Read’s back and ready to lead by example as he eyes All Blacks ton

tomorrow, it will be eight weeks since his last game, but Read is not worried. “At the 2011 World Cup I missed the first three games with an ankle injury, so I’m used to it and I’ve played enough Tests to know what to expect,” he said.

Read made his All Blacks debut against Scotland at Murrayfield in 2008. Since then, the rugged and durable No 8 has missed very few Tests. As All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said: “It shows how physically resilient he is.

“That will be tested, though, in this series because he’s had such a long time out. But he’s a big man, a tough man, with great mental fortitude.”

A bit like the bloke he replaced as All Blacks skipper. Comparisons between Read and Richie McCaw are inevitable but can be misleading. In his 148 Tests, McCaw captained them 111 times. He set the tone for how they would play and how the big black machine ran off the field — and few were ever left to wonder what he wanted.

In 2012, when the Tri-Nations became the Rugby Championship with the inclusion of Argentina, the All Blacks had to play the Pumas in Buenos Aires one week, then the Springboks in Johannesburg a week later.

Training on the Thursday at Johannesburg’s Wits University on a hot afternoon, the All Blacks were sloppy. McCaw pulled them aside and let rip. Yes, he said, we are tired, jet-lagged and it’s hot. Yes, we are still sore from the Pumas match. None of that matters. We will, he said, feel the same way when the Springboks smash into us on Saturday. It’s all mental. Get over it.

The All Blacks finished training without a ball being dropped and beat South Africa 32-16 two days later.

Read is not a barker. He’s unlikely to tear into a team-mate and tries to be an inclusive leader. He does, though, concede: “There are times you have to be direct to get the message across.”

It’s unfair, though, to suggest either