VIDEO: All Blacks need to fix the 'simple things' against Los Pumas
Captaincy is not an unfamiliar role for All Blacks No.8 Ardie Savea, but he is enjoying the preparation to lead the side in their first game of the Rugby Championship against Argentina in Wellington on Saturday.
Savea said leading the All Blacks on his home ground was special, but nothing changed as they concentrated on their preparation to achieve the performance they sought.
Stepping into the captaincy in lock Scott Barrett’s absence through injury, Savea said there was a lot of expectation on him leading the side and setting up their preparation week with the coaches.
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“But pressure is a privilege, and I’m honoured and grateful to be in the position I am in today,” said Savea.
“That’s the mindset I try and walk every day.
“And when you have that mindset, the pressure is not there.”
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He said that after their opening three Tests of the season in July, the All Blacks understood their game and the players around them better.
“We’re looking forward to playing the game we’ve planned against the quality Argentine side.
“It’s the skill sets under pressure, being able to adapt and adjust to different situations. It’s nailing the simple things, our breakdown. Our game can’t run without our breakdown, so we need to sort that out.
“It’s mainly all the simple things in our game that we need to know.”
Savea said coach Scott Robertson and his coaching team had prepared the side well through their pre-campaign camps before the July Tests.
“They are stamping their mark on what we need to do as a team and the more time we spend together, the better we’re going to be.”
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Centre Anton Lienert-Brown said he appreciated the opportunity he had been given in a highly competitive position.
“It pushes you every day to be better. You’ve got to stay on your toes because of the quality in that mix.
“We’re all good mates. There’s a lot of respect in the group and there’s a mutual understanding that there is a lot of quality and at any given time someone can do a job in the jersey.”
Argentina were always a passionate team and had played well against France.
“They bring a lot of power in the midfield and good kicking. We know what they possess. We’ve played them many times before and only have to worry about what we can do.
“If we do that, we should be able to nullify their strengths.”
Lienert-Brown said he wasn’t aware of the Wellington bogey that has seen them win one of their last seven Tests in the Capital. But with many new players in the team, it was a different era, and no matter what had happened before, it was all about this week.
He relishes the fact he has enjoyed an injury-free season.
Over the last three years, he was frustrated with niggling injuries.
“My body wasn’t always at 100 per cent, so it’s good to be injury-free with a lot of rugby under my belt.”
Source: All Blacks
