Cane steers clear of Retallick rave party
Sam Cane is pretty tight with Brodie Retallick, so who better to provide a little humour and perspective to the ravefest about the do-it-all All Blacks lock.
Retallick was nothing short of sensational in the All Blacks’ 38-13 victory over the Wallabies at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night, highlighting a virtuoso performance with an outrageous dummy and 25-metre charge to the line during a sizzling second half from the New Zealanders.
On an evening when his second-row mate Sam Whitelock became the eighth member of the All Blacks centurion’s club, and as a duo they drew to within two tests of the all-time record mark, Retallick stole the headlines with another display that reminded everyone he is the best lock in the world game, bar none.
Cane, of course, as a Chiefs and All Blacks team-mate has seen it all. But he admitted that he never fails to marvel at the standards his ‘‘mullet fraternity’’ compadre brings to the test arena.
‘‘I am surprised he just keeps doing stuff a big man shouldn’t and changes the game and way his position is played and sets the bar pretty high,’’ said Cane, before switching modes somewhat.
‘‘I’m also pretty wary that we talk him up too much because his head can inflate quite quickly.
‘‘It’s our role to try bring him back down to the ground. He reads a lot of his own articles too, so that’s the danger.’’
On a more serious note, Cane lauded the pack performance that saw the All Blacks forwards squeeze the life out of the Wallabies at set-piece time. They forced seven lineouts turnovers and two at scrum time, and laid the foundation for their team’s dominant second half.
‘‘The first half was a grinding type battle but, in the second half, our set piece was right up there on our own ball and also causing havoc for them. It’s hard to play when you’re not having clean lineout ball and when
‘‘I’m also pretty wary that we talk him up too much because his head can inflate quite quickly.’’
Sam Cane on Brodie Retallick
you’ve got a scrum under some pressure,’’ said Cane. ‘‘You see frustration creeping in, body language [drops] and there’s a bit of chat. It’s just a good feeling.’’
Cane, who has now played 56 tests, said it would be folly for the All Blacks to feel like they carried any momentum into Eden Park with that five-try second-half explosion.
‘‘It’s quite dangerous taking a feeling from the end of a game into next week because it’s a completely different week.
‘‘When you do that you can start the week off feeling quite good about yourselves but you’ve got to get feet firmly back on the ground and reset.’’