Springboks centre JJ Engelbrecht is ready for whatever weather Auckland might throw up for the top-of-the-table Rugby Championship clash with the All Blacks on Saturday.
The South Africans took advantage of the dry conditions in Brisbane last weekend to run in four tries to nil in a 38-12 win, their biggest over the Wallabies on Australian soil.
Some showers are forecast for the day of the Eden Park Test, but Engelbrecht is unfazed by the prospect and even welcomes it.
“Any weather suits our game plan, so I think it will be easy for us to adjust,” he said.
“The last few games have all been on dry and sunny days, so it will be nice to have something different. We’ll see what the weather does and then we’ll take it as it comes.”
Engelbrecht is part of an unchanged Springboks 23 for the encounter between the tournament’s two unbeaten sides.
The 24-year-old will be appearing in just his eighth Test after having made his debut in 2012.
But he will have the huge of experience of 90-cap skipper Jean de Villiers beside him in midfield.
Engelbrecht said the Springboks took plenty of confidence from the win over the Wallabies, especially in their defence.
“It’s nice if you don’t give the other team a try to go away with,” he said.
“We did well, but there’s always stuff to work on.”
The upcoming match will have him back marking All Blacks centre Conrad Smith, who ended up hospital after the pair collided in a Super Rugby match in May.
Smith was knocked unconscious and was stretchered off after a tackle on Engelbrecht in the Hurricanes’ 48-14 loss to the Bulls in Pretoria in May.
“It was just an accident,” Engelbrecht recalled.
“He probably had his head on the wrong side. I’m glad he’s alright.”
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