The All Blacks can only play the opposition they are given and there’s no doubt they have improved several specific pressure points since their scratchy opening win in Cape Town, but coach Dave Rennie fully understands the levels to this game.
“We know the intensity level, the quality, we’re going to come up against next week is three, four, five, fold higher,” Rennie said after the Bulls victory. “We’ve played reasonably well on tour and we know we need to up the ante.
“We had a lot of opportunities tonight to play on top of the Bulls and force defenders to make decisions. It was almost like we were training for the Springboks, who will come a lot harder defensively. It’s good for us. We’ve now got a game at altitude. The guys have an appreciation of that. We’ll be better for it.”
Rennie confirmed a small number of test spots were up for grabs against the Bulls. Dynamic loose forwards Peter Lakai and Anton Segner, the latter with a man-of-the-match performance from openside flanker, are likely to have cemented their places on the bench for the Boks.
Some of the New Zealand players who sone in action against the Bulls: Tyrell Lomax (from left), Beauden Barrett, Josh Moorby and Anton Segner. Photos / Photosport, SmartFrame
Josh Moorby’s two tries, elusive qualities and rugby smarts are expected to lock his presence in the starting back three, particularly with injury clouds continuing to hover over Damian McKenzie (ankle) and Will Jordan (back).
Influential halfback Cam Roigard appears on track to return for the Boks after sitting it out with a calf strain to this point of the tour.
“There were some really good performances that will put pressure on us from a selection point of view,” Rennie said. “It’s nice to have seven days to get over that. There were a handful of positions that were going to be decided based on tonight’s performance.
“Peter Lakai was excellent until we took him off. Anton was massive. Those guys are applying a lot of pressure.
“Josh started the last test against Ireland and played the Italian game off the bench. He was very good. Leroy [Carter] was very strong out on the wing. I’d like him to dive a little earlier next time and maybe score on the line rather than two metres over it.
“Will and Cam got through a bit of training yesterday. We’re pretty confident they’re going to be right next week. Both of them we want to have a full week of training but they’re certainly ticking enough boxes.
“We’re probably less confident about Damian but still think he’s a good chance to play on the weekend. We’ll get a little bit into him tomorrow and hopefully he can train well on Tuesday. The expectation is all three of those guys will be available.”
The supremely dominant scrum performance against the Bulls, highlighted by an early steamrolling shunt while the All Blacks defended their line, enhanced Tyrel Lomax and Xavier Numia’s credentials too.
Halfback Cortez Ratima prepares to feed the scrum as the All Blacks forwards g to work. Photo / SmartFrame
Codie Taylor, sporting stitches on his cheek after scoring two tries in his return from injury while captaining the All Blacks for the first time, praised the shifts the forward pack has made across their three tour matches. He, too, though, knows the Boks will apply furnace-level heat through their vaunted set-piece strengths.
“I’m sure they’re going to be asking a lot more questions come next week,” Taylor said. “From where we started with the Stormers and having built our way through these club games, I feel we’ve made some great strides as a forward pack.
“By no means are we the finished product. There’s going to be so much more we can work on. It’s going to get tougher, but we can be really happy and confident with the steps we’re making.”
With the tune-up matches done and dusted, and Rennie preparing to settle on his first test team, the gloves are about to come off.
The All Blacks will be satisfied enough with their progress and their strengthened internal competition in most areas, but no one is under any illusions that the true battles await.
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.
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