Lock Scott Barrett says the All Blacks learned plenty from their gruelling battle with the Springboks and won’t be caught off guard by the Wallabies.
The former captain is set to return to Test rugby after missing the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series following surgery.
“I watched those Tests as a fan, like the rest of everyone back here, you sort of ride the emotions of results,” Barrett told media on Monday.
But one area in particular caught his attention: the set-piece. Barrett believes the Boks were able to use their strength at scrum time to build pressure and create opportunities in other areas of their game.
“I think the set-piece is probably an area where they work themselves back into the game,” he said.
“Critical moments, they were able to get up the field through scrum penalties on their ball, and you know their DNA. They lent on it and fed into other areas of their game, which is their maul, and that’s been a strength for them for a long time.”
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Barrett was careful not to criticise, stressing that he was not part of the team dealing with those pressure moments or the conditions in South Africa.
“I check myself to say ‘you’re not there’. Don’t fall into that trap, it’s a slippery slope when you start complaining about referee calls and all that stuff,” he said. “I was just sitting back here watching it as a fan more than anything, supportive of the team and my brothers who are playing over there.”
The Wallabies’ 42-38 victory over the Boks in Perth has also ensured the All Blacks will not underestimate their next opponents.
Barrett noted that Australia performed strongly at set-piece and believes the All Blacks have already identified areas they need to improve before the Bledisloe Cup double-header.
“You know they beat South Africa, so we’re fully on alert for what’s coming this week, and you know as a team, we’ve already addressed a few things on where we need to get better, as you allude to around the scrum,” he said.
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But Barrett says fixing the problems exposed by the Boks at scrum time, will take much more than just a few days to sort out.
“It’s not until you sort of see it on the grass and you make those shifts and turn them into habits,” he said. “So, like anything, it’s not an overnight fix, and we’ll have to work pretty hard this week and going forward.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
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