Former Sharks coach John Plumtree expects Ethan Hooker to bring a “physical edge” to the Springboks’ game against the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday.
Hooker has been selected on the left wing for the second Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series at Cape Town Stadium.
The 23-year-old Sharks midfielder will wear the Bok No 11 jersey for the sixth time in his 11-cap Test career.
In a late change to the team on Friday, Cheslin Kolbe will start on the right wing after recovering from the knock he suffered in the first Test at Ellis Park.
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Plumtree, who coached Hooker at the Sharks, believes his versatility and physicality will be valuable against an All Blacks side adept at finding space out wide.
“Ethan can cover 13 and wing,” Plumtree told Brenden Nel. “Ethan’s really physical out on those wider channels, where they probably missed that a little bit last week.
“The Kiwis are very good at creating space on the edge of the field, whether it’s through a long pass or through the short kicking game.
“Ethan’s really strong at counter-rucking and being able to slow that ball down on the edge, which I think will be good for the Boks.
“He’s a big boy, strong, physical, fast. I think that’s a good selection for the second Test.”
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The Boks will be looking to bounce back from their 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park, while the All Blacks can take a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series with victory in Cape Town.
With a 55% chance of rain on Saturday, the kicking battle could become increasingly important.
Plumtree, who spent three years as an All Blacks assistant coach, does not expect potentially wet conditions to stop the tourists from playing their game.
“The Kiwis won’t be too worried about the weather,” he said. “We do get to play a bit of wet-weather rugby in New Zealand.
“They’ll go out with a game in mind that will be all-weather, really. They’re going to move the ball. We saw that [in the wet] against the Sharks. They’re going to move the ball. It doesn’t really matter what the weather’s like.
“They might have to kick a bit smarter, maybe a little bit earlier at times.
“What you see is the All Blacks will pass, pass and then kick. They will have a look for space first with the ball and then kick late.”
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Plumtree believes Bok attack coach Tony Brown may also have encouraged the world champions to make greater use of their skill set after they failed to turn sustained pressure into points at Ellis Park.
“Maybe Tony Brown’s influence will be a little bit more this week.
“I think he would have really worked hard on the Springboks’ skill sets. There were a lot of passes going behind people on the weekend, especially those outlet passes from the forwards. They would have tidied that up.
“I felt the Kiwis were capable of scoring four tries in a Test match because of their skill sets, and now you probably have to score four yourself, or five maybe.
“So relying on just getting territory and a maul try, they might have to play a little bit more and finish those opportunities.”
Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
The post Plum: Hooker can blunt All Blacks threat appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Former Sharks coach John Plumtree expects Ethan Hooker to bring a “physical edge” to the Springboks’ game against the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday.
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