'Boks aren't favourites', insists Stick despite All Blacks downward spiral

In Mbombela

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said there's no way they are favourites ahead of their Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

The All Blacks go into the game on the back of four losses in five Tests, something unheard of from the All Blacks in the professional era.

They lost five Tests in 1998, but they still remained a formidable side that John Hart coached at the time.

Stick used the first Test against Ireland as a warning as to what happens to a team that doesn't rock up properly against the All Blacks.

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The Irish did bounce back to win the series 2-1, but Stick said it required the Irish to play out of their skins to get that result.

"There's no such thing as the Springboks going into an All Black Test as the favourites," Stick said.

"I've never heard of that and the games against the All Blacks are always tough. With the history between the teams, you can't underestimate anyone when these teams meet.

"The matches leading up to that game don't count as those games are always massive. I think it's the biggest game in World Rugby.

"We're not going into this game with the mindset of being favourites because the Irish series results definitely don't say much.

"It took a world-class performance from the Irish to beat them, but what happened in the first Test of that series tells you what happens when you have an off-day against the All Blacks."

South Africa

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-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de