Friday 23 October 2015 15:27, UK
New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen says he is not fooled by South Africa's complimentary comments ahead of this weekend's Rugby World Cup semi-final.
Springboks counterpart Heyneke Meyer, was quick to heap praise on the All Blacks following their 62-13 quarter-final victory over France, even describing them as "the best team that has ever played the game".
However, Hansen believes those comments are merely a clever tactic ahead of Saturday's match at Twickenham.
"I think Heyneke is a very cunning man, and I know what he is up to," said Hansen. "He has been really complimentary of our team this week and there has been a lot of respect shown from him towards our guys.
"The Boks have been praising us all week, but we know full well that what they are really doing is getting ready to rip our heads off.
"We need to be ready for that. Yes, there is a friendship between Heyneke and myself, but we know what Saturday is about. The Boks will be coming at us."
New Zealand head into Saturday's game as strong favourites after South Africa needed a late try to defeat Wales 23-19 in their own quarter-final. And despite their own impressive performance against France, Hansen says his side still have more to come.
"We haven't played our best rugby as yet," he said. "We did play really well against France, when it was a matter of life and death, and hopefully it will be like that against the Boks on Saturday, but before that we weren't always at our best in this tournament.
"We know we have to be better than we were against France to beat the Boks, and that is what we are aiming for. The bottom line is that we don't want to have to go home after Saturday, and I am sure the Springboks have the same motivation.
"The Boks have shown good form and they have some strong points to their team, but we are right where we want to be. This is an exciting time."
Hansen also paid tribute to his captain, Richie McCaw, ahead of this weekend semi-final.
McCaw, the most capped Test rugby player of all time, is set to make his 147th appearance for the All Blacks at Twickenham.
The 34 year-old made his international debut in 2001 and Hansen moved to praise his captain's career longevity.
"He's been an exceptional player but it's not only his ability to play the game its leadership now," said Hansen. "He's become one of the great leaders in world rugby, especially under pressure.
"He's well supported by Keiran Read and the rest of the leadership group. There's a lot of mental fortitude there, we've been through some tough times and had success in those tough times.
"One thing he's managed to do throughout his career is keep evolving. When he first started he couldn't catch a cold but his big thing he could do was pinch ball at the breakdown.
"Now he's the complete rugby player, he's a line-out forward, he can catch and pass, and that's a testament to his ability to want to be a better player everyday. "It fits in right with the ethos that we want; we want to be a better team everyday than we were the day before. He's a living example of it."
