Cape Town - Lock forward Brodie Retallick has explained what worked for the Springboks against the All Blacks last year.
The Springboks stunned the All Blacks 36-34 in Wellington and came oh-so-close in the return game in Pretoria, losing 32-30 after giving up a 30-13 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Retallick, who is back in Pretoria captaining the Chiefs against the Bulls on Saturday, spoke exclusively to Sport24 this week when he shared his views on the Boks.
"The Springboks beat the All Blacks in Wellington during last year's Rugby Championship by turning out with huge physicality, drive and their line-speed on defence. They put us under a lot of pressure and we weren’t finding the holes," Retallick said.
"It looks like their Super Rugby franchises have taken a bit of that from the Springbok side. However, I think it (line-speed on defence) is something New Zealand has caught up with, and many of our teams across the board are now defending like that. It’s something we have been dealing with during the back end of Super Rugby and then especially at the start of this year, with the way the Crusaders and Hurricanes defend. We are now a little bit more adapted to that tactic and are keen to put our attacking game on the park."
Retallick added that the World Cup in Japan later this year would be "wide open".
"Playing at a global tournament is a different ball game because there is a lot more pressure and the style of rugby is not the same to what we are used to in the Rugby Championship. I think there will be a lot of teams going to Japan with high hopes to come out on top.
"Any team that wins the Six Nations has to be playing good rugby. I watched Wales beat Ireland and was hugely impressed with the Welsh team. They are working hard and have a great kicking game. You can’t say that Wales aren’t going to be in it from September, along with England and Ireland. I think it’s going to be a very competitive World Cup event and we know what Australia, Argentina and South Africa can produce having played them in the Rugby Championship."
Saturday's Bulls v Chiefs encounter is scheduled for 15:05.
Teams:
Bulls
15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Handre Pollard (captain), 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Hanro Liebenberg, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Substitutes: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Tim Agaba, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Dylan Sage
Chiefs
15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Tumua Manu, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Solomon Alaimalo, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Brodie Retallick (captain), 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Aidan Ross
Substitutes: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tevita Mafileo, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Michael Allardice, 20 Jesse Parete, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Alex Nankivell, 23 Ataata Moeakiola