Dave Rennie: All Blacks must be at their best while forcing Springboks off their game

All Blacks coach Dave Rennie says his side will automatically step up in intensity when they face the Springboks on Saturday after their warm-up matches against three South African provincial teams.

“We’re well aware of the quality of the side that we’ll play against and the pressure that they’ll bring,” Rennie said at a media conference in Johannesburg on Monday.

“Certainly, the line speed will be a hell of a lot higher than anything we have faced so far.

“We’ve got several guys who have played a lot of footy here in South Africa, and we know we’re going to have to be really good.

“We’re going to have to play at our best and force them to be below their best.”

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Rennie said the matches against the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls had served their purpose, giving his squad valuable game time and creating healthy competition for places.

“We’ve played a lot of players — all but three of the touring party of 44 have had good game time, which has been good for us,” he said.

“There have been some high-quality performances from individuals, and that’s put a lot of pressure on us.

“When we name our side, we’re going to leave out some very good players. But in four Tests, I think we’ll end up using 30-odd players anyway.”

Rennie is relishing what he believes will be a special series against the world champions.

“It’s a hell of a series, isn’t it? Playing the world champions in South Africa over four Tests, massive interest all over the world, a huge amount of Kiwis coming over here to travel and embrace it.

“We’re really excited, and we’ll definitely be ready.”

Rennie does not expect the Springboks to spring any surprises, but knows the All Blacks will have to cope with their relentless pressure game.

“They will play to their strengths. They will regard the scrum as a strength, but our scrum will front up.

“The Boks are excellent at applying pressure, like winning back-to-back penalties to put you in a corner, and they’re the best in the world at turning that pressure into points.

“Our discipline will be really important, our accuracy will be really important, our set-piece will have to be massive.”