All Blacks star ‘not overly happy’ with his collisions: ‘There is no hiding from the Springboks’
Luke Jacobson during the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry match between the Springboks and All Blacks.
Luke Jacobson says that the Springboks are the ultimate yardstick for physicality in the international game.
The flanker has been a revelation under new All Blacks boss Dave Rennie after an injury-struck Test career under former head coaches Sir Steve Hansen, Ian Foster and Scott Robertson.
Jacobson started all three of the Nations Championship matches in July and has continued that trend during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series, donning the number seven jumper at Ellis Park and in Cape Town.
Luke Jacobson: Physical battle with the Springboks
He has once again been named in the run-on team for the third and final Test match in South Africa and the 29-year-old is eager to improve on his performance in the second clash. The back-rower wasn’t happy with his collision work in the All Blacks’ defeat, an area of the game that he enjoys particularly against the Springboks.
“I love physical games and physical confrontations. The South Africans, they’re big physical bodies; there’s no hiding from that,” Jacobson said in an interview with DSPN’s Martin Devlin.
“So, it’s a real good test. One of the hardest Tests you will get, I think, as a rugby player is playing against South Africa – physically. It’s a good place to see where you’re at. I wasn’t overly happy with some of my collisions from the last game. So, looking to get a few of those right for this Test.”
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This is the first time in 30 years that the All Blacks have toured South Africa for a Test series and Jacobson does not undervalue the opportunity he has and has relished the chance to tackle the Springboks in three consecutive weeks, a rarity in the modern era.
“Yeah, it is unusual, and it actually makes the weeks a hard case because you don’t have to do too much preview because your reviews are pretty much previews,” he said.
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“You will know what South Africa are bringing. There will be minor tweaks in their game to try and catch you off. There’ll be minor adjustments, but as a whole we focus on our system, and ideally our system covers anything that they throw at us.
“On attack, we change a few things to try and catch them. So, it’s a cool set-up; it’s a cool Test series, going week to week against them, and it’s just such small margins and trying to find the little bits of gold that are going to be the difference.”
South Africa are the yardstick
Asked if he saw the Springboks as the ultimate measuring stick in the international game, he said: “Yeah, there’s been a lot of talk from ex-players about how if there was one series that they would want to play and come out of retirement for, it would be this one, and I think it just goes to say the respect that New Zealand has for South Africa and vice versa.
“The level that these games are played at is on another level, and you get to do it four times in a row.”
He continued: “I definitely don’t think I will get another chance to do this; you just have to live in the moment. Try to appreciate it and not take it for granted. Enjoy every moment of it and just try to live it to the fullest every week, every day.
“Ideally, we come away with the win, and all your hard work is worth it, and you look back on it even better.”
