AUDIO: After two emphatic victories in Australia, the iconic Ellis Park Stadium beckons, and a triumphant All Blacks side awaits the Springboks.
Springbok wing Cheslin Kolbe had his first taste of international rugby in Johannesburg for the first time last year against Argentina.
Conditions will be a thousand times better than what the Springboks had to endure in the second Rugby Championship Test in Perth on Saturday.
The pelting rain and muddy conditions were not conducive to the type of rugby Kolbe loves to play.
After the victory over the Wallabies, the speedster gave an insight into how it felt out there in the pouring rain.
“It was unbelievably tough.
“At times me and [Makazole Mapimpi] looked at each other when we had to chase high balls, we just couldn’t see it with all the rain pouring down,” he revealed.
“But just with the experienced guys on the field we came together and made the game much more simple and that worked for us tonight.
“I think we just have to adapt to the conditions but tonight was quite tough,” he said.
The Springboks face New Zealand in Johannesburg on August 31.
The list of cons for any international visiting team to Ellis Park is endless, which include the altitude issues – the venue is 1,800m above sea level and the aura and hostility of the place are other factors that have troubled South Africa’s opponents over the years.
Not to mention the visitors will confront the weight of history, a very partisan crowd, and a large, charged-up Bok team frothing at the mouth after their excellent start to the Rugby Championship.
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But Kolbe said it was now time to keep their feet on the ground and focus on the next job at hand.
“We will keep our feet on the ground and just continue to work hard over the next couple of weeks leading up to New Zealand,” he warned.
“We are looking forward to getting back to South Africa and seeing packed stadiums again.”
Kolbe said the two wins against Australia were very special.
“We haven’t done it for years and we are definitely in a good position but we won’t just leave it at that and we won’t get complacent.
“We know the next two games will be massive, All Blacks against South Africa are always massive and we just have to make sure that we can control the things we can control and continue to work hard.
“All the guys who got opportunities put up their hands and showed that they want to stay there.
“So we have a lot of excitement from a squad point of view and for the management that just believes in us as players and gives us the opportunities to be ourselves on the field.
“I don’t think we could’ve asked for a better start in the Rugby Championship especially playing two games in Australia away from home.
“It’s a good foundation for us and we just need to make sure that we can build on that and progress as the competition goes on.”
