Crotty: shock home loss a great motivator

Ken Borland

All Blacks centre Ryan Crotty (right) admitted yesterday that using the agony of their Wellington defeat to the Springboks will be part of how they get ready for the return fixture in Pretoria on Saturday, but they also don’t want to get carried away with feelings of revenge.

“We were disappointed not to get the result in Wellington. You could see the hurt afterwards in the changeroom, and we can use that in our preparation, it will show us how genuine it is as we leave no stone unturned, that’s how we ensure we’ll get a performance on Saturday. The hurt is not something you just bottle up and let rip on Saturday though, your preparation is about everything you’ve done between Sunday and Saturday.

“You don’t want to allow that hurt to hinder you and the early part of the week is all about game plan, understanding it and being intelligent about our game and how we want to play, we have to be very smart. We’re motivated for any Test, but yes, South Africa got one over us and we are an immensely competitive group, so maybe there’ll be a wee bit more motivation this weekend,” Crotty said yesterday.

While the 36-34 win in Wellington three weeks ago ended a lengthy period of decline in terms of Springbok competitiveness against the All Blacks, Crotty said there has been no reduction in the rivalry along the way.

“The gloss has never not been there for me, South Africa are one of the best Test nations in the world. The media may have put it on them that the rivalry was not as strong, but it’s always a massive challenge playing against the Springboks. They have outstanding players across the board and I’m sure we’ll be in a good space mentally at the weekend.

“We’re up against a very physical Springbok side, so we have to match that. They’ve definitely changed their defensive system, they have a lot more line speed now and they’re lining up differently. We’ve taken some learnings around their defence from their last two games, and that defensive system provides options for us as well,” Crotty said.