Henry expects 'massive' clash with Boks
Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:56
Victory speech: Graham Henry talks about the All Blacks
A rebuilding All Blacks side face a massive test when they play South Africa in the opening match of the Tri-Nations championship in Wellington on Saturday, coach Graham Henry said.
"The Springboks have been playing very well, they have got old heads there who can drive the ship, they have been impressive really," Henry said.
The Springboks, containing the nucleus of the team that won last year's World Cup, arrived in Wellington with wins over Wales (43-17 and 37-21) and Italy (26-0) under their belts.
With new coach Peter de Villiers at the helm, succeeding Jake White, Henry is hoping for something new and different from the Springboks.
"We have total respect for the Springboks, their new coach will bring new ideas, they'll try different things.
"It'll make it interesting won't it?
"I'm sure they'll pick a strong side. They are very experienced and the best side in the world obviously," added Henry, who will be without his inspirational skipper Richie McCaw.
Ball-winning kingpin McCaw is out of action for six weeks after suffering a severe ankle injury in the second Test against England on June 21.
Experienced Hurricanes loose forward Chris Masoe has been called up to replace McCaw, but there is still a bit of doubt hanging over lock Ali Williams who also injured an ankle in the second test against England.
While Henry expressed confidence Williams would be fit by game day, he has also called up Chiefs lock Kevin O'Neill as cover.
Henry said from what he had seen, South Africa, under de Villiers were "probably trying to use the ball a lot more, keep the ball in their hands a bit more".
"I think they are pretty enthusiastic group, playing good football.
"If you have a massive Test match, this would be a massive Test match - it's a 10 out of 10 Test match."
Beating England two-nil in the recent test series had not been the workout the All Blacks had been anticipating.
"We expected England to be better than they were - our research said they were going to be a strong side and give us a big game.
"They will be disappointed with how they played so the English were coming into the series as a seven out of 10 and probably finished out five out of 10.
"I think the South Africans will be 10 out of 10," Henry said.
"In Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield they had the best line-out in the world, and the line-out Experimental Law Variation that would be used in the Tri-Nations would be interesting," Henry said.
Springbok vice-captain Matfield said Saturday the line-outs and mauls were areas the Springboks would be targeting next Saturday.
"But again, this is a new set of rules for the line-out, a change from the Super 14.
"I think the biggest influence is going to be in the lineouts and mauls, and it's all about how you adapt to that".
