All Blacks great Zinzan Brooke warns 'leggy' South Africa ahead of World Cup final
All Black great Zinzan Brooke has warned the Springboks they could be torn apart in the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday by an Ardie Savea inspired New Zealand team at the Stade de France.
Central to the All Blacks challenge will be Savea, as the most naturally gifted All Blacks No8 since Brooke, a unique player who entered rugby folklore with a 47m drop goal against England at the 1995 tournament.
With Savea driving New Zealand towards a fourth title, Brooke told RugbyPass: “South Africa have come the hard way (into the final) and will have to buck up their ideas and actually deliver or else the All Blacks will open them up and expose the Springboks deficiencies we saw in the semi-final against England.”
Savea has won more caps and scored more tries than his illustrious predecessor in the No8 jersey but as Brooke joked “he hasn’t delivered the full Monty yet!”. Given the way Savea has been playing in the World Cup it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he suddenly launched a drop goal between the posts against South Africa and then did it again to prove it wasn’t a fluke.
It has been a measure of Savea’s excellence that even when the doubters were circling the All Blacks in the lead up to the World Cup, his performances stood out making him a much needed source of inspiration in times of great need. In France, he has somehow reached an even higher level of individual brilliance with his impact in the quarter-final win over Ireland simply stunning. One minute he was clearing the ball from the base of a ruck on the All Blacks line like a scrum-half and the next he was diving in to score a try that required the balletic ability of an international wing.
In between Savea delivered the intensely physical ball carrying that has always made him such a fan favourite and it is this remarkable skills set that has Brooke purring as he delivers his verdict on the current All Blacks No8. Brooke told RugbyPass: “What Ardie possesses is power and an explosive ability to make ground with little runs which are vitally important. The three or four metres he makes puts the team on the front foot and he has a wonderful offloading ability. Ardie achieves that more than most and his mobility is fantastic. I don’t know his playing weight, but I was around 116-118kgs in the sun and when we went to the Northern Hemisphere you put two or three kilos on so on average it was 117kgs. What is Ardie? 110kgs?”
Savea is actually 100kgs which is remarkable given the impact he makes against bigger opponents and it is his footballing skills allied to clever footwork that allows the 80-cap forward to exploit weaknesses he identifies in the defensive line. “What also sets Ardie apart is that as a ball carrier he really fights to stay on his feet while others go to ground too soon,” added Brooke. “With his beautiful hands it means he can offload to a support runner even if he is under intense pressure. He has adapted incredibly well moving from No6 to No8 and he has the skills to play No7 as well.”
As a reference point for the final, Brooke highlights the quality of the rugby the All Blacks delivered to knock Ireland, the No1 ranked team in the world, out of the quarter-finals 28-24. He explained: “That win over Ireland – I don’t think I have ever seen an All Blacks side play that well. The clinical precision (to go 13-0 up) gave me the confidence they would do the job and the whole 23 needed a pat on the back for that performance.”
Brooke has been enjoying the impact Courtney Lawes has been making for England and describes the Northampton blind side as “magnificent”, particularly in the agonising one point loss to South Africa in semi-final. The way England took the game to South Africa has given the All Blacks various options in Saturday’s final, particularly with Savea equipped to be just as aggressive and disruptive for the Springboks back row.
England’s cause was undermined by scrum problems once their first choice props Joe Marler and Dan Cole were replaced and while Brooke acknowledges the Springboks scrum power he is confident the All Blacks have the power and front row strength in depth to avoid handing the opposition a significant advantage in the second-half.
With the Springboks losing 13-8 to Ireland in the pool stage and then having to dig deep to beat France (29-28) and England (16-15) with the boot of Handre Pollard, the defending champions could be “leggy” heading into the final. They have been trying to limit the game time of key players such as captain Siya Kolisi and brought off lock Eben Etzebeth early against England in the semi-final. The All Blacks, in contrast, hammered Argentina 44-6 to reach the final.
“The Springboks were ‘lost’ (against England) and the confidence has to be in the All Blacks camp,” said Brooke. “Can South Africa produce their best? Yes, but you have to create that doubt, get down there, take the points and create pressure. There was a chance for England and their loose forwards were brilliant. Ardie, like Courtney Lawes, has been lifting everyone with his performances.
“My gut is telling me the All Blacks will have confidence going into the final. Coming into the tournament, I had doubts because I didn’t see the consistency from the All Blacks but if I had seen them deliver the kind of rugby we saw in the Ireland quarter-final I would have said ‘these All Blacks mean business.’ They will keep it simple against the Springboks, be accurate and play at pace and with passion.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
3 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments