Springboks handed inside information on All Blacks ahead of Greatest Rivalry series
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The Springboks are set to receive some valuable inside information on the All Blacks following New Zealand’s opening match of their Greatest Rivalry tour.
The All Blacks kicked off their historic tour of South Africa with a 38-21 victory over the Stormers in Cape Town on Friday, but the hosts may yet have played an important role ahead of the four-Test series between the two great rivals.
Stormers boss John Dobson has revealed that information is being shared between the South African franchises and the Springboks during the tour, with Rassie Erasmus’ side providing the Cape outfit with intelligence ahead of their clash with New Zealand.
Now, having experienced the All Blacks first-hand, the Stormers will return the favour.
“We got quite a lot of information from the Boks about what they expected the All Blacks to do,” Dobson said.
“We’ll feed back to them what they did differently and what we saw. There’s definitely an information-sharing process.”
The arrangement adds another fascinating element to New Zealand’s matches against South Africa’s leading franchises ahead of the Test series.
The All Blacks face the Sharks at Kings Park in Durban on Tuesday before taking on the Lions in Johannesburg in their final provincial fixture.
While those matches provide New Zealand with an opportunity to build combinations and adjust to conditions in South Africa, they also give the Springboks valuable opportunities to study their greatest rivals at close quarters.
Attention will then turn to the main event, with the Springboks and All Blacks meeting in the opening Test of their four-match series at Ellis Park on August 22.
