Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says trying to outmuscle the Boks is a trap, and warns Scott Robertson’s men must play to their own strengths.

Speaking ahead of the blockbuster two-Test series between New Zealand and South Africa, the former All Blacks coach insisted that success against the Boks lies in smart rugby, not an arm-wrestle.

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“If you want to beat South Africa, you’ve got to beat them in a different way,” Hansen told DSPN’s Martin Devlin.

“You don’t beat them playing them at their game. Don’t get into an arm-wrestle with them. Because if you do, they’ll beat you.”

The world champions are set to face New Zealand in back-to-back Rugby Championship Tests, including a seismic clash at Eden Park, where the All Blacks have not lost in over 30 years.

It’s an iconic rivalry staged at an iconic venue. And while the All Blacks have lost four in a row against the Boks including both clashes in South Africa last year, Hansen said the recipe for success remains the same.

“We’ve got to play to our strengths. South Africa have always played to their strengths, which are their big physicality and their big men,” he said.

“We’ve got to play to the strengths that we believe we have, and the team they’ve selected allows them to play our fast game because they’re all good athletes. However, there’s no right or wrong way to play. It comes down to who’s allowed to play the way they want to play on the day, and the opposition have a big say in that.”

Both sides come into the Rugby Championship in good shape, having swept their respective July series. The Boks lost just two of 13 Tests in 2024, while New Zealand suffered four defeats – two of them to South Africa.

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Asked whether the world champions were beatable, Hansen didn’t flinch.

“Well, they’ve been beaten, so that tells you they are beatable,” he said, in typically blunt fashion.

The former World Cup-winning coach also addressed South Africa’s famed 6-2 bench split – a tactic that has helped power their success but comes with risk.

“They roll the dice every time they go to their 6-2 split bench, and they’ve got people that can cover in the back if they get multiple injuries, but they are rolling the dice and so far they’ve got away with it,” said Hansen.

“And it makes it hard because in the past, they’ve probably run out of petrol a little bit. But what they’re doing now is making sure players are being replaced by like players, and they’ve got a genuine, real physicality. They’ve had some success with it, they believe in it, and they trust it. But to beat them, you have to shake that trust a bit and challenge their thinking and challenge that space where they think they can dominate you physically.”

With four straight losses to the Boks, the pressure is on New Zealand to flip the script.

But Hansen believes the All Blacks, and others, are capable of doing just that.

“You’ve got to front up. It doesn’t matter who you play in a Test match; you’ve got to front up with numbers one to eight and be prepared to be physical, and your backs have to be against South Africa as well,” he said.

“The All Blacks are more than capable of doing that, as are many other teams.”

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