‘It’s inevitable’ – Jordie Barrett gearing up for more run ins with ‘durable’ Pieter-Steph du Toit
Pieter-Steph du Toit tackles Jordie Barrett.
All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett is expecting another game of battling the Springboks tackle machine Pieter-Steph du Toit when the two sides face off in Cape Town on Saturday.
This will not be the first time Barrett will have the tireless Springbok chasing him after Du Toit famously put in a number of big hits on the All Black in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.
Knows what is coming
Barrett has been on the Test scene long enough to know that the flank will be in his channel yet again. The All Black only had good things to say about his opponent.
“He’s an exceptional player. He’s so versatile, so durable and covers a lot of ground and it’s inevitable that if I’m playing at 12, I’m going to be running into that channel, and Pieter-Steph will be there. I enjoy it; it’s a great challenge.”
The 27-year-old praised the Springboks depth and selection decisions as Rassie Erasmus made seven changes for this weekend’s Test.
“[The Boks] have been ultra-consistent… their selection does [change] but they’ve got a lot of depth… Whoever Rassie puts out there seems to do the job.”
Fixing the last quarter
The All Blacks are still evolving in the early stages of the Scott Robertson era and one of the negative trends of their performances is a dull last quarter which cost them the win in Johannesburg last weekend.
Robertson has decided to drop TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett to the bench with the idea that the experienced duo will come on to finish the game off.
“We didn’t finish the game well last week, and we haven’t for a few weeks; hopefully, we can close the game out in the last quarter if we get the opportunity…
“We just need to keep applying pressure when it matters in those deciding minutes of the game, and can’t let teams off the hook. A little bit of that has been us and we’re tried to focus on those areas, and I feel that we’re learning so hopefully we see some improvement on the weekend.”
It is a massive Test in both the context of rugby’s greatest rivalry and the Rugby Championship with the Springboks in pole position to push for the title as it stands.
READ MORE: How the Springboks can win the Rugby Championship with two round to spare
