‘Won’t ever get over that’: Scott Barrett reflects on Rugby World Cup pain

Whenever there’s a winner in sport, there must also be another who falls short of their goal. In last year’s Rugby World Cup Final at Stade de France, the All Blacks came agonisingly close to what would’ve been an incredible triumph but it wasn’t to be against the Springboks.

Referee Wayne Barnes brought an end to the match with the full-time whistle, and that was a moment that will forever stick in the minds of South African and New Zealand rugby fans and players. Whether it was the euphoria of victory or the pain of defeat, it's hard to forget.

For All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, the heartbreak of defeat is a hurt that he doesn’t expect to “ever get over.” Barrett combined with Brodie Retallick at lock, with the then 29-year-old putting in a significant 80-minute shift in the pursuit of the sport’s ultimate prize.

10 months later, the All Blacks are preparing to take on the Springboks for the first time since that decider in Saint-Denis. While a win on Saturday night won’t rewrite the history books and necessarily take away the pain from last year, there’s still a lot riding on this outcome.

“I can’t change anything that happened from the Final. Probably won’t ever get over that,” Barrett told reporters on Friday.  “It’s about this group turning up tomorrow night.

“Ellis Park against the Springboks, there’s no other Test like it and that’s what we’re excited about.”

Barrett joins brothers Jordie and Beauden in the All Blacks’ starting side this weekend. The All Blacks skipper hasn’t featured for the national side since the compressive win over the Flying Fijians in San Diego last month.

‘Scooter’ Barret returns as one of two changes to the First XV, with former New Zealand skipper Sam Cane also set for his first start at Test level since last year’s Rugby World Cup Final. Cane returned to the international arena off the bench in the big win over Argentina in Auckland.

But away from the playing personnel, there’s been another big change for the All Blacks recently. Last week, assistant coach Leon MacDonald stepped down from the role with immediate effect.

It seemed to throw a spanner in the works before the team’s trip to the Republic, but the All Blacks have continued to go about their business as some of the coaches take on further responsibilities in MacDonald’s absence.

“We’ve adapted. The coaches have shuffled in and certainly, we’ve bounced this week and the boys have been energised,” Barrett explained.

“Sort of felt for ‘Rangi’ but obviously those conversations have been had behind the scenes and we’ve moved forward as a group.”

The All Blacks are widely considered to be the underdogs going into Saturday’s Test at Ellis Park. New Zealand have beaten South Africa in three of the last four meetings at the venue, but the hosts are the two-time defending World Cup winners after all.

South Africa smashed New Zealand by a record margin at Twickenham last year, and then there was that World Cup decider. They appear to have improved in the 10 months since that Final, with new assistant Tony Brown clearly making a difference behind the scenes.

“I think the Springboks have certainly got a well-rounded game,” he warned.

“They can challenge you with an arm-wrestle and a real battle at set-piece if they tactically want to go there, and the flip side of that is they’ve shown the last couple of weeks that they can certainly attack.

“Even against Ireland in the (July) series, they’re playing some attacking rugby so we’re anticipating, we’re prepared for that and we’re excited by that.”