All Blacks to face Springbok today

The All Blacks expect to be targeted by an aerial bombardment on Saturday as South Africa search for a way to break the world champions’ stranglehold on the Rugby Championship. The Springboks’ strategy appears anchored around fly-half Morne Steyn and centre Francois Steyn kicking for territory and followed by any drop-goal opportunities and penalties on offer. The All Blacks go into the match unbeaten after three rounds and on a 13-game winning streak, just five short of the world record of 18 straight wins by Lithuania — against the likes of Austria — from 2006 to 2010. South Africa are second on the championship table but have only one win to their credit, and have drawn and lost their last two games. While the visitors fancy reversing their fortunes with the boot, New Zealand will persist with their high-octane running game — although this has been compromised a little with scrum-half Aaron Smith benched for breaking team protocols. Piri Weepu steps into the number nine position and although he does not possess Smith’s speed to the breakdown nor his rapid pass, after 62 Tests he does have a superior ability to read the game. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has been unable to hide his frustration at the high error-count that has detracted from their wins against Australia and Argentina, and he wants an improvement against South Africa. “What we’ve got to get right is being able to build pressure on the opposition rather than put it on ourselves,” he said Friday.