Big rig Retallick will add petrol to tank
Guzzler brings extra grunt and X-factor ahead of quarter-finals
The All Blacks have entered phase two of their Rugby World Cup. The only unknown is how many of their players will be affected by injury, citings or red cards. Therefore, it is not without its concern for the coaches. Canada have been dispatched, next it’s Namibia on Sunday and then Italy.
So far, so good for head coach Steve Hansen and company after an excellent first-phase win over South Africa, a true test in every sense which underlined their credentials as tournament front runners.
But if external attention is beginning to drift towards the All Blacks’ quarter-final — opponent unknown but likely to be Ireland, Japan or Scotland — it should come swiftly back into focus today when the team is named for the test against Namibia at Tokyo Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
That’s when we’ll know for sure the status of Brodie Retallick’s comeback from a dislocated shoulder suffered only 10 weeks ago, and it’s likely he will start against the Namibians to prepare himself for the All Blacks’ quarter-final at Tokyo Stadium on October 19.
Hansen is likely to want Retallick to get through 40 minutes against Namibia to play 60 minutes against Italy at Toyota Stadium on October 12. Get through that okay and the big lock known to his teammates as Guzzler should have enough petrol in the tank to play the full 80 if required in the quarter-final.
To say Retallick, a 28-year-old former world Player of the Year, will improve the All Black pack is a bit like saying it’s been a bit warm here in Japan over the past three weeks.
Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett and Patrick Tuipuluto have been excellent so far, with Barrett in particular superb against the Boks, but Retallick should take that secondrow impact to the next level.
One of the big positives Hansen will take out of his team’s two wins and days of hard slog on the training pitch is how hard his players are pushing themselves and each other.
Barring an unexpected issue from the 63-0 win over Canada at Oita, all 31 players are fit and pressing their cases.
Halfback Brad Weber was excellent in scoring two tries and will be pushing TJ Perenara hard and Matt Todd and Jack Goodhue have successfully returned from injuries. Flanker Todd looked particularly energetic, while centre Goodhue did exactly what he had to. He ran straight and hard and tackled similarly.
Jordie Barrett was steady — in a good way. Sonny Bill Williams is properly back. Ben Smith had a spark about him and Rieko Ioane announced that he’s in the fight for a left wing spot.
But the missing link is Retallick, a lock with grunt and X-factor, a man who is all knees and shoulders and pointy bits but with soft hands like a midfielder. Notoriously competitive on the training pitch, Retallick, who has played 77 tests, is likely to have been sending his teammates batty over the last fortnight or so.
A successful comeback will provide Hansen, a man playing his cards close to his chest after the Canada win, with the strongest hand at this tournament. It will be quite the comeback after Retallick’s World Cup dream was in doubt even a week before the squad was named.
“You can assume what you like but there’s no point in telling everybody what we’re doing,” Hansen said. “But the obvious is the obvious.”