Rugby World Cup 2015: Bok coach reeling in sporting maelstrom

Name: All Blacks: Springboks 'want to rip our heads off'
Uploaded: 2015-10-23T02:03:08+13:00
Duration: 133 s
Description: Heyneke Meyer's lavish praise heaped on the All Blacks this week has been described as mind games by his opposite Steve Hansen, who has told his team to take no notice. Springboks coach Meyer has called the All Blacks the best team to ever play the game, adding his players would have to play the match of their lives if they were to be successful in Sunday's World Cup semifinal at Twickenham.

By Wynne Gray

NZ Herald·

22 Oct, 2015 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Heyneke Meyer's lavish praise heaped on the All Blacks this week has been described as mind games by his opposite Steve Hansen, who has told his team to take no notice. Springboks coach Meyer has called the All Blacks the best team to ever play the game, adding his players would have to play the match of their lives if they were to be successful in Sunday's World Cup semifinal at Twickenham.

Opinion by Wynne GrayLearn more

Fair dues to Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer and his view that the All Blacks are the best team playing the game.

Their record since the last World Cup is compelling evidence for Meyer as he and the Boks have been on the receiving end of many defeats.

When you are in the middle of that sort of sporting maelstrom as Meyer and the Boks have been for the past four years, you are likely to judge your winning rivals with more reverence. It also helps Meyer's claims for a prolonged test coaching career if the Boks are rated up close to the best team in history.

Another bloke I know who's seen a bit of rugby in his time, suggests there has not been any team to touch the 1937 Springboks who came to New Zealand and delivered us Danie Craven, his dive pass and such notable players as captain Philip Nel, Gerry Brand and Louis Babrow.

Somewhere in between, there'll be those who plump for the great All Black team who won 17 successive tests from 1965-69 or the Boks who equalled that number with coach Nick Mallett from 1997-98.

Then there's the All Blacks' unbeaten 50 games sequence including 23 tests from 1986-90 which will put them on top of the rostrum for many.

What we do know is that Richie McCaw and his men have produced remarkable results for Hansen since they combined for the first of their 52 tests in 2012. Defeats against England, the Boks and Wallabies and two draws against the Wallabies have been the only blemishes on that chart of sustained excellence.

The All Blacks are certainly at the top of their game and the side to beat in the final burst for the World Cup.

That pedigree does not count for anything on the scoreboard when they step on to Twickenham for the first time in this tournament. The All Blacks don't get any assistance for their four years of excellence although there will be some who think that sustained success will influence French referee Jerome Garces.

He has controlled five All Blacks tests in the Hansen era, including against the Springboks last year and this season, where the All Blacks triumphed. Will there be any subconscious part of Garces' thinking which leans towards another All Black win on Sunday and impacts on the way he sees the match unfold?

For the All Blacks all those results under Hansen will mean zilch if they finish second on Sunday against the Boks. That would of course mean a mountain more to Meyer -- and a beer for Hansen.