Bok mentor Nienaber won't be drawn into All Black crisis: 'We've got no control over that'

In Mbombela

New Zealand may not be on the soundest of ground going to Saturday's first Test against the Springboks, but Jacques Nienaber didn't want to countenance any thoughts of the All Blacks' state of play.

The All Blacks go into the Test on the back of four losses in five Tests that led to the sacking of assistant coaches John Plumtree and Brad Mooar.

It's territory that the All Blacks are not accustomed to, something that's given Saturday's Test a different edge as compared to matches in the past where the Boks have been in turmoil.

Nienaber said they weren't in a position to think about the state of All Black rugby when they needed to worry about what they could control.

READ| Bok coach Nienaber explains Kurt-Lee Arendse start: 'A like-for-like replacement for Cheslin'

"We've got no control and we can't expand energy on thinking about how they are feeling, how desperate they'd be and what would they change," Nienaber said.

"We've got no control over that, so the moment, so the moment you think about those things, you're wasting that energy.

"We can only control what we can control. We must make sure that they're not more desperate than us on the day.

"That we can control, but we can't control how they tackle the game, what they want to do with our maul, and our style of play.

"We need to stay in that reality. They'll be desperate and they'll always be desperate. When two great rugby sides meet, there's always desperation."

15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Step du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Trevor Nyakane

Substitutes: 16 Bongi