It’s a variation of the Master and the Apprentice theme, but loose forward Wallace Sititi, if selected, is looking forward to sharing Ardie Savea’s 100th Test in Saturday’s Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship Test at Eden Park between the All Blacks and South Africa.
Sititi, who returned from injury off the bench in the Buenos Aires loss to Argentina, said Savea was a player he watched while growing up.
“He revolutionised the loose forward position. We saw that first-hand this year. He’s someone I model my game on and also somebody to take inspiration from.”
He said Savea’s advice to him was to ‘have a jam’ when playing.
“That’s what footy is, that’s the way we play. So, as much as there’s pressure at the end of the day, it’s just going out there, having a jam with the boys and living the dream.”
However, being able to do that depends on achieving more accuracy against the world champions.
“We were disappointed with the way we performed in the second [Argentina] game, especially coming off a strong win in that first game. Physically, we didn’t front up, which is a finger to the chest for us.
“That’s what we’re looking forward to getting to in our week and building into the weekend.
“The Springboks are a quality side, they’re defending champions for a reason. They’ve been at the top of their game for a long time now, and it’s a huge opportunity for us.
“We always respect who our opponent is, but, it’s a big match. Everyone knows that, and training has been intense, and we’ll build that intensity through the week.”
Sititi said having Sir Wayne Smith at training during the week was valuable.
“He’s been there and is someone that’s gone through these moments and times, so we lean on him as well and the little gold nuggets he’s throwing around. It’s something special and something we’ll take seriously.”
Sititi said Smith had reinforced the need for players to get all their content in and then through the end of the week, to be ready to go out and play.
Having debuted against the Springboks last year, he learned the importance of winning key moments and the impact of small mistakes.
Assistant coach Scott Hansen said the All Blacks are looking forward to Saturday’s challenge. It is a timely game, especially after their loss to Argentina.
Their attention has been on ‘ownership, preparation and opportunity’ in the build-up to the game.
He said if they had been more successful in the aerial contests and not conceded two yellow cards in their loss to Argentina, they could have controlled the game differently.
“We looked at the opportunity to be better. We continue to grow that skill set and will need to be better. South Africa will be looking at that. They’re about the direct, the physical, and they go to the air, so, we know what’s coming.”
Hansen said the concentration on box kicking was about reshaping the defence.
“It’s about moving the point of attack and going to the air.”
The law changes have encouraged that because escorts and others have to get out of the way.
“Teams are seeing that as a massive opportunity to apply pressure differently. When you’re attacking, there’s a chance to move the ball to a new opportunity around the aerial game.
“You can destructure a defence there. Also, it’s Test match footy around understanding where you can control the air and what it gives you also from those opportunities.”
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