The All Blacks are gearing up for redemption in this weekend's test match against South Africa.
It will be the first match played between the All Blacks and Springboks since we lost to the South African side in the intense Rugby World Cup 2023 final - yep, we’re still in our feels about it.
The fierce rivalry between the two teams has always been a major factor, but there’s a heck of a lot riding on their upcoming matches in Johannesburg and Capetown.
Currently, South Africa leads with a winning record of 26-25 against the All Blacks in games played on South African soil.
For New Zealand, winning both this weekend’s and next weekend’s games is crucial to getting ahead of the Boks and reclaiming the overall winning record on both home turfs.
And the All Blacks are taking it as seriously as ever. In an Instagram clip captioned “build up”, the fellas shared their intense preparations ahead of this Saturday’s match at Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg.
The slick edit shows the players' sweaty training sesh amongst footage of previous matches.
“A war is on the horizon⏳🖤,” wrote one fan in the comments.
Another added: “This test match didn’t need any more hype, and then you drop this 🥵😮💨”
“Time to shine boys,” said a third.
Meanwhile, in the lead-up to the game, AB’s Damian McKenzie told Sky Sport: “There’s no more hostile place to play than Johannesburg.”
“Being able to play in that arena with all the South African fans booing you or getting into you, it’s a privilege to play in front of such a crowd.”
Earlier this week, a heap of South African high school students taunted the All Blacks in a chant rooting for the Boks side.
“Green and gold are in our flag, in 2023 we had the World Cup in our hands,” the boys belted out. “Kolisi is our captain and Rassie is our man.”
“The All Blacks have no chance, we gonna keep it in our hands.”
Bold call from the boys there… Looks like it’s game on.
