Wallabies need to be hard as a Bok
AS the skills coach of New Zealand for a decade, Mick Byrne’s work was at the core of their global dominance.
But for two weeks a year Byrne’s role took somewhat of a back seat to a new primary focus for the All Blacks.
Those weeks were the ones leading up to New Zealand’s Tests against the Springboks.
While skills were still important, the Kiwis would often admit after the match that to beat the Boks they knew they had to roll up the sleeves and employ a bloody- minded physicality.
“It is a non- negotiable to beat anyone, really, but South Africa bring a physicality,” Byrne said. “They pride themselves on that. They’re a nation of it. We’ve got to match them in that area.
“When you come here, you’ve got to be prepared to match that part of it right from the first whistle.”
Like the impact of altitude, discussing the importance of physicality before a Springboks Test tends to be a bit of a box to tick. Like altitude, there is no escaping it.
No rugby team has beaten South Africa on home soil without confronting — and overcoming — the Boks’ abrasive physicality.
The more speed- focused Wallabies don’t naturally excel in that area and they were outplayed in the forwards in their 23- all draw with South Africa in Perth this month.
But will New Zealand’s 57- 0 thumping of the Boks in Albany lessen the physical threat in Bloemfontein?
Byrne said it would only escalate it.
“There’s going to be some — I would imagine — a little bit more this week given the week they’ve had,” Byrne said.
“That’s going to be a challenge for our boys to step up.”