Tony Johnson

It’s the game that many of us have been waiting for, perhaps ever since Nigel Owens blew the final whistle at Ellis Park last year to end one of the greatest test matches ever played.

The fact that the Rugby Championship is no longer up for decision matters not one bit. There may be no trophy at stake, but there’s plenty to be gained, and a lot to lose for both teams when they run onto the hallowed turf again on Saturday.

There has certainly been a sense of something really building in Heyneke Meyers Springboks.

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They are an outstanding team, but even so they desperately need to beat the All Blacks at some stage between now and the World Cup to have something to show for it….and when you consider the rogue selections that pop up in World Cup year, then there is probably no time like right now to make that statement.

In the Northern Hemisphere there is perennial talk of closing the gaps, close calls, heroic defeats and gradual breaking down of this “aura” that supposedly surrounds the All Black team.

A great rugby nation like South Africa should not countenance such babble in relation to their own team. In this rivalry you win or you lose.

Last year after they played their full part in a test of epic proportions, there was a theory doing the rounds that they had lost because they strayed from their strengths to try and score the four tries they would need to edge the ABs on bonus points.

This year there will be no such out clause. The Rugby Championship is over.

This is a one off, standalone clash between the best two teams in the world.

Lose, and they will feel deep within themselves that they are still being kept at arms length, no matter how short. It would be their sixth successive loss to the old foe, equaling the second longest streak in the great history.

So it cannot be said that the Springboks have nothing to lose.

But a win… well, win, and there will be no gap.

They would know without doubt that the biggest prize of all will be within their capabilities, they will have tangible proof of their progress, and a great springboard.

The All Blacks have perhaps more to lose than to gain, but that is what drives them, an almost primal fear of defeat.

Winning in such demanding circumstances would be another endorsement of their credentials, proof that they are still setting the bar, and are still the team everyone has to beat. It is a good spot to be in.

Lose, and not just the Springboks will feel empowered. The rest of the world will be hanging something on it too.

Having said that, out of leftfield Graham Henry recently suggested that it might not be a bad thing for the All Blacks to lose a test before the World Cup.

An interesting angle from a man who used to bristle at the suggestions so frequently lobbed his way that the All Blacks were “peaking too soon”.

His argument now is that a loss can bring sharper focus, give you a better idea of what needs improving than any win can.

His words may have been twisted around a bit to make it sound like he almost wanted his old team to lose, but either way I doubt the players will be willing to put the theory to the test.

Winning in Johannesburg the last two years has been a huge fillip for this All Black team. Both times they’ve had to cope with two ugly time shifts in the space of a week after being in Argentina, to play at high altitude on a ground where the All Blacks have had less success over the years than any other.

They’ll be hell bent on making it three in a row, but this looms as perhaps the toughest challenge of the lot.

Injuries have hit both teams, and the loss of Duane Vermeulen for the Boks would be colossal. He’s been arguably the best player in the world this year.

He certainly has the full respect of his opponents…All Black flanker Sam Cane acknowledging that the Stormers man has taken his game to a whole new level this year, and is almost impossible to move once he has latched onto the ball.

He was again magnificent before leaving the field against Australia, although the upside was that Schalk Burger looked like the Schalk of old on his return.

The win in Cape Town was lauded as testament to the greater fitness levels of the Springboks this year, and it’s hard to argue that, given their storming finish.

But it was also a telling reflection of the difference in bench strength of the two teams, and of a Wallaby side that simply folded up after 70 albeit valiant minutes containing the Springbok ball carriers.

There was something to admire about the patience and accuracy showed by the Boks in setting up the opportunity for Patrick Lambie to put his team ahead….such passages of play under pressure are the making of a great team.

And after that the Wallabies had nothing left to give.

Unsurprisingly there has been so much focus on the upcoming test at Ellis Park, there has not been a great deal of reflection on the All Blacks feat of winning the third straight title.

Their bonus point win over the Pumas was achieved in largely workmanlike fashion, lit up by flashes of exquisite attacking play from the likes of Julian Savea and Israel Dagg.

It was measured effort, scoring the requisite try in each quarter against a side intent on stopping them from playing, but also producing some good moments of their own. The Pumas are a better team this year, and if the Wallabies can’t get their heads up quickly after the Newlands disappointment, they could be in for trouble in Mendoza.

This is a very tough competition…less relenting than the Six Nations, and to win it three years running is not to be sniffed at. To go through it unbeaten for a third straight year would be quite remarkable.

But that hasn’t happened yet, and our thoughts have moved on to the biggest game in the world this year.

Last year was a rare thing. A game that lived up to, and maybe even exceeded the hype and expectation.

Dare we hope for more of the same this time round?