Rennie says more work needed ahead of Test

All Blacks coach Dave Rennie was pleased with the continued improvement the All Blacks showed in their 50-19 win over the Bulls in Pretoria on Sunday (NZT), but knows there is still more work needed ahead of next weekend’s first Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test against South Africa at Ellis Park.

Rennie was pleased with the performance in the Bulls game.

“Fifty points against a very good Bulls side is a positive. We played a team that was prepared to play today, and they took it to us.

“Our set piece was strong, especially the scrum, which from a discipline point of view was a lot better tonight.

“We created so many opportunities, 11 linebreaks to one, so we’ve probably left a few points out there which is a little frustrating, but I can’t fault the effort and there are a number of boys who will be better for the opportunity to run around at altitude.”

Rather than any different interpretations being applied at scrums, Rennie said it was more the result of a lot of hard work, especially after what they had experienced against the Stormers.

He was also pleased that the Bulls tested the All Blacks’ defences in a manner that might be expected from the Springboks in the Test series.

“We know that the intensity level, the quality that we are going to come up against next week is up three, four or five fold. We’ve played reasonably well on tour, and we know we need to up the ante.

“That wasn’t our Test side tonight so there will be a number of changes. But there were some good performances that will put pressure on us from a selection point of view. We’ve got a plan around selection and there were a handful of positions that were going to be decided based on tonight’s performance.”

Some of those decisions will depend on the fitness of players like halfback Cam Roigard, wing Will Jordan and fullback Damian McKenzie.

Of the trio, Roigard and Jordan have been ticking all the boxes but will need to get through a full week of training. While less confident about McKenzie, Rennie said they are confident he has a good chance of playing in the Test.

“Hopefully he can train well on Tuesday so the expectation is all three will be available.”

Rennie said player of the match against the Bulls, flanker Anton Segner, No8 Peter Lakai and wings Josh Moorby and Leroy Carter are four who have pushed themselves into Test consideration.

Replacement Richie Mo’unga will not be considered for the first Test, but he will probably get some game time in the next midweek game against the Lions before the second Test.

Impressive loosehead prop Xavier Numia was replaced at halftime due to a tightening in an Achilles. At the same time, halfback Cortez Ratima was also rested as a precaution after a knock he suffered.

Returning hooker and interim captain Codie Taylor said one of the aspects of the tour they have been working on is how they deal with tough times in games by walking towards them.

“There were a few times tonight where the Bulls had us under pressure. We were down in our five [metres area], we had a scrum, we reacted well to that and got out of our half with a penalty, and then some great scrambling from the back three also got us out of trouble.

“There’s going to be a lot of that in the Tests and for us to be able to galvanise as a group is going to pay dividends, hopefully, when it comes to the Test.”

Taylor said he was happy with how far the team has come through the three provincial games, and while the forward pack has made some great strides, they are not a finished product.