All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett says he’s all too familiar with the passion and pride the Springboks have for the jersey, and expects that to come out strongly in the Wellington rematch.
Barrett said it was important for him and his teammates to turn the tide against the Boks and end their four-match winning streak. He admitted those defeats had taken the All Blacks to some dark places – especially the World Cup final and the Test at Twickenham just before the tournament.
“After the bad memories of the previous four Tests against the Springboks, there was a big desire and lots of emotion in our group to win on Saturday. Losing simply wasn’t an option.”
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But looking ahead to this Saturday, Barrett says the Eden Park victory has now been consigned to history.
“We are proud of Saturday’s result, but we must be able to do it again. That’s our challenge. We’re back at zero in terms of our preparation and it’s every individual in our group’s task to show up with the same intensity and mindset this weekend.”
Barrett says he knows the Springboks will throw everything at them in a bid to win the rematch. Another loss for the Boks would effectively end their hopes of defending the Rugby Championship title.
“I’ve played quite a few Test matches against the Springboks and I know how much pride their players have in that Bok jersey. They’ll focus on their strengths and we saw on Saturday how dangerous they can be when they got the ascendancy in the scrums.”
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Coach Scott Robertson will have to make at least two injury-forced changes to his team for the Wellington showdown, with centurion hooker Codie Taylor and winger Emoni Narawa ruled out.
Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images
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