Jordie Barrett has highlighted better execution under the high ball and manning up to the scrappy Springboks as key to victory for the All Blacks this week, reports DEVIN HERMANUS.
South Africa and New Zealand will lock horns at FNB Stadium in Saturday’s third Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, with both nations each having won a game.
The Kiwis’ attacking threat and scoring prowess was evident in their five-tries-to-one victory at Ellis Park two weeks ago, before the world champions bounced back last week in Cape Town with a familiar game plan built on power and contestables.
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On Monday, Barrett noted the Boks’ physicality and intense pressure up front that helped swing the match.
“We didn’t start as well as we wanted to, particularly defensively, and we were chasing for the first half-an-hour of that game,” he said.
“Some areas of our game, exiting our half off kick-offs, probably winning a few more of those 50-50 scrap balls in the first half … we got a lot more in the second half and it paid dividends.
“Discipline’s a word that gets thrown around a lot, but when you’re forced to defend a goal-line and put under a lot of pressure, those are things that come to a head.
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“The blueprint that got them [Boks] a victory at the weekend was their power game,” the veteran midfielder added.
“They went to the air a lot, so we’re going to have to tidy up there, winning the scraps on the ground and trying to minimise the entries into our half so they can’t get their power game on.”
Barrett also aired his frustrations around the aerial contest, pointing out that current laws offer little protection against South Africa’s short kicks.
“If you just look at the last Test, we kicked very little contestables. The ones we did kick, we did win back. They kicked quite a lot, and they’re often a lot shorter,” he said.
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“Our fullback or whoever’s in the backfield, it’s not his job to get it. It’s in that zone where they want to make it messy and get scraps.
“Unfortunately, the laws of the game at the moment don’t help a receiving team. You’ve got to get up and contest; you can’t stand around the area or protect your catcher. It turns into a bit of a lottery.
“We’ve got plans and ways around that in terms of trying to win as many of those as possible. We’ve practised it a lot. Trust me, it’s a lot harder than it probably looks on the telly.
“Hopefully we can win a few more on Saturday, because that’s what’s coming.”
Photo: Esa Alexander/Reuters
The post Kiwis puzzled by Boks’ aerial, power blueprint appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Jordie Barrett has highlighted better execution under the high ball and manning up to the scrappy Springboks as key to victory for the All Blacks this week.
The post Kiwis puzzled by Boks’ aerial, power blueprint appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
