'I love to scrum': All Blacks prop relishing another battle with the Boks

Speaking to the media in Sandton on Thursday, the loosehead made no attempt to hide his enthusiasm for the set-piece contest, embracing the challenge of going head-to-head with the Springboks' powerful pack.

"Oh, I love to scrum. I want to scrum," Bower said, shrugging off any pressure.

"I know South Africa pride themselves on the scrum, they see it as their avenue to get penalties and get their game going, moving up the field. But for us too, you can see from Test one our mindset around the scrum is right up there as well.

"We want to challenge them, and I know my back five want to scrum too."

Bower said the All Blacks are doing their best to match the Boks in that department.

"It's been pretty good because we've tried to find solutions and elevate our scrum to another level," he said.

"There's been a lot of talk around both sides of the scrum, but it comes down to that first scrum. We'll see what does the talking.

"For us as a pack, we just have to focus on our connection and tightness, our brace and our set, and hopefully that nullifies what the South Africans bring this weekend."

Bower admitted that, more often than not, Test rugby is won up front, even before the first scrum is set.

"It starts way before that, on winning the collision and winning the set-piece, which is huge," he added.

"The team that does that shows dominance and probably gets the rub of the green from the ref, so winning the collision is the main thing for both sides."

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