Out of action since the third Test against Ireland, All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick is keen to get back on the field for Saturday’s second Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship Test in Hamilton.
Retallick said it was always hard watching on from the sideline when injured.
He did play his first game for Hawke’s Bay in its Ranfurly Shield defence against North Harbour at the weekend and said after 18 months of disruptions, he was keen to be involved in a side that was showing improvement.
Retallick said: “I thought there has been some massive strides from the forward pack over the last few weeks, and for quite a few periods in the weekend, they got it right. But I would love to be out there.
“There was periods I thought they dominated up front and made big strides around the ruck and didn’t execute it right, but that’s the challenge of Test rugby. It’s always those fine margins you need to nail at crucial times.”
Consistency was needed to succeed to the level the All Blacks aspire to, and there was a collective need to get things right, especially in areas like the lineouts in the vital latter stages of the games. And that wasn’t down to one player – it was the group’s responsibility.
Retallick was convinced the foundations for consistency were in place – they just needed more polish and to do it week in and week out.
While refereeing interpretations differed from one referee to another, Retallick said players had to adapt quickly to what they were seeing.
Taking refereeing interpretations out of the picture could be resolved by playing effectively, he said.
“A good ball carry looks after a ruck and a cleanout,so if we get that right it becomes easy and presents good pictures to the referee.”
While the All Blacks would be concentrating on areas of improvement, they also needed to remember there were areas in which they were successful. It was more important they work on their own game than worry about what Argentina might be doing for the second Test.
Argentina would have their own areas of concern and would be working just as hard on them as the All Blacks were, he said.
