Meet Angus Ta’avao, the joker in the All Blacks pack
PLAYER TO WATCH... RYAN CROTTY
He pipped Sonny Bill Williams for the No 12 jersey but fans can rest easy knowing Crotty’s combination with fellow Crusader Richie Mo’unga should work a treat. Expect Crotty to do his fair share of kicking to help unlock the Boks’ defence, something he did exceptionally during Super Rugby. Angus Ta’avao is changing the craggy face of stoic, stern All Blacks front rowers.
The 29-year-old tighthead may be at his first World Cup but the pressure of the occasion isn’t getting to him, judging by his amiable eagerness to ham it up for the cameras.
Ta’avao’s animated face at a Jerome Garces (France) Beauden Barrett Anton Lienert-brown George Bridge Richie Mo’unga Aaron Smith Kieran Read (c) Scott Barrett Sam Whitelock Nepo Laulala recent pre-world Cup photo shoot set him apart from All Blacks propping predecessors, flinty fellows who tended to tacturnity as they shouldered their way to the bar and All Blacks Sevu Reece Ryan Crotty Sam Cane Ardie Savea Dane Coles Joe Moody Romain Poite (France), Karl Dickson (England) Graham Hughes (England)
South Africa Willie Le Roux Cheslin Kolbe Lukhanyo Am Damian de Allende Makazole Mapimpi Handre Pollard Faf de Klerk Duane Vermeulen Pieter-steph du Toit Siya Kolisi (c) Franco Mostert Eben Etzebeth Frans Malherbe Malcolm Marx Steven Kitshoff sausage rolls table.
There have been erudite All Blacks front rowers down the decades, including 1960s skipper and later business baron Wilson Whineray, the politically aware Ken Gray, Anton Oliver, the hooker turned environmentalist; and business graduates John Drake from the 1987 World Cup-winning squad, and Dave Hewett from the 2003 group.
But few have been as free-spirited The only change to the Boks from the side which drew with the ABS in Wellington in July, captain Kolisi pilots a formidable loose forward trio. It’s not just his leadership the Boks will benefit from, but also his ability to punch holes in defensive lines with his explosive carries. as Ta’avao, who studied commerce at Auckland University while playing for the Blues early in his career.
Ta’avao channelled his inner Jim Hickey when he joined fellow All Blacks Joe Moody and Richie Mo’unga to help the Met Service deliver a weather forecast for the Rugby Championship test against the Springboks in Wellington in July.
‘‘It’s a good night,’’ Ta’avao deadpanned. ‘‘Your classic cold, windy Wellington night, but us big boys have got a little bit extra and we get to rug up nice and close for scrums so we should be all right . . . it’s more for the fans.’’
After loosehead prop Moody and first five-eighth Mo’unga added their extras, Ta’avao extended his index finger to act as a weather pointer, highlighting the forecast’s key assets.
A natural around fans, Ta’avao is on the bench for tonight’s match. ■ ■ ■ ■ Source: All Blacks.com
there will be subtle changes to their game plan, the Springboks are expected to stick to everything they do well.
That means driving off lineouts, kicking for the corners and using a fast defensive line with the wings flying in off their territory to make life hell for the All Blacks’ midfield backs.
As Hansen stated this week, the Springboks ‘‘roll the dice’’.
It will be a gamble to ask the quickies to suffocate the All Blacks midfielders Anton Lienert-brown and Ryan Crotty, but Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus is unlikely to be swayed by Hansen’s talk.
Erasmus will have taken great satisfaction from the way his side rattled the All Blacks’ attack when they drew 16-16 in Wellington on July 27.
Read could be the key for the All Blacks.
Hansen noted yesterday how his skipper had evolved since replacing Richie Mccaw after the 2015 World Cup.
Read, said his coach, was an inclusive skipper who communicated well with his team-mates.
‘‘He leads from the front . . . and he’s starting to get more and more demanding, which I like,’’ Hansen said.