Murray Mexted claims ‘we underestimated Whitelock and Retallick for years’ as Dave Rennie takes ‘risk’ with All Blacks team to face Springboks
Legendary All Blacks lock duo Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick, and current New Zealand head coach Dave Rennie.
Murray Mexted has suggested the constant rotation at lock has shown how fans and pundits didn’t truly appreciate how good New Zealand had it with Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock.
After years at the top level, Retallick and Whitelock decided to end their Test careers following the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
It is a hole Scott Robertson struggled to fill and Dave Rennie is fighting the same battle, despite some talented players coming through.
Fabian Holland was named World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2025 and impressed in the first two Tests against the Springboks, while Sam Darry, Tupou Vaa’i and Josh Lord have all shown they have the capabilities to succeed.
The All Blacks also have Scott Barrett, who captained the side under Robertson, to return from injury, but they have yet to settle on a combination.
Dave Rennie’s bold call
On Saturday, Vaa’i and Darry is the partnership that has been trusted by Rennie for the third Springboks Test in Soweto.
It is a big call to drop Holland to the bench but Mexted has been impressed by the Blues star’s performances on tour.
“You would have to say Darry has stood up in his last game [against the Lions],” he told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.
“He actually reminded me of [ex-All Blacks lock] Andy Hayden in that game big time, he actually looks a bit like him too and he’s about the same size – he might even be an inch taller.
“He’s a big man and you’ve got to match fire with fire.
“For years we’ve underestimated Whitelock and Retallick, and how fantastic they were at the very highest level.
“A lot of other locks are at a lower level, but those two we needed them. We need to replace those and at the moment we are developing locks of that size and that calibre, but they are by no means the finished product.”
While rotation and changing things up is not necessarily a bad thing, as Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus would testify, Mexted believes that they are taking a different approach to selection and squad building.
“He’s (Rennie) looking at it one step at a time. The classic here is the contrast between the two coaches. Rassie Erasmus is doing all sorts of different things because he’s got so many players to look after,” the former number eight said.
“He’s trying to introduce players and he’s trying to grow players, but Dave Rennie is one step at a time, easy as she goes.
“If someone performs, he will give them a go. He’s looking at the future but he’s taking one step at a time. It’s all about performance and it’s all about results.
“He’s saying to Darry, ‘this is your opportunity mate, show me what you’ve got’. Darry will probably perform because of the way it’s been approached.
“If you saw him in that last game, and I watched him, he was bloody good.”
Springboks will be tougher
While there is no doubting Darry’s ability to perform at Test level, Mexted states that it is another level up when facing the Springboks.
“He will perform, but the question mark will be, can he perform against the best in the world in South Africa at altitude?” he said.
“There’s risk here, he’s rewarding performance and Lakai performed as well, but when I look at the loose forwards, they’re putting a hell of a lot of pressure on these two locks and he’s chosen Darry. It’s a brave call.
“Because Darry is hot under the collar having not been in the front line-up, he played like he wanted to be in the Test team, and he’s rewarded him.
“This is going to be fantastic to see how this goes, I just hope everything goes really well for him.”
In the first two Tests, Rennie opted for a tall player at blindside, but he has changed that around with Peter Lakai being selected ahead of Simon Parker.
It is a decision which has left Mexted slightly concerned with the All Blacks pack left with one fewer jumper against a Springboks side who have an excellent defensive lineout.
“There’s nothing wrong with Holland, Holland has been really good, but he’s chosen Darry to give him a go and he’s also chosen Vaa’i because he’s been the most consistent performer of everyone,” he added.
“He’s been the success story in a subtle way sort of a way at six but he will get better at six the more he plays there.
“The possible weakness here is what is the percentage of ball we are going to win? We won 57 per cent and 56 per cent in the last two Tests – we won one Test, we lost one Test – so he’s taken a punt in some respects.
“Will we get 50 per cent? If we don’t get 50 per cent, we’re probably not going to win this Test match.”
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