Ethan Hooker praises FNB Stadium atmosphere as Springboks take All Blacks series lead

Springboks winger Ethan Hooker says the support of almost 86,000 fans at FNB Stadium played a major part in South Africa’s 29-24 victory over New Zealand in the third Test of the Greatest Rivalry Series.

The result gave the Springboks a 2-1 advantage in the four-match series after the sides were level at 12-12 at half-time.

Hooker was named Man of the Match after helping South Africa secure the win in front of a huge crowd in Soweto. He believes the energy inside the stadium provided an important lift for the home side as they responded to defeat in the opening game.

“Playing in front of close to 90 000 people in Soweto was awesome,” said Hooker.

“The guys feeding off that atmosphere was something else, and next weekend is going to be awesome too.”

The fourth Test will take place at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, where the winger expects the support to be more evenly divided because the match is being played at a neutral venue.

“It’s a neutral venue so it’s going to be closer to 50-50 (in terms of the support), but it is my first time in America, and I’m looking forward to the experience.”

The contest in Baltimore will be the fourth consecutive meeting between the Springboks and the All Blacks, an unusual schedule between two of rugby’s most prestigious international teams.

Hooker described the opportunity as both physically and mentally demanding, but also something he and his team-mates valued highly.

Hooker added: “We normally have the privilege of facing the All Blacks twice a year, but now we have the chance to play them four times back-to-back. It’s tough mentally and physically, but we are all honoured and really privileged to be able to face such a prestigious team four times in a row.”

South Africa had entered Saturday’s match under pressure after losing the first game of the series. Hooker said the squad chose to concentrate on its own performance rather than become distracted by the result or the importance of the occasion.

“There was quite a bit of pressure, especially after losing the first game, but we knew the third game was always going to be make or break for either team,” he said.

“We tried to focus on ourselves, what we do, and what works for us, and as a group we said we’re going to put everything into that game, and if we win, great, but if we lose, we’ll go again next week.”

Despite taking the lead in the series, Hooker stressed that South Africa’s work was not complete. The Springboks will now turn their attention to the final Test, with the winger calling for higher standards from the team.

“We still have one game to play, so it’s not done. We want to lift our standards and we’re going to focus all our energy on that.”

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is due to name his side for the fourth Test on Monday evening.