Boks expect riled All Blacks

South Africa skipper John Smit is sure New Zealand’s loss of the Tri-Nations rugby crown last year will mean the home side is fired up when the teams clash in the series opener in Auckland on Saturday night.

The All Blacks were beaten three times by the Springboks as they relinquished a trophy they had held for four successive years and nine times in total.

“They are the team that has won the Tri-Nations the most out of all three of us,” Smit said on Tuesday.

“Not winning it really irritates them. We’re pretty certain they are going to rock up pretty worked up and ready to go on Saturday.”

The South Africans assembled in Auckland on Monday night, and Smit rejected suggestions that they should have arrived earlier for what will be the first of two consecutive Tests on New Zealand soil.

Last year, they didn’t arrive until the Wednesday before the Test in Hamilton, he said.

Coach Peter de Villiers was to have announced his Test line-up on Tuesday but delayed it until Thursday because of injury concerns over locks Bakkies Botha and Danie Rossouw, two of their senior forwards.

But Smit was relaxed about the possibility that Botha and Rossouw’s knee problems might rule them out of the Eden Park match.

He said both had sat out some of the Springboks’ four Tests last month and their replacements had shown they were able to step in.

As for the dominating presence of lineout maestro Victor Matfield over the All Blacks, Smit said his Test teammate had “the hoodoo on a few guys around the world”, even himself.

“We do a lot of work on him when we play provincially in Super 14 and Currie Cup,” he said.

“He’s certainly a factor that has to be looked after. He’s irritated me a few times when I’ve got to throw the ball against him so he’s a big player for us, not just in the ball he steals, but in the way he helps to lead the team as well.”

Smit indicated the Springboks were determined not to rest on their laurels, saying they would be foolish to think they were the game’s leaders based on what they did last year.

“To keep doing the same things and expecting the same results and not thinking that other teams will catch you would be naive,” he said.

“It really is for us to make sure that we can keep stepping up each weekend.”

At the same time, Smit didn’t want to look too far ahead, even if next year is World Cup year and this weekend’s test venue will stage the cup final.

“For us to get too wrapped up in what the World Cup is about next year would be a bit foolish,” he said.

“We’ve got a three-week campaign which takes us halfway through the Tri-Nations.”

After next week’s Test in Wellington, the Springboks head to Brisbane to face the Wallabies on July 24, before concluding their Tri-Nations program with three home matches.