Joe Schmidt names ‘freakish’ Springbok he would love to pick and the Wallabies habit ‘I’m sick of watching’
Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt, inset, name-dropped Springbok Canan Moodie at his media briefing after selecting his team to face the All Blacks this Saturday
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt has named the Springboks player he would love to avail of in this Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against an All Blacks side he believes “are on the cusp of breaking things open”.
Scott Robertson’s New Zealand team has been widely ridiculed for the embarrassing manner of their record-setting final quarter collapse versus the Springboks on September 13. They trailed by just 10-17 with an hour played in Wellington, but they went on to lose 10-43.
Reflecting on that match, which took place some hours after the Wallabies had lost their Round Four game to Argentina in Sydney, Schmidt has claimed the All Blacks weren’t as terrible as most people believe.
He added that the Springboks did the same to Australia on the scoreboard in the opening part of their Round One match in Johannesburg, and he also named the South African player who would be handy for the Wallabies to have in this Saturday’s fixture at Eden Park.
“We were all thinking the game is in the balance”
Schmidt has chosen a starting XV showing six changes from last time out and asked by reporters in Auckland for his thoughts in the All Blacks’ 33-point loss in Wellington, he claimed: “They are on the cusp of breaking things open.
“I know a lot of people will focus on the end result last time they played but 60 minutes in, I was sitting there with Mike Cron and Tom Donnelly, two guys who spent time playing or coaching the All Blacks, and we were all thinking the game is in the balance.
“Unfortunately, what can happen is when the game gets away from you a little bit, you maybe try a little bit too hard, or you take a risk that you wouldn’t otherwise do, or you just start to play outside the box and start to get a little bit individual.
“South Africa did it to us; they just did it to us at the other end of the game. We couldn’t believe the first 18 minutes in Ellis Park; we were 22-0 down and wondering how to stop this green wave, and they won the first four balls in the air against us.
“So I know how quickly they can damage you, and they just got it at the other end of the game because until then they were right in the game.”
It was when pondering the potential threats posed by the All Blacks in the upcoming Round Five match that Schmidt name-dropped Springboks midfielder Canan Moodie.
“We don’t have the same people. If we could borrow Canan Moodie maybe, some of his aerial stuff was just freakish. I coached the likes of Caleb Clarke, he is freakish in the air, particularly above his head,” he said.
“You have got to get very high to get over him and so they didn’t quite have him ready to go, so that’s probably disappointing for us but I would be a big fan of Caleb’s so it’s great to see him back in the Test arena and I am sure a lot of All Black supporters will be keen to see him back in there.
“They have a set-piece that is pretty formidable, and for us it was around survival against that set-piece. It’s not something that we have unless we borrow a few of their guys. I don’t see that in the rules.”
More seriously, the Wallabies head coach went on to outline what it will take for his side to threaten a win at a ground where the All Blacks have been unbeaten since 1994, 51 games ago.
“It’s going to take cohesion because you can’t afford to mismatch and turn the ball over and give the All Blacks oxygen because they will damage you if that happens,” he explained.
“Probably some of the best rugby we played was in the second Lions Test where we strung together some really good play, put a couple of tries together, and there have been segments, the back end of the last Test we played, the back end of the Test before that, and so we’d love to get a better start.
“Personally, as a coach, I’m sick of watching us getting behind and having to fight our way back, but I’m also incredibly admirable of the manner in which they do that.
“Against the All Blacks, we can’t afford to give them that head start because they can just keep getting further and further away from you, particularly if we start over-chasing the game and start overplaying and the game comes too loose.
“We’d hope to play an open, fast game and so do the All Blacks. I’m hoping it’s a great advertisement for the game and it’s a competitive game, but we need to start well for that to be the case.
“We have got to be aware of what the All Blacks bring, without a doubt, and having coached a number of them, I know how dangerous they can be, that’s for sure.”
Schmidt suggested the All Blacks would prefer to win the Bledisloe Cup against Australia more than the Rugby Championship, adding what Eden Park means to New Zealand as a home venue.
“If you just about gave them a choice, they’d take the Bledisloe over the Rugby Championship. Just the tradition of it, it’s older and more ingrained than the more modern Rugby Championship. As much as they certainly want to go after that and they are in a good position to do it.
“Last time I was on the other side when the Wallabies came to Auckland, the All Blacks jumped out to a good lead and won by a good margin. They all just get a little more focused, a bit more connected and a little more combative (when they play at Eden Park).
“I have no doubt that is exactly what we are going to get on Saturday. They are going to be highly connected and combative, and they will have a real collective energy that to suppress is going to be a real challenge.”
