All Blacks star Mark Telea has a deep connection to South Africa, but when he faces the Springboks on Saturday, it will be all business.
As the Springboks and All Blacks prepare to renew their fierce rivalry this Saturday, numerous intriguing storylines are unfolding, promising that the Test at Ellis Park could be one of the all-time greats.
One such storyline centers around All Blacks winger Mark Telea, whose father is South African (and mother Samoan). Despite his strong ties to South Africa, Telea chose to represent New Zealand, the country of his birth, but he hasn’t forgotten his family connection to South Africa.
“Just embrace it, you know. I’m half South African, but I haven’t really seen what it’s like [over here]. Coming back here [South Africa] is always meaningful, just to see the culture and just embracing it as I go through,” Telea remarked.
“Any culture is important to any person, so I guess for myself, I’m trying to find that out and [I’m] on my journey as well.
“As a Kiwi watching back from home, yeah, you can only support from afar… you can see it’s a tough battle every time, any game, wherever it is against South Africa.
“We’re all on this journey together as a team. We’re trying to stack good performances and head in the right direction, so that’s what we’re going to do… Saturday’s another game.”
Telea has been named on the All Blacks bench and will be hoping to make a crucial impact in the latter stages of the game when the effects of altitude could become a factor.
“It gets real hard on the lungs real quick; I guess that altitude kicks in real fast. Every game is like a test match, even when we were playing here in Super [Rugby], so it’ll be the same now, and I think it will be a more physical challenge knowing that they’re up for the challenge. We’re here on their home soil, so it’ll be a good challenge.”
HOW THE SPRINGBOKS AND ALL BLACKS WILL LINE UP
Springboks (updated):
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard.
New Zealand:
15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (captain), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams.
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Mark Tele’a.
Date: Saturday, August 31
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT; 03.00 NZST Sunday, September 1)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England) and Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against the All Blacks:
Played: 106, Won: 40. Lost: 62, Drawn: 4. Points for: 1,741; Points against: 2,196; Tries scored: 168; Tries conceded: 240. Win %: 37.7%
