Former New Zealand No 8 Murray Mexted says selecting players purely on Super Rugby form could leave the All Blacks exposed against the Springboks.
With newly-appointed All Blacks coach Dave Rennie running the rule over selections for the Nations Championship in July and the Greatest Rivalry tour of South Africa in August and September, Mexted warned that Super Rugby no longer prepares players for the demands of Test rugby.
“Super Rugby is a bloody good level of rugby, but it’s not as strong as it was when we had more competitive teams playing,” he told Martin Devlin on the DSPN podcast. “I’m talking about the South Africans more than anything because they stand you up.”
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Mexted stressed that the physicality of the back-to-back world champions remains the benchmark.
“Either you’ve got to be in or out against the South Africans, there’s no halfway measure,” he said. “You can mix it against the Australians and sometimes if you have an ordinary day, you can do OK, but against the Springboks you’ve got to nail it.
“You’ve got to get your ball and it’s got to be two hands, and you’ve got to have a good game.”
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Focusing on loose forward balance, Mexted warned that combinations thriving at Super Rugby level may not cope in Tests.
Pointing to the recent Chiefs-Hurricanes clash, he added: “I’m a bit worried about the Hurricanes because it’s bloody hard when you’ve got two guys who aren’t really big enough … [Du’Plessis] Kirifi and [Peter] Lakai aren’t really big enough to play six [blindside] or eight, they’re both really a seven [openside], but they’re good rugby players.
“You go that next step and you can’t get away with it, you get exposed. You don’t get the ball and everybody cries until Sunday morning.”
Mexted added that size and ball-winning ability remain non-negotiable.
“It’s all about the ball, it really is,” he said.
Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images
The post Mexted: Size matters against Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Former New Zealand No 8 Murray Mexted says selecting players purely on Super Rugby form could leave the All Blacks exposed against the Springboks.
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