Retallick heaps more pressure on Wallabies
WELLINGTON: All Black star lock Brodie Retallick reckons the Wallabies will not have time to carry out the repair job needed on their lineout before the second Bledisloe Cup clash.
First test man of the match Retallick hinted the world champion will not hesitate to target Australia’s set piece again in Auck land on Saturday night.
Retallick and fellow lock Sam Whitelock had a field day in Sydney last Saturday, pressuring nearly every throw to claim seven turnovers.
That handed the All Blacks all the ball they needed, leaving Michael Cheika searching for setpiece answers at Australia’s preparation base on Waiheke Island.
Retallick wonders whether a week is enough time for the visiting side to overhaul and then finetune its lineout methods.
‘‘If it was from our point of view, I think we’d probably change the way we approached it and maybe vary a few options up,’’ he said.
‘‘But at the same time, they’ve only got a week to turn it around.
‘‘No doubt there will be things that they want to work on and try and be better at, just like we are.’’
Retallick said lineout domination was a surprise bonus for the All Blacks, having admired Australia’s work during the 21 series loss to Ireland in June.
The Wallabies’ scrum also functioned well against the Irish but became a source of numerous penalties to New Zealand on Saturday.
‘‘In test rugby you need a set piece to operate and strike off, to get yourself in the game,’’ Retallick said.
‘‘Obviously they’ll want to adjust and fix that.
‘‘We had to fight it out for the first 2030 minutes. We were under a lot of pressure and then things started to click.’’
Wallabies hooker Tatafu PolotaNau said it was clear the All Blacks had carried out some successful lineout homework.
He said there would be more options on Australia’s throw this week and the scrum would be more effective.
Some individual timing errors and a failure to adjust when personnel came off the bench proved ruinous in the first test, PolotaNau said.
‘‘If anyone gets subbed, it should still be the same picture all the time. New Zealand have done that really well,’’ he said. — AAP