All Black props a special breed
Who says props don’t have a sense of humour? Certainly not All Blacks lock Scott Barrett.
This week, of all weeks, the All Blacks are celebrating their props ahead of Bledisloe II against the Wallabies at Eden Park, with tighthead cornerstone Owen Franks certain to run out for his 100th test, and become the ninth member of that growing centurion’s club.
If Bledisloe I was the week of the lock, with Sam Whitelock’s 100th test and Brodie Retallick’s tour de force return, the rematch is most definitely about those bookends up front, and masters of the dark art of scrummaging.
So naturally the taciturn Franks has been a bit of a theme around the All Blacks this week, though when Barrett was asked about his Crusaders and All Blacks team-mate, the 24-year-old veered somewhat in the direction of Franks’ partner in grime up front, loosehead Joe Moody.
Asked how much easier notorious scrummaging savant Franks made the job of a lock at set-piece time, Barrett said: ‘‘I don’t scrum on his side. I don’t have the honour yet, but when I scrum with Moods on his side he calls me the human caravan: I just hook on and he tows me along. He claims all the credit.’’
Barrett’s smile revealed all about that comment, but he was serious when asked about Franks’ remarkable record of not having scored a try in his 99 tests thus far.
‘‘He might have got a penalty try from a scrum over the years, and that probably counts more for him than dotting down himself,’’ answered the young impact lock.
Retallick joined in the fun around his latest looming centurion team-mate when asked what they might dub a call designed to conjure a try for Franks, a la the infamous ‘‘T-bag’’ call that earned Tony Woodcock his five-pointer in the 2011 World Cup final.
The Protein Shake, per chance?
‘‘The medium rare steak,’’ shot back Retallick, clearly referencing the prop’s preferred source of protein.
But Retallick, who does get to ‘‘caravan’’ behind the immovable object that is Franks, paid a more fulsome tribute about his fellow tight forward and cornerstone of the All Blacks scrum.
‘‘He just loves scrummaging and you know he’s always going to turn up and not give in. For him to hang in there and play as many tests as he might do in that position is no easy feat. He deserves all the accolades he gets.’’