Add Retallick and cocktail is complete
Time to come up with a rugby World XV. First name picked — Brodie Retallick.
The man is the business. He proved it again against the Lions, the leading figure in a pack — and particularly a tight five — which walloped the highly regarded opposition.
Retallick is so unbelievably good that he was World Rugby’s official player of the year in 2014, an award which hardly ever goes to a tight forward. On Saturday night’s evidence he can become the first tight forward to win it twice.
The All Blacks broke the British and Irish hearts by going through the heart of their pack, and they did it with such ferocity and ball security that the tourists collapsed.
The Lions had nothing to throw back apart from one dash by replacement tighthead prop Kyle Sinckler who is built like a couple of concrete mixers stacked on each other, wheels included.
A lot of the All Blacks were exceptional, and a lot of Lions were ordinary, bordering on mediocre.
At the core of the disappointment for the Lions and their fans will be the lame effort from their tight forwards, who had been very
Over and over, Retallick flung himself through the Lions pack until they could take it no more.
impressive in squashing a couple of decent sides on tour.
This included taming a Crusaders pack whose tight five was missing just one key test ingredient — a certain Brodie Retallick.
Yes, this is dodgy science, not up to the highest empirical standards. But you take a Crusaders tight five which had battled against the Lions, add Retallick, and whacko — test onslaught.
Retallick was absolutely stunning at Eden Park and in tandem with Sam Whitelock, it’s about as good as locking combinations get. Retallick’s ball playing skills — particularly his quick, short pass — are already legendary, but this wasn’t a test for the new age B. Retallick. The Lions’ pack had to be physically tamed, and he was at the front of an impressive queue of All Black forwards more than willing to do it.
Over and over, Retallick flung himself through the Lions pack until they could take it no more. He burrowed in at the breakdown, fighting for every inch. Then he found the energy to chase down the weaving wing Anthony Watson. After the match, he looked as fresh as a daisy, a very tall daisy.
Mr Perpetual Motion could at least pretend to be breathing a little hard — if there was a handicap system in rugby, Retallick would have to play in a curtainraiser first.
When the Lions squad was picked lock was identified as an area of reasonable strength, and Brodie Retallick was stunning at Eden Park. the northern rugby mob prides itself on the muscular arts. England’s George Kruis has emerged as the number one pick on tour, and his compatriot Maro Itoje — who dominated the Maori side — is the man with the most potential. The Lions locks weren’t on the same planet as Retallick (or Whitelock for that matter). Not even the same stratosphere. Battle hardened Alun Wyn Jones ran out of puff at about the halfway mark, having done about half the work. Kruis looked overwhelmed. The underwhelming Itoje managed — by my count — one average run with the ball in over 30 minutes. Retallick finished with about a dozen of them and like Whitelock, went the distance. Finally, some more conjecture, the type which shows why sport is so pivotal to the preservation of mankind. In an all-time All Black team, the locks would be C. Meads and B. Retallick. Easy.