The All Blacks admit they are pumped up at the prospect of facing the Springboks in South Africa for the first time in four years.
The two teams have not met on South African soil since 2018, which combined with the exit of South African teams from the Super Rugby competition, means that for quite a few of the All Black players this will be their first experience of playing in SA in front of SA crowds.
“It’s a game that prior to the four-year absence everyone has looked forward to. We as players look forward to coming here,” Ioane said.
“To have that break and not have that annual game over here, it builds the hype, especially on the outside.
“Some of the toughest games I’ve had in the black jersey have been over here, you think back to the last time we were here [in 2018], it went beyond the 80 minutes.
“We really had to dig deep. The hardest games in the toughest places to play are the ones that you want to be a part of.”
Ioane said as a team they sat down with all the new players to help prepare them for what to expect when they run out on the field at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.
Hello, South Africa 👋 it’s been a while! pic.twitter.com/ANTD9wGrR3
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 30, 2022
“We had a meeting with all the boys that haven’t been here, as you said, because we don’t have them [South African teams] in Super Rugby,” he said.
“There is quite a few boys that haven’t been here and haven’t experienced the crowds, or South Africa at home.
“It’s definitely going to be a new experience for them but it’s going to be an awesome one.
“The first time I travelled here, I loved it.
“The landscape here is very different to all the places we have been, Cape Town, Jo’burg, so again it is something new to us older boys.”
The All Blacks are still hurting after their historic series loss against Ireland in New Zealand, so Ioane admits the team is desperate to get a positive result in South Africa.
To do that, they need to be better in all areas of the game.
“There is plenty of stuff to work on, we as backs need to fire as well,” he said.
“We are coming up against a world-class outfit, especially in their backs so we need to get better all over the park, whether on attack or D.
“It is a completely different beast that we are facing this week.”
The All Blacks kick off their Rugby Championship campaign against the Springboks on Saturday 6 August at 17:05 at the Mbombela Stadium.
