Since seeing the AB team a few days ago I have been breaking my head trying to figure Graeme Henry: what is Graeme Henry’s game plan? Here are the teams for Saturday’s match at Eden Park. 

Given the teams that Graeme Henry selected against Wales and Ierland and the way they have played in those matches the indications were that NZ is going to follow/introduce a counterattack and play-the-ball-wide approach this year. Sort off what the Crusaders did against the Bulls. 

However, I just can not see how they will successfully pull off such a approach with the team selected for this match. And it’s not that they really have other options. Upfront they have a young and inexperienced (in terms of test rugby) frontrow and three locks that are definitely not going to out muscle the likes of Matfield, Bakkies, Bekker and Danie Rossouw. I also can not see how the AB loosies (McCaw , Kaino and Read) would bully Spies, Schalk and Louw at the breakdowns. 

So if they can not get accendency up front what remains? They have to avoid the tight phases (scrums and lineouts) and play the ball wide hoping to razzle and dazzle. This is a ploy that did not really work for the crusaders. 

I saw Rokocoko tonight on TV while the NZ media were trying their utmost to talk him up as a world breaker. The reality is that he runs around with one hell of a strapped-up knee and he just doesn’t looks sharp and flight of feet; rather painfully careful when he runs with the ball. Mills is past his best and are certainly not going to provide the “flair” that will have the boks backline stumble and headless-chuck left right and centre. Cory Jane is the only one with the necessary “magic” but one swallow does not make a summer. And Nonu distribution skills simply does not match-up to have the All Blacks sending the ball wide at speed. 

My head says Henry must have a plan but I simply can not not work it out. I can’t envision what he can do with this team to out match the Springboks. 

The conclusion I came to is that he is going to follow the Blues’s recipe against the Bulls during the S14 match at Eden Park this year. He went for the older more solid and experienced players and they are simply going to front-up and throw the boks off their game with a in-your-face approach. They are going to passion-up and climb in with kamakazi-style commitment. Expect that the Springboks are not going to be given any space. Expect Samoa in-your-face-tackles on the ball and into the chest. Expect no room and space for the Springbok backline. The AB are going to front-up and spoil big time. 

NZ is not going to play their typical attacking game. They will disrupt, spoil, apply pressure and enforce mistakes. Their main aim will be to break the Springboks composure, to unsettle them, to get into their minds, to resrict them, to get them unsure, tentative and unsteady. To get them untidy and unclinical. They will not compete in the lineouts but will drive the Springboks back on their own throw as well as on the boks throw-in; the main aim to spoil, unsettle and unraffle. They will come with heart and passion and thow everything into the breakdowns; main aim to dominate the advantage line at all cost and to ensure that the boks are given no quarter of movement at the collision points. This is a game plan that just may work because the Springboks don’t have General Fourie du Preez to bring variety and to dictate. 

With the Springboks unraffled and confused Cowan will take quick penalties and constantly probe around the edges of the scrums and rucks; shifting the ball to the likes of Nonu, Rokocoko, Smith and Jane on the blindside.

 They are going to spoil and unsettle the boks with a physical in-your-face defensive approach (like the Blues did against the bulls) and then they will speed-up the game in the second part of the second half. This is a game plan that worked splendidly for Blues and it just might work for the AB. Remember how the Blues scored two or three quick tries right at the end; how the bulls just could not get accendency at the breakdowns and how the pods were neutralised with the flat defense and the in the face chest high tackles. This is the only game plan that I can see that might work for them.  

I am a little worried to be honest. We are going to miss FdP big time.