Springbok centre Robbie Fleck destroyed them in their last encounter, but All Black counterpart Tana Umaga is more worried about rookie Marius Joubert than about the Bok stalwart.

The reason for Umaga's concern is the fact that the All Blacks know absolutely nothing about Joubert, who will be making his Test debut at Newlands on Saturday in the Tri-Nations pipe opener.

On Thursday the All Black star said he hoped to get some footage of Joubert in action so that he could familiarise himself with the strengths and weaknesses of the young Boland player.

"The first time I heard of him when he was named in the Springbok squad. I actually had not seen him play, so we don't know what we're up against," said Umaga. "Hopefully we'll get a tape of him in action. He must have the goods if they've pick him, so we'll give him that respect when he pulls on the Springbok jersey."

He is used to playing against South Africa and Australia's top players at Super 12 level, but this was not the case with Joubert as he missed the previous two year's competitions through injury. "We don't know what Marius Joubert is about. It's a bit daunting, but we'll have to work out a way around it."

Umaga is a wily player who has scored 22 tries in 30 Tests thus far. It shouldn't take him too long to work out his immediate opponent and he already sees a potential weakness in the Bok midfield armoury. It will be the first time Fleck and Joubert combine and this, says Umaga, could pose a problem for the home team.

"They obviously feel he's got what it takes to play at this level. However, partnerships take a while to get going and we may be looking to attack there."

He added that he is not going to change the way he normally plays in an effort to intimidate the new Bok centre. "I'm not going to do anything different from the way I play the game. I think once I try to do that, he's won, because he's made me move out of my comfort zones and dictates to me the way I play and I don't want that to happen.

"I'll just go out there and play my game. The way games are these days when you play opposite each other you don't actually mark each other, so I won't be tackling him and he won't be tackling me. It's going to be a big ask for him in his first Test, but I think all South Africans love to play for their country and with the support he will get from his players around him, especially the senior players who've played a lot of Tests, he will go well."

Last year Fleck cut the All Blacks defence to shreds with his piercing runs. This time they will be looking to plug those leaks, said Umaga. "We just want to be a bit tighter. We fell a lot off him (Fleck) last year and we definitely remember that game. We just want to make sure we make our tackles.

"Fleck is a very strong player and he loves to run with the ball, so we just got to make sure we make our first-up tackles and not fall off. That goes for the whole team. We've got to make sure we don't give him them the room they had last year."

Umaga said the All Blacks remember last year's defeat and won't take the Springboks for granted this time round. "They are a very passionate team and this country is very passionate about their rugby, sometimes even more so than New Zealand. So we will forget all the stories about turmoil in their camp and just play our game."