Boks determined to put up a good show in Baltimore – Wiese

The Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series finale takes place at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday and Wiese said a victory for the Boks – should they pull it through to lift the trophy – would be a special achievement for the group.

“We’ve only been here since Sunday afternoon, so we haven’t spent a lot of time outside the hotel, but it’s obviously an amazing experience,” said Wiese.

“It’s my first time here. Some people have recognised a few guys, but me not as much. But hopefully we can give the people here a good showcase this weekend and give them a taste of what rugby is about.

“The sport is obviously not as big here as it is in New Zealand or South Africa, but for the fans who are there this weekend, they’re going to see some great rugby from both teams who just want to go out there and give it their best.”

With many of the players in the Bok squad having won the Rugby World Cup and British & Irish Lions series, Wiese said if they were to lift the RGR trophy on Saturday, it would be another memorable occasion for the side.

The Springboks are currently leading the series two-one, meaning a victory or draw this weekend would clinch the title, but if the All Blacks win, the trophy would be shared.

“For this group, it would be something amazing to achieve – we’re taking this series just as seriously as we did the others,” said Wiese.

“The last time they toured in South Africa was in 1996, and the All Blacks won that one, so for this group to achieve a win would be something special.”

Wiese was not perturbed by the absence of injured All Blacks captain Ardie Savea, saying their other players competing for the position were also very talented and would be equally desperate to give everything to win Saturday’s match-up.

“Ardie is obviously a massive player in their team and he was their captain at the start of the series, but I don’t think his absence changes our preparation,” he said.

“Their other loose forwards have a lot of experience and have played in big games as well, so we will show our opponents as much respect as possible. In big games all those guys step up.”

Asked about his emotions after setting a new record for the most Test starts in a loose trio with Pieter-Steph du Toit and Bok captain Siya Kolisi, the physical No 8 – who will run out in his 49th Test match on Saturday – said it was a surreal feeling.

“It’s a massive privilege to play with guys like them, and I never take it for granted,” he said.

“I actually didn’t know about the record until we saw it after the game, but yes, it’s special. We’re great friends, and that makes it so much more amazing to have done something like that together, so I’m really privileged.”

Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids, meanwhile, zoomed into the team’s set piece and said they knew that it would be a big focal point going into the inaugural series between the two best teams in the world.

“We were under no illusions that it was going to be very important to have a good set piece,” said Davids.

“The hard work we’ve been putting into the scrums, the lineouts, and the mauls is starting to show now, and we’re glad things have come together to provide a solid platform for our attack and defence.

“That said, there’s always room for improvement, and we continuously try to evaluate our systems, individual effort, and our performance as a pack of forwards, so we’ll keep striving to improve and find better cohesion.”

The Boks had their first field training session on Tuesday after a series of boardroom sessions on Monday to recover from last Saturday’s match and the long journey to Baltimore, and will continue their on-field preparations on Wednesday.

The match kicks off at 17h00 (23h00 SA time) and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.