All Blacks will not underestimate the injury-hit Springboks says Wayne Smith –Rugby News
The assistant coach of the All Blacks, Wayne Smith, has played down the speculations that his spirited side will underestimate the Springboks in their upcoming clash on July 30. The current World Number 1 All Blacks will contest the World Champions’ Springboks
in their opening match of the Tri-Nations Cup in Wellington, after Springboks lost the inaugurating match of the event to the Wallabies by a humiliating margin. However, the All Blacks’ assistant coach clarified on July 26, that they are expecting a close
contest against the Springboks.
Talking to journalists, Smith said that despite the large injuries, the Springboks have got reasonable talent in their team and they can bounce back into the tournament. The coach further said that, “I think they've got plenty of talent. If they've got anything
near the feeling we have in our team then they'll be hungry. It'll be a contest for spots in their team, just as it is in ours. I think their performance was like ours on the back of three or four training runs. I think they were rusty.”
The South African Rugby Union has been facing a huge injury crisis with the conclusion of the Super Rugby championship as more than 20 players have fallen prey to various injuries due to an exhausting campaign. The injury woes of the Springboks have been
further aggravated as two more players including Flip van der Merwe and Heinrich Brussow have been ruled out of their upcoming clash against the All Blacks.
Talking about his own side, Smith said that they needed to concentrate on their performance and try to maintain their splendid record against the Springboks.
Meanwhile, the head coach of the All Blacks, Graham Henry, is weary of the selection of the final 15 players ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2011. Commenting on his current team, Henry said that, “We don't really know what our top 15 is at this point. There's
a lot of competition, a lot of guys playing for spots and that's a good way to be. We're trying to get everyone in the squad competitive and I think you saw that at the weekend.”
The All Blacks are taking on the Springboks in their first match of Tri-Nations Cup on July 30.
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