Rugby politics, divided fanbase to collide when Boks take on ABs in Cape Town
The Boks are looking to make it four consecutive victories over the All Blacks at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Springboks and the All Blacks pack down for a scrum in the Rugby Championship match in Johannesburg on 30 August 2024. Picture: @Springboks/X
CAPE TOWN - The politics of rugby and a deeply divided fanbase all comes to a head when the Springboks take on New Zealand in Cape Town.
The Boks are looking to make it four consecutive victories over the All Blacks at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
The All Blacks will have something to prove in the second Test.
The team is looking to fight fire with fire, packing a formidable starting fifteen and a powerful bench.
Former New Zealand scrum-half, Justin Marshall, said that players like Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara would make all the difference when it counts.
"If they can get their opportunities right and get a sniff in this game, this side's got the belief of taking down a world champion."
“It will be an upset if the All Blacks win but the one thing, I do know is they’re capable.”
For local teams, taking on New Zealanders in Cape Town has always been a play of politics.
World Cup winner and former Stormers hooker, Schalk Brits, said that the chirps from homegrown All Blacks supporters would be hard for the Boks to ignore.
"The weird thing about playing in Cape Town is you will play against the Stormers, you will play against the Highlanders, the Crusaders, anyone but there would be more New Zealand supporters than Stormers supporters.
"That’s why we don’t bring Test matches to Cape Town. It is because back in the day, whatever from the history of South Africa, people went the opposite way - they didn’t support rugby, they didn’t support Springboks."
Fifty-nine thousand spectators are expected to fill the DHL Stadium for a front-row seat to this 103-year-old rivalry on Saturday.