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Retallick braced for angry Springboks
By Iain Strachan
All Blacks Brodie Retallick and Ryan Crotty are expecting "a good spectacle" when South Africa visit New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Springboks defeated Argentina at home and away before drawing 23-23 with the Wallabies in Western Australia last weekend.
They will be hard pressed to halt the rampant world champions at North Habour Stadium, where lock Retallick nevertheless expects a typically tough contest.
"We all know the way the South Africans play," Retallick told a news conference.
"We've seen the last couple of weeks how physical they've been, especially up front. As always, they're big boys and they like to come at you.
"Every Test is special, but from what we've seen so far in the Rugby Championship, they've had two great wins over Argentina and they'll be a little bit frustrated with the draw against Australia in Perth.
"They'll be coming here with a bit of anger, and with the skill and physicality they're playing with, I'm sure it's going to be a good spectacle."
Centre Crotty added: "We expect a massive challenge, and a huge, physical Test match.
"The history and the rivalry of the two nations builds it up a bit more.
"It doesn't get any bigger than a Test against South Africa at home, and it's a challenge I'm sure will excite the lads."
New Zealand have won each of their first three matches in this year's Rugby Championship, beating Australia in Sydney and Dunedin before seeing off the Pumas in New Plymouth.
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Latest Comments
I've not watched any of the Top 14, but am I right that he was very very good for the first couple of weeks, and then has been pretty ineffective since?
Go to commentsVery good point. I think the CO2 cost of international sport is a big taboo today (and it doesn't look like it'll change anytime soon unfortunately for all humans).
Regarding your second point, I fully agree as well. We have seen this very one-eyed backlash of the French policy on the July tour, most people refuse to see that the best SA players are suffering from the exact same problem : accumulated fatigue from playing too much without significant breaks. The Boks and the Argentinians played the world cup, the URC/Top14/Premiership, the July series, the Championship, etc, etc, with almost no compulsary resting period. This has to change, for the sake of the players, and in fine for the sake of the sport !
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