Patrick Tuipulotu is relishing the prospect of facing the legendary Ma’a Nonu, while All Blacks boss Dave Rennie confirms wholesale changes for Tuesday’s clash against the Sharks.
New Zealand beat the Stormers 38-21 in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry opener at Cape Town Stadium on Friday, and now travel to Durban to battle the Sharks in the second tie of their eight-match tour.
A 103-Test All Black and two-time World Cup winner, the 44-year-old Nonu is set to battle his countrymen off the Sharks bench at Kings Park next week, after recently linking up with the club.
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“I didn’t expect him to be named, but I’m looking forward to it,” All Blacks skipper Tuipulotu said. “A lot of the boys are close to him, so it’s no secret how long he’s played.
“His career’s been this long because he’s a true professional, and he’s blessed to keep playing. It’ll be quite a spectacle to see him come up against us, and we’ll certainly look forward to that.
“Might catch up with him midweek and give him a jab or two…”
Rennie confirmed a heavily rotated match 23 will take on JP Pietersen’s Sharks, with the short turnaround forcing his hand.
ICYMI: Nonu to tackle All Blacks
“There’ll be a handful of guys tonight who will back up, but there’ll be an enormous amount of changes,” the Kiwi added. “Likewise when we play the Bulls four days later.
“We wanted to be flawless tonight, and we know we can be better. We’ve only got to wait four days to get another crack at it.”
He, too, was pleased with Rieko Ioane’s impact at Cape Town Stadium after the All Blacks outside back’s recall.
“He finished off a good try, and was a handful with the ball in hand. Started on the wing, ended up playing a fair chunk of the game as centre; versatility like his on this tour will be important for us.”
RECAP: All Blacks battle past Stormers
Asked whether enough players had staked a claim to suggest his squad boasted similar depth to Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks, Rennie pointed to the early stages of his own project.
“Rassie’s been doing that for eight years – we’re a couple of months into it,” he said. “We’ve brought over a good squad, and not a lot of the guys who played tonight had big minutes in the Nations Championship. We’ve got some tough footy into them tonight.
“Tours like this are great for us to test and build depth.”
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The post All Blacks excited for a crack at Nonu appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Patrick Tuipulotu is relishing the prospect of facing the legendary Ma’a Nonu, while All Blacks boss Dave Rennie confirms wholesale changes for Tuesday’s clash against the Sharks.
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