Ex-All Blacks captain Taine Randell wants Dave Rennie to select a “chunkier” player in his front-row for Saturday’s crucial Greatest Rivalry series Test against the Springboks in Baltimore.
After three Tests played so far, South Africa have their tails up as they head into the all-important fourth clash between the arch-rivals with a 2-1 lead.
The All Blacks made a fantastic start when they won the opening Test in Johannesburg but the Springboks showed why they are the current world champions as they responded with successive triumphs in Cape Town and Soweto.
The scrum battle a key component of Greatest Rivalry series
The scrum battle has been a key component throughout the Greatest Rivalry and the Boks were dominant in that facet of play in the last encounter at the FNB Stadium last Saturday.
South Africa underlined their dominance during the latter stages of the opening half when they had the All Blacks forwards back-pedalling at a scrum close to their try-line and referee Nika Amashukeli eventually awarded a penalty try to the Springboks.
Randell, who represented the All Blacks in 51 Tests as a back-row from 1997 to 2002, has now highlighted the importance of an improved scrummaging effort from the men in black in Baltimore.
The 51-year-old was asked if (first choice loosehead prop) Ethan de Groot, who sat out the past two Tests due to concussion was missed in Soweto, but Randell instead identified experienced tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax as the cause of all their problems at the set-piece in that encounter.
“George Bower (De Groot’s replacement) played pretty well at loosehead. You look at the second Test, scrums weren’t the issue,” he told The Platform NZ podcast.
‘Tyrel Lomax was really battling’
“George Bower played and when I looked at the scrums, the pressure really came on at Tyrel Lomax. When they scored that pushover try (in the third Test), it was Tyrel Lomax who was really battling on the tighthead side.
Ex-All Blacks captain highlights ‘key moments’ which led to defeat in third Greatest Rivalry Test
“George Bower, to be fair, I didn’t think he’d be in the top-ish zone of our loosehead props, but he didn’t play too badly. He wasn’t the issue.”
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Randell believes the players who pack down in the Springboks’ front-row currently are amongst the best-ever to represent South Africa at international level and he feels a different type of tighthead prop is now needed for the All Blacks against the world champions.
“To be fair, these (Springboks) props and (Malcolm) Marx the hooker, they are next level in terms of they are probably some of the best front-rowers they have had,” he said.
“But in saying that, we talked about it last week, (in) my experience, and if you look back at (ex-All Blacks front-row) Olo Brown, we have gone better, not necessarily (that) we have had the biggest props but when our props are a bit chunkier and a bit more squat.
“I rate Tyrel Lomax as our tighthead prop. He’s been incredible for a long while, but maybe his style doesn’t suit the Springboks. What I’ve noticed when we have got Fletcher Newell from the Crusaders, when he comes on, because he’s got a wide base, wide diff’, for want of a better word, and he’s shorter and very compact and strong, we go better when he’s on against the Springboks.
“So maybe that’s just something for us to consider that we choose or when we consider (players).”