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
A lot of talk about this flyover last weekend. Actually,
it's gone around the world, as you would have gathered.
What did you make of it?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
I thought it was awesome. I think it's a real
shame that it's been cancelled for this third test this weekend.
I looked it in and I thought, um geez those
plans are quite low but of course that's an optical
illusion when you're looking from further away and you see
them coming close and you go okay it's close but
it's not that close um i thought it was spectacular
it was amazing as you say it's been the talk
(08:58):
of everywhere around the world and unfortunately you know they're
probably i'm not sure they contributed to it or not
but the reaction in New Zealand going on about how
unsafe it was kind of showed why we can never
do anything like that in New Zealand because we just
moaned about it. It was a lot of people from
sort of 20,000 miles away putting their opinion across rather
(09:19):
than the ones that actually saw it in the stadium.
As I say, I thought it was spectacular. I was
looking forward to it again this weekend. I think it's
a great part of the buildup of the game. Um, and, uh,
a real shame that it won't be happening this week. Cause, um, yeah,
it makes the, the hair stand up on the back
of your neck in a good way. Um, and, um,
I think has been a great, um, part of the
(09:40):
pre-match entertainment.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Just finally, what's going to Elliot, what's going to happen?
What's the prediction for a score?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Oh, I don't know. I thought the All Blacks would
win by three in the first game. I thought they'd
win by four last week. Um, You know, I think
they'll win by two this week. I think it's going
to be close again. But, you know, I think the
All Blacks can do it. They have the game plan
to do it, but it's going to take an almighty
effort to knock these springboks off once again.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
I've got them by two in our tennis sweepstake, Elliot.
I like your thinking. Have a great call on Saturday night,
of course. People can hear it on Newstalk ZB. And
go the ABs.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Absolutely. Cheers, Andy.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Laugh out loud with Ag Proud, because life on the
land can be a laughing matter. Brought to us by
Shearwell Data, working to help the livestock farmer. Why did
the boat dock with all of the other boats?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Hair pressure.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
That's us over in Dunmouth for the week, remembering the
best of the muster is happening tomorrow morning at 5am.
I'm Andy Muir. The muster, of course, is brought to
you by Peter's Genetics. Go the Stags. Up the Waz.
Go the ABs. See you Monday.
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